a guide to timing in aegisub_v2

8/10/2019 A Guide to Timing in Aegisub_v2

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A Guide to Timing inAegisub

Author: jadpraetLast Update: 27 Jun 2011

Disclaimer: This document has as a goal to teach new timers how to do their job.However, I will not claim that this is the ultimate way to do things. After all, every timer willeventually develop his or her own style. This however, is the way I would e plain things toa newbie and thus it!s mostly based on my way of timing and the way I learned it.


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Table of Contents

1 Getting Started ...................................... ....................................... ................................... 11.1 What is timing?..................................................................................................... 11.2 Downloading Aegisub........................................................................................... 11.3 Loading the ne essar! "iles.................................................................................. 1

1.# $he options menu................................................................................................. 2

2 The Basics ...................................................................................................................... #2.1 %ough timing........................................................................................................ #2.2 &ine timing........................................................................................................... '

2.2.1 Lead(in and lead(out................................................................................ '2.2.2 Line(lin)ing............................................................................................... '2.2.3 *e!"rame snapping.................................................................................. +

2.3 $he timing post(pro essor................................................................................... 72.# ,he )ing !our wor)............................................................................................. -

3 elpful Things ............................................................................................................... 10

3.1 ot)e!s............................................................................................................... 103.2 /reparing "or the post(pro essor......................................................................... 113.3 $iming signs........................................................................................................ 133.# Dealing with o erlapping lines............................................................................. 1+3.' issing lines........................................................................................................ 1+3.+ issing )e!"rames............................................................................................... 17

! Special T"pes of Timing ................................................................................................ 17#.1 /re(timing............................................................................................................ 17#.2 Alpha timing......................................................................................................... 17#.3 *arao)e timing..................................................................................................... 1

#.3.1 *anji timer................................................................................................... 20

# Glossar" of Terms ......................................................................................................... 20

$ %&A&'&.............................................................................................................................. 21

( Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 21

A Appendi) A ..................................................................................................................... 22 A.1 $iming guidelines....................................................................... .......................... 22 A.2 $pp settings............................................................ ....................................... ...... 22

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1 Getting Startedtarting4 the most important step "or just about e er!thing. 5" !ou alread! )now all this4 !ou an s)ip

it though. owe er4 at least tr! to s)im through se tions 1.3 and 1.# sin e the! mention a "ewimportant things.

1&1 *hat is timing+

6e"ore we a tuall! get started4 5 will answer this simple(sounding uestion. 5n m! opinion4 goodtiming is s!n ing subtitles with oi es in su h a wa! that the iewer an read them om"ortabl!. 5nparti ular4 this means that the subtitles sta! long enough on s reen to read4 there is no subtitle"li )ering and there are no s ene bleeds.

1&2 ,o-nloading Aegisub

$o download Aegisub4 go to http899www.aegisub.org9 and s roll down to downloads. $here4 !ou ansele t the ersion !ou need. :" ourse4 !ou should install it a"ter downloading.

1&3 Loading the necessar" files

Well4 this step might a tuall! pose some di""i ulties to newbies i" the! don;t ha e a ess to a ideo"ile and a s ript. 5" !ou;re alread! in a "ansub group4 !ou ould as) them to pro ide !ou with a ideoand s ript "or training purposes. 5" not4 5 suggest loo)ing "or a s ript on the internet anddownloading a raw "or the episode.

ere;s a site where !ou an "ind some s ripts8 http899"reetl.wordpress. om9

our main window should now loo) somewhat li)e 5mage 1. >ou might ha e a green audio graph

instead o" the one in the image though. We;ll get ba ) to that later on.

1
http://www.aegisub.org/http://www.aegisub.org/http://freetl.wordpress.com/http://freetl.wordpress.com/http://www.aegisub.org/


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Image ": after loading the necessary files

1&! The options menu


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Image #: the video menu in the options

Image $: the audio menu in the options

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2 The Basics6e"ore sa!ing an!thing else4 5 will stress this "irst8

AB >:E% W:%* A&$ % A, ,$5:ou an set the starting time b! le"t( li )ing in the audio graph whereas the ending time is set b!right( li )ing. $o ommit !our sele tion4 !ou;ll ha e to push button 13 or press I on the )e!board.5" button 1+ is a ti ated4 !ou will then automati all! jump to the ne=t line4 whi h is a real time sa er.

Also4 !ou;ll want button 1' to be turned o"" to pre ent auto( ommitting.

Image %: rough timing

$he most important buttons in the image abo e are 34 +4 -4 13 and 20. $he short )e!s "or these are4 4 D and I. pla!s !our urrent sele tion. pla!s the last '00 ms be"ore !our sele tion. D

pla!s the last '00 ms o" !our sele tion. And I ommits !our hanges4 as e=plained be"ore. 4 and D help a lot to he ) i" !ou timed the line orre tl!. &inall!4 !ou an use the horiContal Coomslider to the le"t o" number 20 to Coom in on the audio graph.

4


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Tip 8 instead o" pressing the s roll bar with !our mouse to mo e "orward4 !ou an also push & on!our )e!board. $hus4 !ou should alwa!s )eep !our le"t hand near the 4 4 D4 I and & )e!s.

ou just ha e to add lead(in and lead(out to ea h o" the lines. >ou an do thiseither b! pressing button 11 and 12 and than ommitting the hange4 or just press , "or lead(in andB "or lead(out on the )e!board4 "ollowed b! I to ommit. $he amount o" lead(in and lead(out that isadded depends on the number !ou "illed in under options earlier.

Attention 8 do not "orget to ommit the hanges a"ter appl!ing lead(in and lead(outF

Another important point 8 no line should be shorter than '00 msF An!thing shorter is ompletel!impossible to readF

2&2&2 Line lin ing A"ter the pre ious step4 !ou probabl! ha e some o erlapping lines. When that;s the ase4 !oushould sele t the two lines4 then right li ) and hoose a)e lines ontinuous G hange endH . $hiswill hange the ending time o" the "irst line to mat h the starting time o" the se ond line.

$here is another situation where !ou;ll want to lin) lines. 5"4 a"ter adding lead(in and lead(out4 twolines are '00 ms or less apart "rom ea h other4 !ou should e=tend the time o" the "irst line to mat hthe one o" the se ond line. Again4 this is done with a)e lines ontinuous G hange endH . $his is topre ent what 5 all subtitle "li )ering . owe er4 some timers use a smaller alue than '00 ms ordon;t do line lin)ing at all be ause the! li)e it more that wa!.

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Image &: line'lin(ing

2&2&3 e"frame snapping

a e !ou noti ed those purple lines that appear "re uentl! in the audio graph? $hose are alled)e!"rames. Esuall!4 the! indi ate that a large portion o" the image on s reen hanges4 e.g. when

the ideo was showing the "a e o" one hara ter spea)ing4 it suddenl! shows the "a e o" the otherhara ter.

5" !ou;re 300 ms or loser to a )e!"rame a"ter adding the lead(in4 !ou should e=tend !our line tostart at that )e!"rame. >ou;ll see that !our ursor is ho ering abo e the )e!"rame i" the white lineturns green.5" !ou;re '00 ms or loser to a )e!"rame a"ter adding the lead(out4 !ou should e=tend !our line toend at that )e!"rame.

Again4 the e=a t alues timers use ar!4 but 300 ms and '00 ms are the ones 5 use.

Image ): the green line you see when hovering above such a purple (eyframe

Attention 8 !ou should alwa!s be alert when snapping to )e!"ramesF napping the start o" a line toa )e!"rame usuall! doesn;t bring an! trouble. napping the end o" a line to a )e!"rame howe er4sometimes doesF .g. some dialogue e=tends 1'0 ms o er the )e!"rame. >ou add the 3'0 ms aslead(out. 5n this ase4 it;s still within '00 ms o" the )e!"rame. 5n this ase4 !ou should tr! snapping itto the )e!"rame. 5" onl! one s!llable disappears b! doing this Gli)e the su "rom desu H it should beall right.

owe er4 i" it;s more than one s!llable4 it;s ris)!. 5n that ase4 !ou will ha e to use !our own judgement. 5s it too noti eable that the subs disappear be"ore the dialogue? 5" the answer is !es 4do not snap to the )e!"rameF

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Image *: both the start and end of the line have been snapped to a (eyframe +notice how I ignorethe little bit of sound after the (eyframe

$his should o er the basi s o" "ine timing. $here is still one small detail4 the splitting o" long lines4but 5 usuall! do that when 5 he ) the ideo.

2&3 The timing post0processor

Did !ou thin) that !ou;d ha e to do all the "ine timing manuall!? Well4 a tuall!4 it;s entirel! possible4but it;s more time onsuming than the automati wa!8 the timing post(pro essor GtppH.

$o a ess the tpp4 li ) $iming @ $iming /ost(/ro essor . We ha e se eral options here. $o ma)esure we ha e a lead(in4 let;s start with adding a lead(in. $o do so4 un he ) all the bo=es e= ept "or

Add lead in and t!pe 1'0 ne=t to it. Also4 !ou should ma)e sure that !ou ha e onl! he )ed thest!les !ou want to appl! it to. When !ou;re read!4 li ) :* . Gsee also 5mage H


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Image -: adding the lead'in

Image : adding the rest +for a #$. *) fps video

$o see the "rame rate o" a ideo4 !ou an install edia5n"o. G http899mediain"o.sour e"orge.net9en H A"ter installing it4 !ou an right( li ) !our ideo "ile and sele t edia5n"o.


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Image "/: finding frame rate with 0ediaInfo

2&! Chec ing "our -or

$his is the most time onsuming part o" timing on e !ou;re er! good at rough timing. Esuall!4rough timing ta)es between 20 to #0 minutes. ou;ll ha e to spot that and orre t it b! !oursel". $his too an be a oided with thete hni ue in se tion 3.2 though.

$wo lines might o erlap when the! shouldn;t. $his usuall! happens be ause the tppdoes )e!"rame snapping a"ter line(lin)ing. $his one is a little hard to a oid i" !ou;reusing the tpp4 so !ou should alwa!s he ) "or this problem.

>ou might noti e missing )e!"rames resulting in s ene bleeds or re erse bleeds Gre"erto se tion 3.+ and se tion ' "or thatH.

A line doesn;t appear long enough to be readable. .ote 8 ometimes4 !ou;ll e en ha eto impro ise a bit and bend the rules to ma)e a line sta! long enough on s reen to bereadable enough.

:ne last thing that !ou might noti e when wat hing the ideo4 is that some subtitles ta)e up morethan two lines on the s reen. 5n su h a ase4 !ou should brea) it at the appropriate pla e Ge.g.pause in spee h or s ene hangeH. /emember 8 subtitles should ne er be longer than 2 linesF

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$o split a line4 sele t it. $hen4 in the te=t bo=4 pla e !our ursor where !ou want to split. %ight( li )and sele t plit at ursor Gpreser e timesH . A"ter that4 !ou;ll manuall! ha e to time the two lines4in luding adding lead(in and lead(out4 line(lin)ing and )e!"rame snapping.

Image "": splitting a line

5" !ou didn;t "ind an! more imper"e tions4 !ou ha e "inall! "inished timing !our "irst anime episodeF

.ote 8 Don;t "orget to sa e it and gi e it an appropriate name.

3 elpful Things>ou an alread! time now4 but there are se eral wa!s to ma)e it go "aster. $here are also somespe ial problems that !ou might en ounter. All o" those Gat least the one 5 an thin) o" "rom the topo" m! headH will be o ered in the "ollowing se tions.

3&1 ot e"s

$a)e a loo) at 5mage 12. 6uttons 1 to 13 an all be a essed with )e!s on !our )e!board. 5;ll putthem here in table "orm. .ote: 5" !ou want to4 !ou an hange the hot)e!s in the options menu.

1 Le"t9K /re ious line9s!llable

2 %ight9


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Image "#: the buttons

6esides all o" the )e!s mentioned in the earlier se tions4 !ou might "ind and W use"ul too attimes.

&inall!4 a wa! to go through the ideo is sele ting an area4 then press . $his will pla! the sele tedarea4 but !ou an set !our start and end time "or the line in the meantime with the help o" the audiograph. 5" !ou use I to ommit !our hanges and jump to the ne=t line4 the audio will )eep pla!ingas long as it hasn;t gone past the end time o" !our sele tion. Esing this and ma)ing ui ) he )swith and D4 it;s possible to rough time an episode in real time.

3&2 reparing for the post0processor

5" !ou ta)e a loo) at the images below4 !ou;ll noti e that the a tual sound stops just a little bit a"terthe )e!"rame at 2081#.7#. owe er4 a"ter appl!ing the tpp4 the line will be e=tended to the )e!"rameat 2081'.7#. $his happens be ause the tpp adds lead(out "irst and then sees that the se ond)e!"rame is loser to the end o" the line.5" !ou )now that !ou will use the tpp4 !ou an pre ent this "rom happening b! ending the linesomewhere between hal" a se ond and 300 ms be"ore the )e!"rame !ou want it to snap to later on.$his also means that !ou won;t ha e to time er! pre isel! when !ou are lose to a )e!"rame while)nowing !ou;ll appl! the tpp a"terwards. ometimes4 this an reall! sa e some time.

.ote 8 depending on how mu h lead(out !ou;ll add4 !ou;ll want to end the line a little loser or a little"urther "rom the )e!"rame. $he alues abo e are on e again the ones 5 use.

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Image "$: after applying tpp

Image "%: applying the techni1ue

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Image "&: applying the tpp after applying techni1ue, correct result

3&3 Timing signs

5n some groups4 the timer is also re uired to time the signs to ma)e things easier "or the t!pesetterlater on in the "ansubbing pro ess. $iming signs ob iousl! an;t be done with the audio graphalone4 whi h means we;ll "inall! use that ideo we deta hed a long time ago.

5 time signs b! timing them to the ideo "irst during the rough timing phase. $his doesn;t ha e to beper"e t though. 5 also appl! a di""erent st!le to them b! li )ing ubtitles @ t!les anager... and

op!ing m! ign st!le to the ,urrent s ript bo=. ,han es are that !ou don;t ha e a ign st!lein !our torage !et4 so let;s ma)e one "irst.

&irst li ) ou an do this b! right li )ing the line and sele ting 5nsert Gbe"oreH and 5nsert Ga"terH . $hen4!ou sele t ea h o" the two new lines and he ) the bo= ne=t to ,omment . Gsee also 5mage 1-H

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Image "): styles manager

Image "*: creating a new style

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Image "-: setting the 23ign4 style


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Image " : ma(ing signs more noticeable for the typesetter

Image #/: two essential buttons

3&! ,ealing -ith o4erlapping lines

$o deal with o erlapping lines aused b! se eral people tal)ing at on e4 5 usuall! just use the tppas usual. owe er4 when he )ing the ideo a"terwards4 5 pa! e=tra attention to potential s rew(

ups. When it;s just one or two o erlapping lines4 it might turn out "ine4 but i" two people are tal)ingat the same time "or a long period4 it will be reall! important to he ) well.

$o be honest4 5 "ind dealing with o erlapping lines to be the onl! "rustrating part o" timing i" thereare too man! o" them. &ortunatel!4 this doesn;t o ur er! o"ten in most series.

3 5issing lines

ometimes it happens that the translator "orgot to translate a line. 5" !ou thin) that is the ase4 !oushould add a line b! right( li )ing and using 5nsert Gbe"oreH or 5nsert Ga"terH . >ou should writesomething li)e FFF 5 5ou shouldalso noti"! the translator or proje t leader about it.

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3&$ 5issing e"frames

$his is something that !ou might noti e when !ou he ) !our wor) b! wat hing the ideo with !ourtimed s ript. 5" !ou noti e a s ene bleed or re erse s ene bleed4 pause the ideo and he ) theaudio graph at that time.

$he s ene bleed might ha e been aused either be ause the tpp didn;t snap the line to the)e!"rame or it might be that !ou are dealing with a missing )e!"rame whi h aused the line to passo er a s ene hange.

5n the latter ase4 !ou;ll ha e to use the same te hni ue as "or doing the pre ise timing o" signsGsee se tion 3.3H. >ou;ll manuall! ha e to sear h the time where the s ene hange happens andadjust the starting or ending time o" the line to a oid ausing a s ene bleed.

! Special T"pes of Timing

$here are a "ew spe ial t!pes o" timing besides the normal one. $hese will be e=plained in the"ollowing se tions.

!&1 re0timing

/re(timing onsists o" timing lines to a dialogue without translation so the translator an "ill them inlater. >ou should time the lines to what !ou thin) are di""erent senten es. Esuall!4 5 pre(time usingaudio onl! and set the start and end times at the e=a t start and end o" a spo)en senten e.

.ote 8 !ou;ll probabl! ha e to split or join lines a"terwards be ause !ou might ha e timed a line to just part o" a senten e or two senten es. >ou an either do rough timing or "ine timing4 but i" !ou do"ine timing and ha e to join or split the lines a"terwards4 !ou;ll ha e to orre t them manuall!.

Image #": pre'timed script

!&2 Alpha timing

Another spe ial t!pe o" timing is alpha timing. $his onsists o" dela!ing the appearan e o" part o"the line. &or e=ample8

e!4 he!4 mama?e!4 he!4 mama? What are !ou doing?

$o a hie e this4 !ou should use the NOalphaP &&PQ tag b! pla ing it be"ore the part o" the line thatneeds to appear later.


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where the whole te=t should appear. Also4 remember to lin) the lines and snap to )e!"rames i"ne essar!.

Image ##: alpha timing

.ote 8 $his is uite a ontro ersial wa! o" timing. ome people li)e it be ause the! an;t see aheadin the dialogue i" something surprising is going to happen4 while other people hate it be ause the!ha e to "o us more on the subs than on the s reen. $his )ind o" timing should onl! be used in

ases li)e a ountdown or something.

!&3 arao e timing

A "inal spe ial )ind o" timing is )arao)e timing. With this4 5 don;t mean simpl! mat hing the te=t toea h line. 5 mean mat hing ea h s!llable to the orresponding s!llable in the song to reate a)arao)e e""e t. We won;t be reating a tual )arao)e e""e ts in this se tion though4 we;ll onl! betiming them.

&irst4 !ou should time the )arao)e lines to mat h the oi es e=a tl!4 li)e rough timing.


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Image #$: after pressing the 25arao(e4 button

>ou an now see those !ellow lines in the audio graph separating ea h word. owe er4 this isn;twhat we want just !et. $here"ore4 li ) plit .


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As a last step4 !ou;ll ha e to insert the )arao)e tags. >ou an do so b! right li )ing in the bo= ne=tto split and sele ting O) .


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Appendi) A

A&1 Timing guidelines

1. Ienerall!4 we start a line 1'0 ms be"ore the audio starts. nd one 3'0 ms a"ter it ends.

2. 5" there are lines that are lose to ea h other4 about '00 ms4 !ou join the ending time o" the"irst line to the starting time o" the se ond line Ga"ter ha ing al ulated where the startingtime o" the se ond line starts SwithS the lead(inH.

3. $here are spe ial o asions where !ou;re lose to what !ou all a T)e!"rameT. 5" !ou;re 300ms or loser4 a"ter ha ing added the lead(in time4 start !our line at that s ene. 5" !ou are'00 ms or loser to a s ene hange4 a"ter adding the Tlead outT4 lin) to the end o" thats ene.

#. 5" lines o erlap be ause o" !ou adding Tlead outT4 ut on the lead out time4 and tr! toalwa!s4 i" possible4 ha e the Tlead(inT time.

'. 5" lines o erlap without adding lead in or lead out4 just let them o erlap.+. 5n the ases where it;s more than just part o" the word a"ter )e!"rame4 lin) it o er the s ene

and lin) with ne=t line. eaning8 don;t ut lines short i" it;s hal" a word or something4 onl! i"

it;s slightl! o er.7. a)e sure that er! short lines are on s reen long enough to read.

a guide to timing in aegisub_v2

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