20 tasks, each one witnessed by the sources that watched the job — and behind every one, a prompt you can use tonight.
You’ll spend hours listening and typing. Start by reading the brief: language pair, timing rules, and client style. Use a subtitling tool or plain text editor to create time-coded lines, then check sync against the video.
Later you proofread for meaning, tone, and reading speed (most lines stay under 42 characters per line). Send drafts to producers or use Microsoft Outlook to share files, then fix notes and deliver final SRT or HTML subtitle files.
Common tools include subtitling programs plus basic Office apps. You’ll often export SRT, VTT, or HTML subtitle files and edit transcripts in Microsoft Word or Excel for timing or glossary work.
Some teams use web tools like AceTools.biz or custom systems; others hand off Excel sheets to convert into subtitles. Know how to open and send files with Microsoft Outlook and save plain UTF-8 text for compatibility.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 52,060 people employed in this occupation area, with a median wage of $60,170 per year. The lowest tenth earn about $37,070, and the top tenth about $103,660 per year (BLS).
Pay varies by client: broadcast houses and big localization firms pay more, freelance rates depend on language and turnaround time.
Subtitling converts spoken words into written text timed to the screen; you keep speakers’ meaning and tone but shorten lines for reading speed. Interpreting is spoken or signed live transfer of meaning, often immediate and without editing.
Dubbing replaces the speaker’s voice with another language. Subtitlers focus on written timing, character limits, and on-screen readability — tasks that overlap with translators but need technical timing skills.
AI can speed up transcription and draft translations, but you must check accuracy, tone, and cultural issues. Use AI output as a first pass, then compare against the audio and edit in your subtitling tool or Word/Excel.
Keep confidential content private: follow ethical codes and client rules, do not paste sensitive audio into public AI sites, and delete temporary files. Preserve meaning, and never deliver unverified AI captions for legal or medical content.
Start by practicing with short videos: transcribe in the source language, then write subtitles in the target language using free tools or plain SRT format. Learn timing rules (characters per second) and watch how professional subtitles read on screen.
Build a glossary in Excel or Word, volunteer for small projects, and study style guides. If possible, take a subtitling course or certificate, and practise using Microsoft Office and simple subtitling platforms.
You need fluent reading, writing, and listening in at least two languages, plus quick accurate typing. You must preserve meaning and tone while shortening speech to fit reading speed, and retain details to avoid mistranslation.
Technical skills matter: using Word and Excel, saving UTF-8 text, basic HTML for web subtitles, and following ethical confidentiality rules. Note-taking and memory help when you must hold chunks of speech before typing.