When setting subs to an avi, should the sub start exactly when somebody begins to speak, or something like a tenth or twentieth of a second prior?
I've read some tutes, and I'm familiar with the main kinds of software, converting, timing, and how to synch subs. But this one question is still bugging me.
One reason I'm confused - I've checked avi's I have, and there's quite a bit of varience. Sometimes the subs kick in very slightly prior, sometimes appear immediately when somebody speaks.
In addition, in closing the subs, should they end exactly when somebody has finished speaking?
The answer to your question is that...there is no answer and I am going to explain you why..
I have synchronised over than 30 movies. The point is that I haven't
use to all of them any tactic like "the person speak now so i start the sub now" or "he/she stop speaking now, end of sub".
It depends of the scene... there are scenes that one person speack and after seconds another person speak...that's an easy dialoge because you can use that "blank" of the dialoge to find the right and best timing for the sub so it can read easily..
Unfortunately there ere scenes like an argument dialoge between to persons where the first one try to say something and the other one stop him/her and start his/her monologe... For those scenes I personaly timing the subs like this...
For the first person if the subtitle is a littlebit large I don't start the sub the time he speacks but i start the sub from 0,2 to 0,5 sec. before the time he speacks so when the other person starts to speack too, if the time for the subtitle for the first person was enough to read then start the second subtitle for the other person the exact time he starts to speack, or if you need more time for the first person's sub start the second person's sub with a delay of 0,1-0,2 sec.
When you start a subtitle before the speech it's not something bad.
Basically sometimes it's a nice way to start a subtitle.
For example if a person start a monologe then i reccomend to start the first sub a littlebit earlyer like 0,3 or 0,4 sec. and the second subtitle with a delay of 0,2 sec. so when the ear start to hear something different from what you read the delay of 0,2 would be enouph for you to read the next subtitle.
So it is clearly up to you... But when you timing sub and speech, synchronised at least 5 or 6 speech and then go back and watch over and over again to see if it was easy for you to read and understand the speech or the dialoge...
Thats why my eyes before I start to timing sub and speech was like this ":-)" and after then is like this "8-)". haha.
Anyway that's some ways and tips to time sub and speech.
The programm I use is Subtitle Workshop because you can watch the movie and the sub together. If you use another programm I advise you to start the synchronisation with Subtitle Workshop.
I hope that I was helpfull and solve someway your problem.
So have fun....:-)
