Video Subtitling

Video subtitling is an intensive challenge in distilling complex ideas into a few words. The translator must render the spoken word into an accurate, easy-to-comprehend package for the audience. And, don’t forget the rule of thumb for subtitling: two lines of text per sequence, and each one should not exceed 42 characters, including spaces. Sound tricky? Our experts have elevated these mental gymnastics into an artform.

Samples of Our Work

The video below is part of a campaign run by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to raise awareness about sextortion. The original language is English and we were asked to subtitle it in French. We provided the subtitles to the client as an SRT file to be added to the YouTube video. When playing the video, you may need to click on the subtitles button (or CC) to display the subtitles.

In the following sample, the Canadian Virtual Hospice wanted to increase the reach of their popular video “A Story About Care,” which had gone viral online in English. For the French version of their website, they had us provide subtitles which were then burned onto the video. Here’s the result:

In this last example, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa hired us to provide English and French subtitles for this recording of a Panel Discussion on the art of translation featuring three French-speaking playwrights who explore the complexities of translating written works between French, English and Indigenous languages, and the multifaceted role of the translator in this process. We provided our work to the client in the form of SRT files (one for each language) that can easily be added to a YouTube video, for instance. When playing the video, you may need to click on the subtitles button (or CC) to display the subtitles and/or click the settings button (gear icon) to switch languages.

If you would like to see additional samples or learn more about our video subtitling services, please contact us.