海外大学字幕プロジェクト

The fourth lesson in the Global Universities Subtitling Project shifts its focus to the second half of “Ookami ni Yoroshiku” (Director Sanada Mikiya’s 20minute short.)

The latter half of the film follows the plot twists and turns of main character, Tamaki, who goes exploring deep into the woods with new found friend Tsutomu, who claims to know “where the wolves live”

With the students building subtitling experience week by week, many might start to believe that “things are getting easier.” However, as the students delve further into the script, interpreting some of the idiosyncrasies of Japanese wording continues to challenge the budding subtitlers. As frustrating as this might be, supporting students break through the cultural and wording wall is the basis of the GUSProject.

The beginning of the second half sees Tsutomu call out to Tamaki by using her more formal family name, Kashimura. Tamaki shoots back that this formality is unnecessary. This scene is really important in defining the relationship between the two main characters. The group responsible for subtitling this scene suggested the following:

(Tsutomo) Kashimura, you…
(Tamaki) Tamaki is fine!
(Tsutomo) Okay, Tamaki!

Jessi, the instructor for this section of the class, questioned whether those with limited knowledge of Japan and Japanese would understand that “Kashimura” was referring to a family name. Therefore, she encouraged the students to think of something that could be added to avoid any confusion.

When one student suggested that adding a “Miss” would make things easier to understand, Jessi agreed that this would be the clearest way to deal with this particular subtitle.

(Tsutomu) Miss Kashimura, you…
(Tamaki) Tamaki is fine!
(Tsutomo) Okay, Tamaki!

At the same time, another student suggested the following translation to deal with this tricky piece of dialogue:

(Tsutomu) Kashimura, you…
(Tamaki) First name is fine!
(Tsutomu) Okay, Tamaki!

With Tamaki replying that her “first name is fine”, not only is the family name issue solved, but the subtitles are also able to express how children of the age of Tamaki and Tsutomu would speak. An impressive solution that shows the students are truly starting to grow their subtitling wings.

With the previous lesson on storytelling structure still fresh in their minds, the Ghent University students began work on subtitling the first half of “Ookami ni Yoroshiku”, the 20 minute short by director Sanada Mikiya.

The students had previously been split into four groups and been assigned certain sections of the script to work on (with a strict warning to pay close attention to the character limits!) for homework. It was during this third lesson that the groups had a chance to share their thoughts and ideas on the sections they had worked on. The class instructors, Jessi and Ishii, challenged the students with thought-provoking questions on the nuance and tone behind each subtitle.

The opening scene of the film sees the mother of the main character Tamaki, question whether her daughter’s move to Tokyo was working out. The students responsible for this part of the film went with ‘How are things in Tokyo?’ as the conversation starter, however Jessi questioned whether there was something missing in the nuance. She encouraged the students to ask other groups for advice and lively discussion ensued.

One student asked whether the mother was suggesting something closer to “Tokyo doesn’t suit you, does it?” which Jessi agreed contained the appropriate nuance. The language used in the mother’s question is simple enough, but it is necessary to express what is not said; a mother’s worry about her daughter being in a big city and having a hard time. The following lecture stressed the visual media translator’s responsibility to express much more than the language to successfully deliver an emotional message.

At the end of the previous lecture, the students were given 12 important lines from the film and asked to translate them. The second lecture then proceeded to look at the students’ translations and the instructors provided them with feedback.

Along with learning the “rules” of subtitling, the students were also introduced to the importance of expressing character feeling through translation – essential skills that will be necessary for the further subtitling to come.

The second lecture with Ghent University kicked off with a discussion on the film that the students will subtitle, the 20-minute short by director Sanada Mikiya called “Ookami ni Yoroshiku” (We shall wait for the students to find an appropriate English translation for the title!) This film won the Grand Prix prize at the 2014 Chichibu Film Festival and the students, charged with watching the film for homework, enjoyed discussion of its content.

At first, the students took on the challenge of explaining the film in one sentence. The instructor for the first stage of the class, Jessi Nuss, threw out the question “What is the story about?” and was greeted with various responses including “a film about friendship” and “a film about one girl’s passion for finding a wolf.”

The students were then split into groups and tasked with finding the three turning points that are crucial to the film’s structure. Through discussion, some students suggested the turning points were to be found in the scene where 3rd grade student Tamaki is talking with her father, the point when Tamaki meets Tsutomu, and the scene in the mountains when Tamaki tells Tsutomu “Let’s go back home.”

This activity was the main focus of the lesson; the aim being to highlight the importance of story structure and its fundamental relation to subtitling. The activity was followed by instructors Jessi and Kiyotake Ishii giving feedback and further explanation.

At the end of the previous lecture, the students were given 12 important lines from the film and asked to translate them. The second lecture then proceeded to look at the students’ translations and the instructors provided them with feedback.

Although the idiosyncrasies of the Japanese language provided certain hurdles for the students to overcome, this is all part of the subtitling skill-building process. The students’ new found knowledge of story structure will certainly push the students in the right direction to deliver effective subtitles.

Students from Ghent University in Belgium began their first steps toward sharing Japanese short film with the world with the commencement of the Global Universities Subtitling Project. 17 enthusiastic students were introduced to the concept of visual media translation and the role of the subtitle. Veteran visual media translator and instructor Kiyotake Ishii started off the class by introducing two sets of subtitles for the same movie scene and elicited thoughts and opinions from the students on the nuances and differences.

During the early stages of the lesson, one student had a Eureka moment with the realization that subtitles and the feeling and atmosphere of a scene are intrinsically linked. This led to a deeper discussion on the definition of visual content and the role that subtitles play.

California native visual media translator Jessi Nuss then took over the role of class instructor and split the students into groups of 4 and 5 to give them their first opportunity at subtitling. The point of the exercise was ‘storytelling’ and ‘the realistic expression of character’. This proved a challenge for the first time subtitlers who struggled to find the context in a dinner time scene of a Japanese drama. However, after initial difficulties, one of the students realized that revising the subtitles to fit the characters’ gestures was key to creating realistic subtitles. Following this logic, the students made quick progress and startled their two instructors with creative subtitles of sparkling quality.