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 KO3 or Down with Love than it does for say, and episode of My Prince. 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 on average... about 60-100 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 n unofficial 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. Just keep checking and eventually I'm sure what you are waiting for will be released.
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 or subscribe to our blogs RSS feeds. The links are above the header banner.
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.
-Makes sure there are notes for cultural, language, or other confusing references.
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 more facts for notes.
FC = Final Check:
-The final QC done by the project mod to ensure the episode is up to their standards.
Typesetting:
-Sets styles and positions of subs.
-Adds song pinyin and karaoke.
Encoding:
-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 interest us. We have excellent and broad taste in dramas though, so I'm sure you will like something we sub.
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 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.
My group wants to use your English subtitles to translate into a foreign language. Will you give us permission?
The answer is no. We no longer give permission to foreign language groups to use our English subtitles to translate from. So please do not use our subtitles to translate from or ask us for our softsubs or raw videos. All emails and/or comments regarding this will be ignored and deleted.
2. Please don't upload your own encodings or edits of our fansubs.