Best s/w for transcription?

[fvisagie]

Hi All,

What subtitling software would you recommend for easily transcribing films - typing the text of spoken dialogue into timed subtitles?

Ideally the program would support multiple actors and I think it would be quite handy to let the program play through the film and just hit a key whenever a new title needs to start for the first pass. Then on the next pass one would assign the actor, type the dialogue text, adjust the start and end time etc.

I need to end up with .SSA format but can convert from most common text subtitle formats if need be.

What subtitling software would you recommend?

Thanks,
Francois

[manusse]

aegisub

[fvisagie]

I've been using Aegisub for styling/typesetting and just finished transcribing a movie with it. Although a slick and good-looking program and excellent at styling/typesetting, transcription was laborious.

For example, adding a new subtitle at current video time requires one of the following:

* press Enter to create a new subtitle, then scroll playback forwards/backwards to set the start and end times with the mouse or with Ctrl-3/4; or
* use the mouse to choose Subtitles.Insert Lines.After/Before Current, at Video Time; or
* insert a subtitle (any method), then scroll playback forwards/backwards to where the subtitle needs to start and press Ctrl-6

All of which take too long per subtitle if there are hundreds. A single shortcut key to Insert Lines.After/Before Current, at Video Time would have been so much quicker.

And what was almost worse was timing. Programs like Subtitle Workshop make it possible to automate much of the processing required for timing of new subtitles.

However, in Aegisub things like ensuring subtitles are at least 1.5s long, aren't longer than 6.5s (assuming the author didn't cram them), allow around 0.3s per word within those limits, etc., and don't run into one another have to be done manually.

Would be so nice if one of the code contributors were to add these features - I'd certainly assist with things like testing

Kind regards,
Francois

[filmboss80]

If you can find something better than Aegisub or Subtitle Workshop, please let us know. IMO, they're pretty easy -- considering the task -- and are reliable in accurately placing subs in the right spot. But of course, subtitling from scratch is a labor-intensive process, especially in heavy-dialogue projects. That's because ANY form of extensive dialogue transcription involves a lot of typing.

Take it from someone who used to hardsub language translations in the videotape days -- things are infinitely easier now.

[manono]

I like SubStation Alpha for the job. You can use a WAV file and then click on it for the start and stop points. I've never used AegisSub or any of the others and don't know how it compares in ease of use with them. The subs are created in SSA format and the WAV audio used for synching must be 11,025HZ, 8-Bit, and Mono.

[träskmannen]

I recommend VisualSubSync.

[filmboss80]

Manono (and Fvisagie) -- give Aegisub a try. As a former SubStation Alpha user, I loved the fact that I could load the 48k, 16-bit, stereo .wav files from my soundtracks without converting to a lower bitrate. Aegisub also does the start and stop points on the audio waveform. I just save to .ssa instead of .ass so that it will import into GfD better.

[fvisagie]

Hi filmboss80, I've been using Aegisub.

But as posted on Sep 23, 2008 10:50, to me it's clear that its authors paid very little if any attention to transcription capabilities - 1) easily creating accurately-timed empty subtitles on the fly and 2) automatically doing bulk timing adjustments afterwards.

I'm hoping that there's something out there that provides the above two as well as Aegisub's polished handling of styling and typesetting: multiple actors, multiple styles, style overrides, integrated video viewer to tell whether speaker is on/off-screen and so on.

But I think (calling all Aegisub people!!! ) that a winner would be if Aegisub just added 1) and 2) above.

Kind regards,
Francois