Farewell, Ireland!

WHAT'S THE CRAIC?

     When I first landed on the island someone asked me "hey, what's the story?" Now I can certainly answer: "well this is pretty much it." After a beginning of five years, it is time to turn the page. My last souvenirs: a cold November under a bright sun, two Gardai riding a horse in Dublin city, last classes and farewells at the gym, last pints of Guinness (first with blackcurrant), last strolls along the canal, last visits to Temple Bar, last films in OV, last visits of the island, last fish and chips on my way to Dingle, last Halloween House Party with friends, last Wine and Cheese tasting, the Leaving Party...

     All of them just little details of what has been a great experience. When we first decided to come to the Island we didn't know what to expect or for how long it would last. The only reference we had was my experience as a student in a small village in the Midlands, back in 2001. Little did I know then what it was going to be like settling in Dublin. There were good and bad moments and the starters were not easy, but the people we found on our way, the places we discovered and the feelings I experienced made this freedom that I could breathe in Ireland most certainly unforgettable.

     Every little corner has something special, from the big city to the most isolated farm. For every drop of rain and every cloud, there is a ray of sunlight which makes them worth it. It is true that sometimes the city may seem sad and dark, but the moments the sun shines reveal the real nature hiding behind the scenes.

     And it is not only the landscapes, or the buildings, or the daily life in town, it is also and most importantly the people you find along the way that make it special. When we arrived we were all alone, foreigners in a different city, often with a different language and culture, which we need to bear with and learn. But little by little, when you get to know a few locals and other people in a similar situation to yours, far from their family and friends, they become your family and your friends. And those links are different. They are not built over a long period of time, normally you don't know much about the history or background of them, but something happens. In a shorter time, intensity gets amplified by a million.

      I wanted to say thank you to all those people. Thank you for having shared this page of my book, of your book, our book. Let's continue writing and maybe one day our pages will merge again. See you later folks! See you soon Ireland. FAREWELL!

Reseña de la presentación del Libro rojo de Fernando Navarro en la UEM

     El día 26 de noviembre de 2013, Fernando A. Navarro acudió a la Universidad Europea de Madrid en Villaviciosa de Odón (Madrid) para presentar la tercera edición de su Diccionario crítico de dudas inglés-español de medicina. Esta nueva edición cuenta con distintas actualizaciones: para empezar, se ofrece en formato virtual, a través de la plataforma Cosnautas, junto con otros recursos de otros dos traductores y compañeros suyos, José Antonio de la Riva y Laura Munoa. 

     La presentación comenzó a las 11:30 y a ella asistieron tanto alumnos de la UEM como profesionales del sector, aunque evidentemente el evento iba dirigido a los primeros, mucho más abundantes en número. Se sortearon tres suscripciones a la plataforma Cosnautas, de las cuales, dos estaban destinadas a los alumnos de tercero de Traducción de la universidad. La tercera suscripción tuvo la suerte de recibirla una socia de Asetrad que también participó en el evento.

     Primero, Fernando explicó cuál es la posición y el estatus del que gozan los diccionarios bilingües entre los recursos de los especialistas. Después de valorar distintas fuentes, enumeró una lista por orden de importancia, desde enciclopedias monolingües, pasando por los atlas hasta el diccionario bilingüe, en último lugar. Resaltó su peligrosidad y nos mostró el Stedman bilingüe de ciencias médicas, en el que aparecen términos muy especializados y de traducción, podríamos decir universal, pero donde no se recogen términos cruciales y habituales para el traductor biosanitario, como pueden ser healthcare, blood pressure, o finger.

     Después, nos narró cómo había sido el proceso que le había llevado a crear la primera edición del diccionario y resaltó la idea de que debemos reaccionar y ser participativos para avanzar en el campo profesional: si esperamos a que llegue el momento adecuado y a tener tiempo, nunca nos pondremos manos a la obra. También presentó testimonios de otros profesionales acerca del diccionario, los pros y los contras de las versiones anteriores (principalmente que las traducciones propuestas eran a español de España), explicó el funcionamiento de la plataforma Cosnautas y nos hizo una demostración con un ejemplo práctico de uso de esta. En el ejemplo pudimos ver las nuevas características del diccionario, entre otras, que es más intuitivo; permite búsquedas más rápidas y completas, e incluye variantes regionales, imágenes y tablas.

     Por último, resumió la presentación en seis conclusiones: el diccionario es un elemento esencial para el traductor; no hay traductor sin buenos diccionarios; el traductor, llamado a soñar su diccionario ideal; el traductor, llamado también a hacerlo realidad; terminografía y lexicografía, ¡requetepreciosas!; y hay diccionarios y diccionarios. Se llevó a cabo el sorteo y nos despedimos tras una ronda de preguntas.

Mi primer encuentro traductoril: Asetrad X aniversario

A Asetrad:

     Jamás imaginé cómo sería en realidad salir de mi pequeño rincón y ver tu mundo. Siempre leía con mucha atención y envidia sana los mensajes de los asistentes a reuniones, congresos, asambleas, saraos y demás, imaginaba cómo sería si yo pudiera estar ahí. Y de repente, alguien habló; pidió una mano y le ofrecí las dos, me tiré por la ladera de espaldas y sin frenos, esperando disfrutar del viaje. Y así fue como todo comenzó.

     Toledo marcó un antes y un después. Antes, desde mi burbuja, con el ordenador como único amigo era difícil percibir esas sensaciones de las que tanto se hablaba. Al mismo tiempo, cual paradoja, impedía ese contacto que tanto predicaba. Era el momento, había que lanzarse a la piscina: dejar la virtualidad un par de días para vivir una experiencia real. Dejar de lado la vergüenza y el miedo y salir del caparazón.

     Cogí la mano que apareció, me animé a presentarme candidata a la Junta Directiva y decidí asistir a la Asamblea General para participar, por primera vez de forma presencial, en Asetrad. Había dado el primer minipaso. ¿Y ahora qué? Tenía que pensar cómo ir, a quién me encontraría allí (imaginaba que no conocería a nadie), la vergüenza y la timidez se apoderaron de mí. Y entonces... otra lucecita se encendió. Mensaje entrante: CONGRESO ALTERNATIVO DE TRADUCTORAS LENTAS - TOLEDO TIEMBLA. Quizá unirme a un grupo más pequeño facilitara mi integración en la asamblea, ¡podía ser divertido! Un grupo de traductoras (de las que entre ellas solo se conocían tres) organizaron un encuentro alternativo al Congreso X Aniversario y complementario a la asamblea. La mayoría iban juntas desde Madrid, todo ventajas, ¿quién dijo miedo?

     Desde el encuentro en Plaza de España todo fueron risas. Compartimos historias, conocimos Toledo, su cultura y gastronomía, hasta el tiempo nos acompañó. Las nubes fueron clementes y nos concedieron estratégicas treguas entre carcamusas y sinagogas. Con mi casita a cuestas cual caracol pasé un día rodeada de compañeras de profesión divertidísimas con las que no solo compartimos hasta habitación de hotel, sino también anécdotas, inquietudes y planes de futuro. 

     Tan intensa fue la experiencia que al día siguiente, en la asamblea, fue como si de una reunión de la comunidad de vecinos se tratara. Ya no tenía miedo, estaba entre colegas, aunque seguía inquieta por las elecciones, ya que los electores eran numerosos y cabía la posibilidad de que no lograra mi objetivo. Con la suerte que me precedía, seguro que iba a ser yo la que se quedara fuera. Mientras me preparaba para lo peor, cierta inquietud crecía dentro de mí. ¿Sería el café? Las piernas se me tensaron cuando se anunció la lista de integrantes: Verónica Salvador. No me lo podía creer. La sorpresa fue tal que la mente se me nubló y fui incapaz de presentarme, aunque lo hubiera ya hecho el día anterior cienes de veces. Fue el colofón perfecto para cerrar esta aventura.

     En realidad, más que el final podría ser el principio, una mascletà que anuncia lo que parece será una experiencia totalmente nueva, llena de retos y sorpresas. Por ejemplo, la de encontrarme a un compañero de asociación en el aeropuerto para Dublín dos días después, otro signo del destino. Me siento ansiosa por empezar a caminar, mochila al hombro, acompañada de tan grandes profesionales y mejores personas. 

     Gracias por todo, Asetrad, intentaré estar a la altura.

     Un abrazo, ¡nos vemos de nuevo muy pronto!

Home Studio and Voiceover (by Deseye 'N Record Studio)

1. Role of the Home Studio in the voiceover process
2. Available audio formats
3. Why in a professional studio and not on my Personal Computer?
4. What can be done with the audio voice file?

1. Role of the Home Studio in the voiceover process

The home studio comes with a trained sound engineer whose work is to make sure that the recording of the voice is done in the best possible way and with best possible quality sonic wise. The studio offers an acoustically controlled environment which allows a recording free of any sonic parasites (noise from the street, from the neighbours…). The sound engineer will be able to detect any mispronunciations (nevertheless, the presence of a quality checker is advised), or any necessary change in the tone of the artist’s voice. Any problem in the quality of the on-going recording will be spotted and can be addressed straight away by the Sound Engineer.

2. Available audio formats.

At Deseye'N Record Studio we use Protools 10. Protools is the industry standard audio recording software. We can deliver recordings in different audio formats like WAV, AIFF, AIFC, mp3, WMA, and SDII and QuickTime video files.

3. Why in a professional studio and not on my personal computer?

The equipment available in a professional recording studio cannot be compared to a simple recording system of a personal computer.

Signal chain in a professional recording studio:

MicrophoneàMicrophone pre-ampàEQàCompressionàProtools

All the cables and connectors (1/4 inch jacks, XLR’s) used in the recording studio are told to be balanced ones. This type of connection is very important in sound recording and production because it allows for the use of numerous and long cables while reducing vulnerability to external noise.

With your personal computer you would plug your mic directly into the sound card, using an unbalanced 3.5mm jack, and record directly into a cheap (or free of charge) recording software. Technically you would get a recorded voice, but the quality would be very low, presenting noise parasites, humming, etc, which would not be acceptable for professional use.

4. What can be done with the voice audio file?

Once your clean and parasites-free recording is finished, you can choose to do different things with it:

Sync to picture or ADR (Automated Dialog Replacement)

Technique generally used when the dialogs are recorded by an actor of the movie while looking at the scenes. Indeed, it helps to synchronize the voice and the pictures.

Advertisement

The voiceover artist reads a pre-written speech praising the qualities of such or such product and why you should buy it.

Narration

The voice over artist narrates a story and sometimes comments on the action.

Description or Education

Television news is often presented as a series of video clips of newsworthy events, with voice-over by the reporters describing the significance of the scenes being presented; these are interspersed with straight video of the news anchors describing stories for which video is not shown. It can also be used for documentaries like in National Geographic Park.

          Finally, the sound engineer can also apply some effects, also known as FX, on the voice, like Delay, Echo, Flanger, Reverb and many more effects for more complete results.

If you wish to contact the Studio for more details, please send an email to: deseyenrecordstudio@gmail.com

 

Voiceover, all you always wanted to know but you never dared to ask

            “Voiceover”, “voice-over”, “voice over”. Firstly I thought of writing the article in Spanish, but the translation of the concept generated another shortcoming I want to avoid for now. But let’s stay confined to the English language and get started by the designation of the concept. I am quite unsure of how to write the term, so how would I describe it? Oxford Dictionary offers the following definition: “noun information or comments in a film/movie, television programme, etc. that are given by a person who is not seen on the screen.” Maybe this was true at the publishing time of the book, in the year 2000, but a lot of developments have occurred since then. Nowadays we could expand that definition to the recorded voice you can hear when reaching an answering machine, in computer programmes, videogames, etc.

            Voiceover is in a way similar to translation, you do not realize its presence unless something goes wrong. Besides, sometimes several voiceover artists are needed for the same project, with different accents, different languages, different voice features... Very similar to a multilingual translation project, right? We could say that translation and voiceover could be closely related in specific projects and that it could be ideal for a translator to be able to provide this service in conjunction with translation and/or transcription, for example.

           So if we are decided to expand our range of services and want to add voiceover to our list, what do we need? On the one hand, the proper set of skills. Not everyone has the necessary tone of voice or even attitude to do a particular voiceover. Some people are just shy or simply cannot get it right. So what do we need to do voiceovers? First of all, willingness, assertiveness and self-confidence. Then, to understand that what we reading is to be listened to in a context, so we must get the voice adapted: smile if it is time to smile; be serious, if it is its turn; or emphasize when requested to do so. All this wrapped up with a correct speed and the adequate clearness will give us the perfect voiceover artist. On the other hand, however, this is not all about the artist. Recording the voice cannot be done  on a common laptop with a microphone and a headset. For instance, external noise and breathing should be reduced and for that, at least a Home Studio or similar is a must. But this part will be explained in a later article, and will be presented by a Music Engineer himself.

            Once we know what voiceover is and what we need to provide the service, we need customers who demand that service. As I mentioned before, there are different kinds of voiceover, so there is a variety of markets available. Depending on the age, gender, tone, etc. we can target the dubbing and narration market, in which the voice should copy the role of a narrator or an actor in films or drama, or be neutral in order to produce interesting interviews or documentaries. Voiceover involving different characters, accents, age-groups, etc. are complicated, but extremely in demand in the expanding market of videogames, cartoons and animation, for example.

            Another important field where voiceover is essential is business. Marketing material is getting more and more dynamic every day. Visual effects and sounds make the messages get across faster than written words standing alone, so a marketing or commercial-oriented voice that can be played in any device, through the web, or added to video tutorials and presentations would be ideal in this market. In addition, IVR and on-hold messages are also important to improve the customer experience and loyalty, as well as creating and maintaining a good reputation of the brand. 

            And at last, but not least, e-learning. It has become one of the most popular methods in education and training, as gives the opportunity to virtually assist  in classes/lessons from all over the world. For this kind of recordings, the voice needs to transmit authority and knowledge, but also be warm enough to get to the student as much as possible. Another feature of e-learning courses is that they require a high-volume recording and mostly within a short deadline and several languages, so stress is an additional challenge for these brave voice actors.

            As we can see, voiceover covers many fields. It is a fast-growing market to explore which can offer huge opportunities. Written language no longer stands alone, image and sound have become essential with regard to getting messages across to the audience. It sounds really exciting, doesn't it?