FAQ - Fansubbing Questions

How long does it take to sub one episode?

Forever... or at least it sometimes feels that way.
To be honest it depends on a lot of factors. First the length and complexity of the drama, that means it takes more time and effort to sub one episode of KO One or Why Why Love than it does for say, and episode of Star Apple (the shortest drama we sub). Then, there is the factor of real life loves to get in the way. And of course you must always expect Murphy's Law to kick you in the ass, everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. And those super annoying members who think they are freaking Houdini.

And let us not forget, we too are drama addicts. Perhaps even more so than the average person who reads this blog considering we dedicate so much time to subbing as well as watching. But yes, being addicts means we too spend many hours watching shows we love. Most of which are not our projects. And as all of you know, good dramas can be a big distraction.

So factoring in the drama, life, technical issues, vanishing members and our own viewing habits, I would say, on average, it takes between a week and a month to complete one episode of something.

Why do you have so many projects? Wouldn't it be better/easier/faster to only have a few at a time?

haha... you'd think. However, we have... about 100 members. Some more active than others, some are on vacation, some are bogged down with schoolwork or real life stuff. But still having that many people focus on only a few projects? I'd say about 95 or so of those people would sit around with absolutely nothing to do and they would get bored. Why have them sit around doing nothing and being bored when they could be working on something they (and you) would enjoy?

People may think that with so many people, there should be no reason that some episodes take awhile, but many things factor in to why an episode might take longer than others. Technical issues as well as personal. And lets face it, the viewers have to watch a show ONCE. Subbers... well, we watch the same episode A LOT. The characters you hate... we hate more. The parts you hate we hate more. To be honest, no matter how much I actually love a show I get (insert drama name here)-ed out all the time.

Having lots of projects allows us to mix it up a bit. Instead of just taking a break all together we can trade projects and not go nuts. I'd probably end up hating a show if I had to work on only it straight through.

Releases often have a pattern actually. They come in bursts and often a rotation of series because it's a guarantee that at least one show is driving each member nuts at all times. Some shows even drive us nuts non-stop.

Now that's not to say we don't take full stop breaks as well. We do get stressed out to the point where we need to run away from all the dramas for a little while but being able to switch projects does help us from getting burned out so often.

To put it simply, doremii members are busy bees on projects. We don't take on more projects than we have people willing to work on them.

When is the next episode of (insert drama name here) coming out?

When it is done and no sooner. Please be patient. Subbing is a long task and real life always comes first. Look on the page for whatever drama you are wondering about. We post the progress there.

Will you email me when you release the next episode of (insert drama name here)?

No. We do not have the time to email every person who watches our sub personally every time we release an episode. Don't be lazy. Check for releases yourself. So what if you don't notice a new episode the hour or day it is released. If you check once a week you will still be able to download the releases.

What does translating/spot/timing/editing/QC/Typesetting/encoding mean? And why are there so many phases?

We employ several stages to our subbing process to ensure the highest quality subs we can manage.

Translating:
-Translates each line of Chinese/Japanese into English.

Spot = Spot Translating:
-Double checks the translations for accuracy
-fills any parts the translator couldn't translate.

Timing:
-syncs the translations so every line appears at the same time as the Chinese subs or with the dialog.

Editing:
-Fixes spelling.
-Fixes the grammar of the English.
-Shortens and changes sentences if necessary.
-Looks up quotes.

QC = Quality Control:
-Fixes any mistakes anyone else made.
-Double checks timing and editing.
-Makes sure there is enough time to read everything.
-Maintains consistency (i.e. flashbacks, names, objects, ect.)
-Looks up facts for notes.
-Adds credits.

Typesetting:
-Sets styles and positions of subs.
-Adds song pinyin and karaoke.

Encoding:
-Coverts rmbv files to AVI.
-Turns softsubs into hardsubs.
-Edits videos when necessary.

Will you sub (insert drama name here)?

Who knows... We sub what the team wants to sub. Our goal is to have fun first and please the audience second. When we want suggestions we will ask for them, but mostly we sub dramas that we want to see.

I want to help. How do I join?

When we are recruiting we will announce it on the blog, in our DA thread, and list the positions on the staff/recruitment page. Check there to see if there are any positions available first then email us at doremiifansubs@gmail.com Normally we do not require new members to have any experience because we are willing to teach.

What happened to all the videos on Veoh/megaupload?

Deleted! Why? Because streaming is just too much of a pain in our butts. Evey site we know of has ridiculous rules and glitches. It's too stressful and we have too many videos to keep moving about. We really did try but we are tired of fighting with streaming sites. Please read our FAQ if you need help on how to download shows. We cover every issue you should have. And no this does not change our rules so please no one upload our videos on your own.