Hi, this is going to sound rather bitter, but I feel the need to say/ask it anyway: I studied subtitling during my MA and produced an intralingual SDH project using Aegisub software (we also learned WinCAPS), and enjoyed it immensely. The accompanying essay was on the challenges of conveying comic dialogue to deaf and hard of hearing audiences (I used 'Allo 'Allo! to illustrate them). I received a Distinction grade for the module and was certain it was the right job for me. Just after I finished the course, I applied for a subtitling position with a major subtitling company and was subsequently invited to come in for a test and interview. I was horrified to find that pretty much all their work was produced using re-speaking, even pre-recorded TV, and that the test was exactly that. Suffice to say, although I did well in the interview, I BOMBED the test. I cocked up so badly that they just couldn't justify offering me the position (understandably so, all throughout the test I was mortified in front of the woman examining me). Years later, I still feel aggrieved that a master's course at a respected UK university did not teach me current/standard practice (re-speaking was only mentioned in passing), and therefore caused me to make a complete fool of myself and waste both mine and the company's time. If I'd been taught re-speaking, I would never have even applied for jobs in subtitling.
Anyway, after all that... if you're able to share the info, who is your employer? I'd still love to work in subtitling, as long as it didn't involve any re-speaking (which is apparently rare these days).
Sorry if I sound overly self-concerned, and good luck with the AMA!
xSpiralStatic20 karma
Hi, this is going to sound rather bitter, but I feel the need to say/ask it anyway: I studied subtitling during my MA and produced an intralingual SDH project using Aegisub software (we also learned WinCAPS), and enjoyed it immensely. The accompanying essay was on the challenges of conveying comic dialogue to deaf and hard of hearing audiences (I used 'Allo 'Allo! to illustrate them). I received a Distinction grade for the module and was certain it was the right job for me. Just after I finished the course, I applied for a subtitling position with a major subtitling company and was subsequently invited to come in for a test and interview. I was horrified to find that pretty much all their work was produced using re-speaking, even pre-recorded TV, and that the test was exactly that. Suffice to say, although I did well in the interview, I BOMBED the test. I cocked up so badly that they just couldn't justify offering me the position (understandably so, all throughout the test I was mortified in front of the woman examining me). Years later, I still feel aggrieved that a master's course at a respected UK university did not teach me current/standard practice (re-speaking was only mentioned in passing), and therefore caused me to make a complete fool of myself and waste both mine and the company's time. If I'd been taught re-speaking, I would never have even applied for jobs in subtitling.
Anyway, after all that... if you're able to share the info, who is your employer? I'd still love to work in subtitling, as long as it didn't involve any re-speaking (which is apparently rare these days).
Sorry if I sound overly self-concerned, and good luck with the AMA!
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