Aegisub Lesson 1 - Getting Started with Subtitles & Timing

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Special thanks to Yann Lahellec for providing the French subtitle translation for this video (made using Aegisub)!

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[Littlevampiregirl]

for anyone who wants to know how to divide lines in the same frame, you write \N where you want the split to happen. you should do this if the line exceeds 40-42 characters. the number of characters in one line is shown on the far right side next to the effect box, between the audio wave and text box

for example, the second line about swimming, the text is 41 characters. he can divide the line by putting \N just in front of "and go swimming", like this \Nand go swimming. this will make two separate lines on the video be shown on the same frame. it makes reading it easier, but its also mandatory if you plan to be a professional. you also have to make the split in a way that the meaning of the text on each line is not altered, separated, lost, or hard to read

the meaning of the
text on each line is not altered
(wrong)

the meaning of the text on each
line is not altered
(wrong)

the meaning of the text
on each line is not altered
(right)

the meaning of the text on each line
is not altered
(right)

it should feel natural to read the line separately
(the meaning of the = makes no sense)
(the meaning of the text on each = each what?)

on the "we'd walk down to the swimming hole and go swimming" line, the split can also be between 'down' and 'to', but its preferable to make the split on 'and' if possible. it would also be correct to split the line between 'walk' and 'down', although the point of dividing the text is lost then and also makes the reading harder as it looks unusual. you want to separate the characters as equally as possible to avoid the 42 character issue. some lines in a single frame can have up to 80 characters, so dividing it equally is essential there, but not always possible, in which case you either have to make separate subtitle lines if you can avoid exceeding the reading speed, or you have to delete some of the text without altering the meaning



this \N can be written in your text document before importing or pasting the subtitles, it will work this way too

[harleykim]

I swear! youtube has become literally my teacher.

[parismonterrey]

You've just saved my life ! Thank you so much !!! I'm studying a Master Degree in subtitles and you explain better than my teachers. :D You're great ! Thanks

[Familynotfriendly]

My teacher cannot explain this. you make it really easy to understand. Thank you so much!

[chaee]

I was devastated until I found this video... you saved my project... Thank you so much

[metacross]

Finally a way to add subtitles without YouTube! Thank you

[biancakrystal]

most useful one i have ever watched ! the others don't explain the "check" button if you want to change the time ! you saved my life!

[kimberlyrios]

Thank you! You made making subtitles much more easier to understand!

[karena]

Thank you ❤ I was concerned this was too complicated but you explain it straight to the point, this is really useful for my final project on translation

[vamxeuphri]

Thank you! I am new to subbing and I found aegisub! It really is simpler than other video editors.

[qbitsday]

you can also use Ctl+3 start of Voice and Ctl+4 end of voice on the lines of text

[NeanderSlavia]

An awesome tutorial, really explains what you need to know if you're new to all this. Thank you!

[CmdrMic]

Great vid. The Green Check mark is a life saver. I have been setting the times by clicking and editing the digits in the time window - which is uber tedious. Thank you!!!

[shinmidori]

Thank you. Your sharing is so clear and it saved my day from struggling with timing

[TocaUkulele]

Hi, Ryndon. Thanks for the video. I started using Aegisub yesterday and I have a question that I can't find the answer anywhere, maybe you can help me. I'm creating and exporting subs and everything is going great here, but my problem is: when I select the audio amount, type the text and I press ENTER button, it goes to a new line and that's ok, I can type again to continue working in a new part of the audio. But I can't press spacebar (on my keyboard) to hear the sound because the cursor is located at the position to type the next, if I do so, I'm starting the text with a space. So I have to click on the audio part (timeline on top of the sound is a good option - I can click without moving any red/blue mark), and then the spacebar of my keyboard can play this part of the audio.

For any new line, I have to use the mouse again and again to hear that part of the audio.

So, can I change the working window from the editor to the audio with a shortcut? It would be great to have such available option to change between editor/audio/video with a keyboard shortcut, it would save lots of time.

Thank you so much,

Joao

[lmfans]

Thanks for making the video and sharing the knowledge. It got me up to speed in no time!

[arielcaem]

Here's a tip.. You can just check the "auto commit" so that you dont have to click "commit" each time you set the start/end time..

[LarryWanget]

Thanks for the tutorial. It's still as current today as in 2014 (v3.2.2 released)
About the text appearing small. Here's a tip:
- Open or create a new file. Load the associated video you're working on.
- If it's a new file, save it.
- Open the same file (from menu File > Open Subtitles...). Click 'No' when asked if you want to unload associated media files
- The text should appear bigger and more readable now
Hope somebody will find this tip useful

[fluentgermanwithfunnystory]

This is wonderful tips! I just watched this video and feel so inpsired to make subtitles for my video. Thank you for sharing :)

[liamjohn]

Thanks, mate. so clearly, simply, and easy-understandably. You are the BEST.