Subbing Soft (WAS Re: DVD play)

[Michael Raine]

----- Original Message -----
From: Abe' Mark Nornes <amnornes at umich.edu>
To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2000 8:16 PM
Subject: Subbing Soft (WAS Re: DVD play)


> At 9:33 PM -0500 2/7/00, Michael Raine wrote:
> > It's not perfect --
> > the synchronization tends to drift
>
> Why does it drift? You'd think it'd be locked in....

I think the DVD includes a time code. I HOPE that the DVD player displays
that rather than just counting the frames. But the subtilting software has
no connection to the DVD -- it gets its time from the system clock. So sound
and subtitles get up to 2 seconds out of sync over the length of a movie.
Long enough to be annoying. Of course, you can always re-sync the time but
an automatic solution would be better. I asked the author if there was
anything he could do.

>
> I presume you could easily produce a video tape of this as well?

Sure, but the quality's much lower -- and the copyright situation much less
clear...

>
> I've subtitled _Kurutta kajitsu_ and _Arashi o yobu otoko_ so far
> > and I'll be doing Buta to gunkan next (the 16mm print is no longer
available
> > for non-theatrical screenings). Anyone else feel like doing some
subtitling?
>
> When I get back to the states, I do plan on doing something. I'm thinking
of
> some Meiji and early Taisho stuff at first...possibly an English benshi
> soundtrack as well.

A good English benshi soundtrack would be highly useful. Though I suppose
live would be pedagogically more effective! I had a hard time finding
anything early to show this semester. The best I could do was the English
version of Narikin (Sanji Goto) that you mentioned on this list. Do you know
if anyone is planning to release any early Japanese film on DVD?

>
> Thanks for taking the first step towards making our subtitling consortium
a
> reality, Michael!
>
> For more information on the consortium, I've placed the draft "rules" we
> whipped up last year on Kinema Club
> ([http://pears.lib.ohio-state.edu/Markus/] under teaching).
>
> Markus

It seems to me that "fan subs" or the equivalent are the only way to expand
the pool of teachable (or viewable by non-Japanese speakers) Japanese films
beyond old art movies and the occasional festival success. The higher
resolution of DVD is more suited to classroom projection than video. If
anyone is interested in joining in on this effort, I'd be happy to make a
list of what's necessary. Does anyone know where to get an accurate list of
(unsubtitled) Japanese films on DVD?

Michael