Eurolab is on the job 24-hours a day.
The process of subtitling a film.
EuroLab International supplies technical
services to film distributors. We operate with local production facilities in Copenhagen,
Oslo, Stockholm and London.
As a service organisation for an international sector, we believe that our most important
objective is the delivery of products and services of high international standard.
We are prepared for world-wide competition in terms of prices, quality and delivery.
EuroLab´s main product is the subtitling
of 35 mm distribution prints of cinema films.
The central features of our service package are
Eurolab is on the job 24-hours a day.
When we receive your order...
The order is registered
in our computer system where we immediately register:
When the first print will be ready
How many prints are required
When and from whom will we receive the translation and in which format
When will we receive the original spotting list
Does the order involve new or used copies
Premiere date
All these issues are important, not only for the production planning that starts at this
stage -
but also because we want to be an efficient participant in your upcomming success, right
from the very start.
If the translation does not arrive on time, a reminder might be needed. If problems arise with print delivery, you will need to be immediately notified of the time of delivery - since the prints often arrive from foreign laboratories - or if additional resources are needed to check the prints, if they are used, ect....
Order registration - ready for planning.
Perhaps you would prefer a price estimate for the job or an actual offer, and surely you will want
the delivery date. We will be pleased to provide them in writing - right away.
That is one of the reasons we ask so many questions.
When we receive the first print from you...
After the first print as well as the bulk of prints have arrived, we check to make sure that the shipment contains what is expected. If there are any deviations, you will be the first to know. We register the kind of material (acetate prints or polyester prints, who supplied the raw film, which sound system was used, are the prints new or used and which laboratory do they come from). This registration forms the basis for selecting the technical process and machinery settings that vary from job to job. Our experience in handling up to 4,000 copies a year is your guarantee for optimal production in this and subsequent phases.
The prints are stored in our warehouse ready for production in accordance with the production plan.
The first print is sent to our spotting department.
It normally takes one or two days to spot a film - i.e. to decide when and when not to display the individual subtitles - that often number over a thousand. We make sure that the subtitles are displayed long enough to be read by the audience - and we also make sure that they do not remain too long! We make sure that the subtitles do not overlap sequence cuts - and that in general they have the appropriate reading length.
The first print being spottet.
We are not responsible for the translation - the translator is solely responsible. Therefore, we do not correct the translation without the express consent of the translator. If we find spelling errors or misprints, they are corrected.
The spotting of the film is done at a spotting console with images and sound as well as computer system into which the translation has been read. The spotting of a film is an elaborate process - which also explains why the first print is more expensive than subsequent prints.
After the film has been spotted, the mechanical instructions are fed into our computer network from where our subtitling machines automatically retrieve subtitle placement data.
At the same time a spotted manuscript is printed out for the production department who is now able to carry out manual control of the subtitling machine when it imprints the subtitles onto the copy.
