What an interesting discussion. I've edited a few Spanish commercials without speaking the language but one of the funniest moments was when I TD'd a live call in game show in Spanish. The director spoke Spanish but neither I, the audio mixer or the dubner operator spoke Spanish. We quickly learned by the callers inflection when it was time to trigger the winning or losing effects and sounds. It was a fun experience.
--- In Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Cook <jeff@...> wrote:
>
> I've cut docs and informational stuff in Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, American Sign Language, and maybe a couple more (even British, hah). You really must have someone at your side, at least for the first pass and then checking in frequently. Then ask lots of questions about subtleties of phrasing, whether you can anticipate a cut, whether lingering on a shot creates a communication blunder, whether a particular broll shot that would fine in English is a bad mismatch in the foreign language, whether a cultural issue would prohibit a shot you'd think nothing of using otherwise (like showing someone crossing their legs). Broll mismatches can create impressions that can crash into the message, and even contradict it. There's a surprising number of things that can miss the mark, so anybody who says you don't need someone who actually speaks the language -and knows the culture- with you throughout doesn't care nearly enough about the work or the message. It's actually a wonderful exercise to sensitize you to the subtleties for shows in your own language as well. But you'll have the same issues of whether you should always "see it & say it", or to intentionally enhance the verbal with complementary images.
>
> And of course, you'd usually expect a longer show than you would have in English, I think for two reasons. If the show was written in English and then translated, the script is approaching the message from a different mindset which has to be reshuffled for the new language. But if the show was written in the target language first,m it would more comfortably build its thoughts in the more economical and flowing structures of that language. Translation is always less efficient.
>
> Secondly, because of inherent characteristics of each language. I did a show in Arabic years ago about the new computer system for a national airline. Turns out Arabic doesn't usually import words, so out show turned out to be roughly about, with MUCH repetition, "the machine that thinks for the big machine that flies in the sky", that sort of thing. I believe German can squeeze most of a sentence into one word, so there's the flipside of that.
>
> Character dialogue of course would be a whole other matter, which would be much more demanding on the interpreter (not simply a translator, mind you) in the room with you. They would hopefully be somebody with a sense of production, or you'll lose time trying to justify stylistic touches that have less to do with the message. Having a self-consciously "Mr Hollywood Auteur" type of client in the room is much harder to work around when he's the only one who speaks the language.
>
> I hope some of that helps. It's actually a pretty cool experience. I'm waiting for my big debut in Hindi. Gotta happen sometime.
>
> --
> Jeff Cook
> jeff@...
> 703-980-1104 (cell)
>
> Cook Studios, Inc
> Freelance Video Editing
> Washington DC & Portable
> http://CookStudios.com
>
>
>
>
> On Jul 19, 2011, at 4:05 PM, Alan Miller wrote:
>
> > I once saw Tim Squyres edit an Ang Lee movie in Chinese. He had a translater sitting next
> > to him. I asked him if he understood Chinese and he said no but he was able to do it this way.
> > I could never figure out how he did it but he went on to edit most of Ang Lee's movies.
> >
> > Alan Miller
> > 48 Hours Mystery
> > CBS News
> >
> > From: Michael Brockington <brocking@...>
> > To: Avid-L2 <Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com>
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 3:53 PM
> > Subject: [Avid-L2] Suggestions for cutting a doc in a foreign language
> >
> > I've been offered a doc to cut, where 80-90% of the speech will be
> > Mandarin and Cantonese, of which I understand not a word.
> >
> > Do folks on the list have any experience to share about approaching this
> > kind of material? I've worked on scripted stuff in other languages, but
> > when I contemplate the kind of dialogue editing I would normally do on a
> > documentary, it seems like a very different kettle of fish.
> >
> > Any suggestions much appreciated.
> >
> > --Michael Brockington
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
>
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