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CMMC: Hello Sir, this is CMMC, Camer Movies Marketing Corporation. We are a young private owned company promoting Cameroon’s film industry. It’s a great honor for us to interview you. Please kindly introduce yourself to our readers.
A.A: My name is Alphonsius Ategha. I was born on 16 April 1971 in Bafoussam. I hail from Wum, headquarter of Menchum Division in the North West Region. My father was a career soldier. As military instructor, he seldom settled in a town. Since his top priority was his family, he decided to move with us wherever he was posted to. When I reached school age, he was posted to Abong-Mbang, a town located in the French speaking part of Cameroon. At that time, there was no “English” school. So, I was enrolled in a French speaking nursery and primary school. The peregrinations of my father lead me to primary schools in Ngaoundéré, Bamenda, Koutaba, Ngaoundal where I obtained the C.E.P.E. (Certificat d’Etudes Primaire et Elementaire) in 1981 and the B.E.P.C. (Brevet d’Etudes du Premier Cycle) in C.E.S. (Government Secondary school) Ngaoundal in 1985. I went to Lycée Classique Ngaoundéré where I spent two years and obtained Probatoire in 1987. In 1988, I was admitted in Terminal A4 (Upper Sixth Arts) in Bilingual Grammar School Molyko where I obtained the Baccalauréat A4.
I then proceeded to the then University of Yaounde in the Faculty of Arts, Letters and Social Sciences (Bilingual series with Translation as a minor). I graduated in 1993 and in 1994 was admitted into the Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI) of the University of Buea. In 1996, I obtained an M.A. in Translation. My earnest desire was to specialise in audiovisual translation. No school in Africa offered that course. Because of the ‘magic’ of the web, I got in touch with the CEO of Subtitling Worldwide, Bartho Kriek, who has designed an international course on Subtitling. I underwent an online course for one year (June 2007-May 2008). In May 2008, I did a 40 day internship in the above-mentioned Subtitling Firm in Haarlem, The Netherlands.
I am married and father of three lovely sons. I am a catholic Christian. My membership in the Humanist Movement has led me to the following convictions: you do not choose your country, village of origin nor your parents; the human being irrespective of the colour of his skin, his social status must be the centre of all concerns. Besides, the world can be a better place to live in if each and every one of us changes by thinking, feeling, and acting in the same direction (coherence). I abhor tribalism, regionalism and all the like and all forms of violence (religious, economic, political, psychological, sexual, physical and you name the others).
“Do unto others what you will like others to do unto you”
CMMC: Well said Sir. Before we continue, How did you know about CMMC?
A.A: While browsing on internet in search of an association of Cameroonian film producers to whom I was planning to offer my services, I got to the website of Camermovies.
CMMC: Cameroonians are yet to understand the importance of your job – making subtitles for movies. Please explain your services in details to our readers.
A.A: In this era of modern Information and Communication Technology, a growing amount of information is being presented in audiovisual form through traditional media like television and cinema, and newer technologies such as internet and digital TV.
Subtitling, dubbing (also known as lip-sync), voice off, and live interpretation on television are the main branches of what is referred to as multimedia, audiovisual, or screen translation. The major types of film translation are subtitling and dubbing.
On the one hand, dubbing is the method in which “the foreign dialogue is adjusted to the mouth and movements of the actor in the film” and its aim is seen as making the audience feel as if they were listening to actors actually speaking the target language. In dubbing, the original sound track is completely wiped off.
On the other hand, subtitling can be defined as a translation practice that consists in presenting a written text, generally on the lower part of the screen, that endeavours to recount the original dialogue of the speakers, as well as the discursive elements that appear in the image (letters, inserts, graffiti, inscriptions, placards and the like), and the information that is contained on the soundtrack (songs, voices off).
The practice of subtitling is based on four major operations:
1- Timing also known as spotting, cueing, or originating: it is talk of setting the time when subtitles are shown on screen (incues, or time codes in) and when they are hidden from the screen (outcues, or time codes out).
2- Translation/adaptation: subtitling falls short of being a case of translation proper due to the spatial and temporal constraints imposed by the medium. It is worth mentioning here that, subtitles must appear on screen 3 frames (about 135 milliseconds) before speech starts and that the minimum duration of a subtitle on screen is one second 10 frames, the maximum duration seven to eight seconds. Besides, the number of characters (letters) depends on the duration of a subtitle. Generally, two frames correspond to one character. For instance, a subtitle whose duration is four seconds will total about 50 characters -including spaces- distributed over two lines at most. Subtitling is a peculiar practice that entails a change of mode from oral to written code. As we all know, we speak faster than we can read. What we say within 4 seconds cannot be fully transcribed on screen and be read by all viewers. In addition, subtitles should not overlap scene or shot changes. Hacks who cannot apply these rules compose subtitles which are as swift as Jackie Chang’s blows and kicks: they appear and disappear before you can read them. They also compose subtitles that linger on screen. That’s why the trained subtitler is most often called upon to condense, truncate by leaving out some elements so that the subtitle is visible, readable and keeps to the tone, the rhythm, the atmosphere of the audiovisual programme. The subtitle is then SUBTLE, unnoticed. Most uninformed viewers and even trained translators who have no knowledge of rules governing subtitling term such subtitles ‘sketchy’ and tend to blame the subtitler. The latter could be defined as ‘a verbal acrobat’- a language virtuoso who can work within the confines of a postage stamp. He only has a limited amount of characters per line to work with, including punctuation marks and spaces’.
3- Rehearse/simulation
At this stage, the subtitler, in conjunction with the client or his/her representative, watch the whole audiovisual programme and carry out changes as the case may be.
4- Burning
The end product is burnt on CD, DVD or on any other distribution format.
Through this link you can watch a video fragment of Mr. Obama’s inauguration speech I subtitled in French.
http://www.google.com/searchhl=en&q=Alphonsius+Ategha&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=
We can find intralingual (same language) subtitling and interlingual subtitling. Intralingual subtitling is generally meant for language learning purposes, for karaoke effect, for dialects of the same language, for the hearing impaired (the deaf and the hard-of-hearing), for notices and announcements.
CMMC: I must confess that until now the thought of subtitling being such a technical job had never crossed my mind. Where is your company based and who are your working partners?
A.A: Communication Facilitators is based at montée Chapelle Obili in Yaounde.
Among our clients feature, amongst others, MTNC (Mobile Telephone Network Cameroon), Guinness S.A. Cameroon, The Cameroon Science Academy, Innova Consulting in the USA. As concerns subtitling, we work in close partnership with Subtitling Worldwide. ( http://www.subtitlingworldwide.com/projects.html)
CMMC: The biggest nightmare for movie producers is usually the small budget and especially in a poor film industry like ours. Could you give us an idea of how much one needs in order to make subtitles for a movie?
A.A: We should refrain from being “penny wise and pound foolish”. Devdas, a Bollywood movie that could have been a best seller was marred by poor subtitling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bWuMC4LNZ
My thumbs are up in appreciation of the teachings and advice of my lecturer and mentor in Subtitling, Bartho Kriek, CEO of Subtitling Worldwide –Haarlem, the Netherlands. He kept on and keeps on telling me: “Alphonsius, quality first”.
Subtitling rates vary depending on the nature of the audiovisual programme (documentary, series, movie, song, opera) and the domain tackled (general, semi-technical, technical). The rates are then set per subtitle, or per minute. For film producers who have not got any subsidies, the rates are negotiable. For those who benefit from assistance, I will apply the rates recommended by an Association in which I adhere: Subtitlers’ For Excellence based in the United Kingdom.
CMMC: Talking about subtitles for Cameroonian movies we mainly focus on French and English. The government of Cameroon has now started introducing the study of our local languages in school. Is it possible that in future we have Cameroonian movies with for example: Bakweri, Lamso, Douala, Bulu, foulfulde, etc. subtitles?
A.A: I usually question the effectiveness of our policy related to institutional bilingualism. Visit the various ministries and you tell me the language in which most, if not, all the documents pasted on the notice boards are drafted. All the lofty legal provisions calling for the translation of all documents addressed to the public are unceremoniously swept under the carpet.
Irrespective of the fact that French and English are our official languages, it is my humble opinion that film producers who choose to subtitle their movies widen their target group.
As for the teaching of our local languages in school, the State authorities have wrestled for long with this question: “in the face of the multiplicity of national languages, which one (s) should be taught?” It is good a solution has been found. It has been proven that subtitling speeds up language learning. Bartho Kriek states: “same language subtitling is used to fight illiteracy: if you show people the written text of what they hear in their own local language, it stimulates them and helps them to overcome their illiteracy.” Properly composed subtitles are void of grammatical and spelling mistakes. Else, they can ‘unteach’ those who are learning a language.
Same language subtitling is widely used in India and other countries.
http://planetread.org/home.php
I believe the teaching of national/local languages should also be extended to adults to enable them speak and read some of our national languages.
Yes, in future, we can have Cameroonian movies in Bakweri, Lamso, Duala, Bulu, Fulfube. I spent nine years in the Northern part of Cameroon (1978 to 1987) and acquired speaking skills in fulfube. I will now learn how to write it and polish up those skills. Communication Facilitators has some members who read and write their mother tongues. In The Netherlands, they even have tv-series now in dialect, for instance one near Enschede: “Van Jonge Leu en Oale Groond” with the comic Herman Finkers as actor.
CMMC: Have you tried to contact and work with some Cameroonian film producers?
A.A: Yes. I have contacted Mwalimu George Ngwana and Joyce Kutchah. I will get in touch with Mr. Ntemfack in the coming days. I wish to offer my services to all Cameroonian film producers, but still do not know the forum through which I can contact them. I will be singularly honoured to work with them.
CMMC: In developing Cameroon’s film industry, what do you consider to be the most important problem to start with?
A.A: I have read Mr. Ofege’s interview and I completely share his views. Training, training, and training of all the stakeholders involved in the various sub-sectors of the film industry is the key to success.Unfortunately, it is a sector that has been invaded by many laypersons and charlatans. We find such impostors in all trades. As translators we quote an anonymous who said: “most people believe that if you are bilingual you can translate or interpret. It is as much as saying that if you have two hands you can automatically be a concert pianist.”
CMMC: Would you like to say a word to CMMC?
A.A: I wish to heartily thank CMMC for allowing me to talk about subtitling and market my services. I laud the initiative the CMMC team has taken to promote Cameroon’s film industry. May the sky be the beginning…not your limit. Je vous souhaite beaucoup de succès.
Bon vent!!!
CMMC: It’s been a pleasure having this chat with you Sir. We look forward to working with you in future.
A.A: The pleasure has been all mine. It will be privilege to work with you.
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