Translator: Karolina Pruszyńska Reviewer: Lucas Paladini
I'm going to tell you a secret and I hope you will keep it.
To people responsible for creening: shh.
I have already seen films that will have their premiere in 2015.
In fact, I'm one of the people
who watch films in Spain before you all.
Even before the team that has filmed it in America itself.
Why? I'm an audiovisual translator.
I take care of translating these films.
I ensure that you may watch them well subtitled or dubbed.
And the truth is, I love this job.
Not only because I can watch films before everyone else can,
but because of the many advantages which make my work a pleasure.
For example, I don't have a boss.
I'm my own boss.
I don't have anyone to put pressure on me.
I'm free.
I can organize my own timetable, I don't have a fixed one.
I don't work 9 to 5, I can work a split shift.
I can work only on Monday and Tuesday.
I'm free to put off work, go to a party
and work double shift the next day.
I can do what I want with my time.
The other advantage is that my office is where I am.
I am here.
What I need to work is just an internet connection,
available almost everywhere nowadays, and a computer.
In fact, I will show you where I have actually worked.
This may be my office, and so it was.
With spectacular tropical views.
Beautiful.
Or this one, sitting in a hammock with the view on the park
and on the pond, with the sea in the background.
Very pretty.
And also this one, with King's Landing in the background.
Game of Thrones fans will surely recognize this view.
I've been working there. I've been freely working there.
Well, it can make us think: do translators work alone?
The truth is that we don't.
We are part of a chain, a cog, a link.
We have colleagues, but we're cooperating from a distance
by internet.
My colleagues may be in Barcelona
or anywhere else.
I will tell you a little about the process.
Well, the central cog is a coordinator.
A coordinator is the one who takes care of the communication within the team.
He sends me the film and the script,
I translate it and give it back.
He then sends it to the adaptator, whose role is to change my text a little,
so it fits the lip movement of a character.
Because sometimes it's a bit too long
or too short and it has to be adjusted to what the character is saying.
It has also to be adjusted, if the character's lips form an "o"
and in my text there is an "a".
It should be changed, so it looks as real as possible.
After the adaptator, who may be the translator themselves,
I am translator and adaptator, comes the dubbing director.
They are in charge of choosing the voice actors
and are present in the studio during the recording.
Then comes what I call the magic, when dubbing is produced.
The studio with the actors.
I will tell you something interesting.
I'm sure that you know
that the same actor is dubbing Leonardo DiCaprio and Jim Carrey.
They have the same actor's voice.
But maybe you don't know that Leonardo DiCaprio is being dubbed
by at least two different men.
There are at least two men, each one in a different film,
and the voice always seems the same, but in reality it is not.
That's why I say that this is magic, the magic of the cinema.
A small part of this Hollywood magic is being created in Spain.
I brought you a video to help you understand it.
It's a short Betty Boop cartoon.
I don't know if you know, but its copyrights have expired.
So, you can download the Betty Boop cartoons
and it's completely legal.
We're going to watch it.
First, we're going to see it in English, I'm going to tell you what is being said
and then I am going to try to dub it.
Let's watch it in English.
"Padgy! I’ve done it... I’ve bought the baby monkey!
From now on, he is your little pal."
Well, what happens in this clip is that Betty Boop was walking down the street,
and she saw a man with a baby monkey, she loved it and wanted to buy it.
But her dog had already known this monkey,
they met and had a fight.
That's why, when Betty says "Padgy!", which is the name of the dog,
"I’ve done it... I’ve bought the baby monkey!
From now on, he is your little pal."
Which means: [she translates the text into Spanish]
Dog says "uf" and faints.
Now, let's see it with a dubbing.
Better look at the video, not at me.
I'm going to step away a bit so you can see the effect, ok?
No, I'm not going to step away.
"Padgy "I’ve done it... I’ve bought the baby monkey!
From now on, he is your little pal.
Ok.
Thank you.
(Applause)
Sure, it would be better with the soundtrack and all.
It was only for you to understand.
If you want to jump on board,
if you want to form part of this chain and become audiovisual translators,
the first thing you have to do after you finish school
is to study Translation and Interpretation.
Today, we have this course at many Spanish universities.
Not yet in Asturias, the closest one would be Salamanca or Vigo,
but there is a lot of them in Spain.
To specialize in audiovisual, after the bachelor's degree,
the best option would be to master in audiovisual translation.
We have very good courses in Spain, which can open many doors for you.
If you don't want to obtain a master's degree,
because you don't feel like studying for another year or two,
you can complete short courses, online or in-person ones.
They are cheaper and shorter than a master but they give you less options.
With master's degree in audiovisual translation, as in my case,
you not only can translate films and TV-series,
but also web pages and videogames,
to which I also dedicate myself a lot to, and there is a lot of market.
And that's all, I hope to see you at some translators' conference.
I hope that I have inspired you a little. Thank you very much for coming.
(Applause)