Subtitling Mode

1. Introduction

Subtitling Mode is a version of Smart Editor that allows monolingual subtitles to be edited while viewing the corresponding video file(s). It is applied for Caption, Subtitle Styling and Subtitle Validation jobs.

Please note that for Subtitle Localisation jobs, the Smart Editor functionalities are different. For this job type, please refer to the Video Preview in Smart Editor section.

 

Glossary

Relevant terms/acronyms used in this guide and descriptions. 

Term/Acronym	Description
Playhead	When editing audio or video, the Playhead is a graphic line in the timeline that represents the position, or frame, of the material that is currently being accessed.

2. Accessing the tool

To access Smart Editor, you must log in to the LanguageWire platform (https://platform.languagewire.com/) first and accept the assigned job. 

After accepting the job, click “Online Tool” at the top of the job page to open Smart Editor.

3. Video preview

Subtitling mode includes a video preview. This feature allows you to edit video subtitles in a very simple way using Smart Editor.

The video file preview is displayed in the panel by default.

Important! For a better experience with the video preview, we recommend you use the Chrome browser.

Note: In subtitling mode, to ensure that subtitles display correctly, the size of the side panel cannot be adjusted.

If you are using a Mac, you should adjust your system settings as follows to ensure that the subtitles are displayed correctly in the video preview:

System settings > Accessibility > Hearing (Captions) > Create a new display with

• Background colour: allow video to override
• Background opacity: transparent and allow video to override

3.1 Video popup  

Click on popup button to display the video in a separate window.

3.2 Switching between video files

If your job contains more than one video, you can switch between video files using the file selector located at the top left of the editor panel. 

In the top right-hand corner of editor panel you can see the number of confirmed segments out of the total segments for the selected video file, as well as the file progress percentage in brackets.

You can easily check if your job contains more than one video file, as this information is displayed to the left of the file selector.

Note that the file progress indicates the progress for the current file, whereas the job progress indicates the overall progress considering all files in the current job. In both cases, the progress depends on the number of confirmed segments.

3.3 Video player control

You can manage the video playback using the video player control located at the bottom of the video preview screen.

3.3.1 Video scrub bar

Use the purple video scrub bar to move around the video frames, jumping from one point to another as needed. 

Move the playhead or mouse cursor along the bar to see a specific frame of the video.

• The total video length is shown at the end of the scrub bar.
• If you move the cursor along the scrub bar, the time is displayed.

3.3.2 Dynamic video-segments navigation

On the left-hand side of the video player control there are three buttons that allow you to quickly identify and select segments.

"Go to the corresponding segment”

1. Click this button to go to the segment that corresponds to the specific video clip that is being previewed on the screen.

Note: this feature is affected by pagination, and the “Go to the corresponding segment” functionality only navigates to a segment on the current page.

2. Smart Editor highlights the segment in green.

Tip: Use this option when the video is playing and you would like to quickly open the segment that corresponds to the video clip you are viewing.

“Play only selected segment”

Use this button to restrict the playing time to the selected segment only. 

1. Select the segment you are working on.
2. Then click the “Play only selected segment” button in the video player to restrict the playing time to the selected segment only. After playing the selected segment once, the video will stop.
3. Keep the button activated to see different segments and their corresponding video clip only.

• You can move through the segments, and the video preview will play the associated video clip.

Tip: You can also use this button to get Smart Editor to play exactly the segment you are working on, so you do not get distracted by other segments.

“Play in a loop”

Use the “Play in a loop” button to repeatedly view either the full video or a selected clip. 

1) Click the “Play in a loop” button to view the full video repeatedly.
2) To view a specific clip in a loop:

• Select the segment you are working on.
• Then click the “Play only selected segment” button to restrict the playing time to the selected segment only.
• Click on “Play in a loop” so the selected clip is played repeatedly.

Tip: You can also use the “Go to the corresponding segment”, “Play only selected segment” and “Play in a loop” buttons in popup mode for smooth navigation between the video preview and the segments, even when the video preview is on a different screen.

3.3 Playback options

You can start/stop the video playback using the options provided in the centre of the video player control.

Play/Stop

There are several options to start/stop your video.

1. You can use the “Play” button to start video playback.

2. Click “Pause” to stop the video.

3. You can also click anywhere on the video preview screen to play/pause the video.

Another option is using the keyboard shortcut [Alt + Ctrl + Down] for a quick play and pause of the video while you are working on the subtitles.

Rewind/Forward

Click the “Rewind 10s” option to jump 10 seconds backwards in your video preview.

Click the “Forward 10s” option to jump 10 seconds forward in your video preview.

Tip: You can also use the shortcuts [Alt + Ctrl + Left] to rewind 10s and [Alt + Ctrl + Right] to jump 10s forward in the video while you are working on the subtitles, so you do not need to use the video player control each time.

4. 3.3.4 Playback speed/volume options 

You can manage volume, speed and full screen visualisation using the buttons on the right-hand side. 

Volume

1. Click the volume button.
2. Click and drag the mouse cursor along the vertical bar to adjust the volume for the video.

Playback speed

1. Click the playback speed button, e.g. “1x”.
2. Select the speed you require for the video preview.

Note: Any rate above 1x increases the speed of the video preview while any rate below 1x slows it down.

Full screen

Click the full screen button on the right if you wish to see the video in a separate bigger window.

Tip: We encourage you to use this option once you have finished checking all the subtitles. This way, you can check your work in a bigger window and easily spot any errors.

4. Working with segments

The text is divided into segments and you can navigate through them to work on each segment individually.

The segment you are currently working on appears in white and the segments above and below are greyed out.

4.1 Video playback for segments

When playing a video, the segments are progressively highlighted in green in sync with the video clip playback in the preview. This way, you can easily spot the relevant segment associated with a specific video frame.

In the example below, the video is playing the clip that corresponds to segment 1.

4.2 Video playback for segments and current segment

It is possible to work on a different segment while the video playback is progressing, and the corresponding segments are highlighted in green.

In the example below, the video is playing the clip that corresponds to segment 3 and segment 6 is being edited.

4.3 Editing the segment displayed in video playback

If you are working on the same segment as the one currently being played in the video, Smart Editor highlights it differently: the subtitle is white and highlighted in green.

In the example below, segment 3 is being edited and also corresponds to the video clip being played in the video preview.

4.4 Timestamps

The timestamps are available above the subtitles.

The timestamps comprise: 

• Start: the video timeline point when the subtitle starts.
• End: the video timeline point when the subtitle ends.
• Duration: total time for which the subtitle will be displayed on screen.
  

 

You can edit the start and end timestamps if necessary by clicking on the timestamp you want to edit and typing the new times.  

When editing the timestamps, make sure you use the correct format. If the timestamp is incorrect or some numbers are missing, the timestamp turns red. 

An explanatory message is shown when the mouse cursor is hovered over the info icon next to incorrect timestamps.

This message provides further information on the restrictions for start / finish time points based on the surrounding segments:

5. 4.5 Line breaks 

Line breaks are represented as blue tags in the segments. The line breaks are applied in the video preview, so you can see them directly in the preview. 

To insert a line break, first place the cursor where you want to insert the line break, then click the “Insert line break” button. 

The blue line break tag is then added to the segment. 

You can also use the keyboard shortcut [Alt + Enter] to insert a line break. 

6. 4.6 Adding and deleting segments 

In subtitling mode, you can add and delete segments as follows. 

1. 4.6.1 Adding a segment 

Press the enter key to create a new segment. 

When the cursor is located at the beginning of the segment, a new segment is created above the current one. If the current segment is the last one on the page, the new segment is created at the end of the current page and the content of the current segment is moved to the following page.  

When the cursor is located at the end of the segment, a new segment is created below the current one. If the current segment is the last one on the page, the new segment is created at the beginning of the following page and you are automatically redirected to the new segment on the following page. 

Please note that you cannot add a new segment if there is no space left between the end of the current segment and the start of the next one. 

2. 4.6.2 Deleting a segment 

3. 1. To delete a segment, click the “Delete segment” button located below the segment text.
4.  

 

2. A confirmation message is displayed.

Click “YES, DELETE” to proceed.

3) You can recover a deleted segment by clicking the “Undo” button in the top bar.

7. 4.7 Splitting and merging segments 

You can split and merge segments as needed. 

1. 4.7.1 Splitting segments 

2.  
3. 1. To split a segment into two segments, first place the cursor at the position you want your segment to be split.
   2. Press the enter key.
   3. The segment is split at the position of the cursor.
   4. The timestamps are adjusted automatically based on the number of characters for the segments affected by the split action.
4.  
5. If the segment to be split is the last one on the current page, the part of the segment that comes after the cursor becomes a new segment on the following page, and you are automatically redirected to the following page after performing the split action.

2. 4.7.2 Merging segments 

1. To merge two segments into one, first place the cursor at the beginning of the segment to be merged with the previous one.
2. Press the backspace key.
3. The segment is merged with the previous segment.
4. The timestamps are adjusted automatically for the segments affected by the merge action.

 

You can also place the cursor at the end of the segment to be merged with the previous one and press the backspace key.

When the segment to be merged with the previous one is located at the beginning of the current page and the cursor is placed at the beginning of the segment, the current segment is merged with the last one of the previous page, and you are automatically redirected to the previous page after performing the merge action.
When the segment to be merged with the next one is located at the end of the current page and the cursor is placed at the end of the segment, the current segment is merged with the first one of the following page, and you are not redirected to the following page after performing the merge action.

8. 4.8 Confirming segments 

9. Once you have finished editing a segment, you can save it by clicking the “Confirm” button or using the shortcut [Ctrl + Enter].
10.  

Please note that in the subtitling mode, segments can only have one of two statuses: Draft or Confirmed.

5. 5. Subtitle Styling

You can apply several styling options to all subtitles using the Style section. If necessary, you can also apply custom styling to specific segments.

1. 5.2 Style settings 

The Style section can be accessed by clicking the “Style” button at the top of the editor panel.

After clicking on this button, the Style section appears. 

The style settings selected from this section apply to all subtitles in the selected video file. 

You can modify the following style settings: 

• Background (activated or deactivated)
• Background colour
• Font colour
• Font type
• Font size
• Subtitle alignment (left, centre, right)
• Subtitle position (bottom, centre, top)

After editing the Style settings, a green confirmation message “Styles applied!” appears to let you know that the changes have been applied.

 

2. 5.2 Custom styling 

While the general style settings apply to all segments, for some videos it might be necessary to apply some custom styling adjustments to specific segments. For example, when the subtitle is likely to hide an important part of the image on screen, it is recommended that you adjust its position accordingly. For that reason, the position and alignment can be modified for each segment. 

You can modify the position and alignment for individual segments using the custom styling options located below the segment text.

After applying custom styling, a brush icon appears at the right of the segment to indicate that the segment has a styling that deviates from the general style settings. 

Note: when modifying the general style settings, segments with custom styling are not affected.

If you wish to reset segments with custom styling to the general style settings, this must be done manually for each segment using the reset button. 

 

6. Spellcheck in the Subtitling mode

In the subtitling mode, the spellchecker works as in the regular Smart Editor mode. You can find further information about the spellchecker here.