Working in the Movies- IELTS Reading Sample with Explanation

The IELTS reading test examines the candidate’s proficiency through a passage. There are around 40 IELTS reading questions present. This IELTS Reading sample is an Academic reading topic. There are three types of IELTS reading questions found in this sample:

1. Finding information from the passage
2. Fill in the blanks
3. True/False/Not Given

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There are numerous topics found in IELTS reading practice papers for practice.

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Working in the Movies IELTS Reading Sample

Subtitling is an exciting part of the translation profession. Melanie Leyshon talks to Virginie Verdler of London translation company VSI about the glamour and the grind.

1. When people ask French translator Virginie Verdier what she does for a living, it must be tempting to say enigmatically: ‘Oh me? I’m in the movies’. It’s strictly true, but her starring role is behind the scenes. As translating goes, it doesn’t get more entertaining or glamorous than subtitling films. If you’re very lucky, you get to work on the new blockbuster films before they’re in the cinema, and if you’re just plain lucky, you get to work on the blockbuster movies that are going to be on video or DVD.
2. The process starts when you get the original script and a tape. ‘We would start by translating and adapting the film script. The next step is what we call ‘timing’, which means synchronizing the subtitles to the dialogue and pictures.’ This task requires discipline. You play the film, listen to the voice and the subtitles are up on your screen ready to be timed. You insert your subtitle when you hear the corresponding dialogue and delete it when the dialogue finishes. The videotape carries a time code that runs in hours, minutes, seconds and frames.

Think of it as a clock. The subtitling unit has an insert key to capture the time code where you want the subtitle to appear. When you press the delete key, it captures the time code where you want the subtitle to disappear. So each subtitle would be an exacting part of the translation profession. Melanie Leyshon talks to Virginie Verdier of London translation company VSI about the glamour and the grind. Virginie is quick to point out that this is as exacting as any translating job. You work hard. It’s not all entertainment as you are translating. You need all the skills of a good translator and those of a top-notch editor. You have to be precise and, of course, much more concise than in traditional translation work.

100. You have an ‘in’ point and an ‘out’ point which represents the exact time when the subtitle comes in and goes out. This process is then followed by a manual review, subtitle by the subtitle, and time- codes are adjusted to improve synchronization and respect shot changes. This process involves playing the film frame by frame as it is essential the subtitles respect the visual rhythm of the film.’

Different subtitlers use different techniques. ‘I would go through the film and do the whole translation and then go right back from the beginning and start the timing process. But you could do it in different stages, translate let’s say 20 minutes of the film, then time this section and translate the next 20 minutes, and so on. It’s just a different method.’ For multi-lingual projects, the timing is done first to create what is called a ‘spotting list’, a subtitle template, which is in effect a list of English subtitles pre-timed and edited for translation purposes. This is then translated and the timing is adapted to the target language with the help of the translator for quality control.

500. ‘Like any translation work, you can’t hurry to do the subtitling,’ says Virginie. ‘If subtitles are translated and timed in a rush, the quality will be affected and it will show.’ Mistakes usually occur when the translator does not master the source language and misunderstands the original dialogue. ‘Our work also involves checking and reworking subtitles when the translation is not up to standard.

However, the reason for redoing subtitles is not just because of poor quality translation. We may need to adapt subtitles to a new version of the film: the time code may be different. The film may have been edited or the subtitles may have been created for the cinema rather than video. If subtitles were done for cinema on 35mm, we would need to reformat the timing for video, as subtitles could be out of sync or too fast. If the translation is good, we would obviously respect the work of the original translator.’

5. On a more practical level, there are general subtitling rules to follow, says Virginie. ‘Subtitles should appear at the bottom of the screen and usually in the centre.’ She says that different countries use different standards and rules. In Scandinavian countries and Holland, for example, subtitles are traditionally left-justified. Characters usually appear in white with a thin black border for easy reading against a white or light background. We can also use different colours for each speaker when subtitling for the hearing impaired. Subtitles should have a maximum of two lines and the maximum number of characters on each line should be between 32 and 39. Our company standard is 37 (different companies and countries have different standards).’
6. Translators often have a favourite genre, whether it’s war films, musicals, comedies (one of the most difficult because of the subtleties and nuances of comedy in different countries), drama or corporate programs. Each requires a certain tone and style. ‘VSI employs American subtitlers, which is incredibly useful as many of the films we subtitle are American,’ says Virginie. ‘For an English person, it would not be so easy to understand the meaning behind typically American expressions, and vice-versa.’

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Section 2

Solution With Explanation 

Questions 1-5:
Complete the flowchart below.
Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-5 on your answer sheet.

THE SUBTITLING PROCESS

Stage 1: Translate and adapt the script.

Stage 2: 1 ………….………. -matching the subtitles to what said Involves recording time codes by using the 2 ………….………. and ………….………. keys.

Stage 3: 3 ………….………. – in order to make the 4………….………. better.

Multilingual projects

Stage 1: Produce something known as a 5 ………….………. and translate that.

Question 1:

Answer: Timing

Supporting sentence: The next step is what we call ‘timing’, which means synchronising the subtitles to the dialogue and pictures.

Keyword location: paragraph 4, lines 2-3

Explanation: The second step after translation is told to be ‘timing’ which is done by matching the dialogue and the pictures.

(Guide: Fill the blanks with appropriate words from the passage)

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Question 2:

Answer: Insert, delete

Supporting sentence: You insert your subtitle when you hear the corresponding dialogue and delete it when the dialogue finishes.

Keyword location: paragraph 4, lines 6-7

Explanation: The subtitles are timed using the insert and delete keys.

Question 3:

Answer: Manual Review

Supporting sentence: This process is then followed by a manual review, subtitle by subtitle, and time- codes are adjusted to improve synchronisation and respect shot changes.

Keyword location: paragraph 4, lines 11-13

Explanation: The next step in the process is to manually review the subtitles to make it look better timed and synchronised.

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Question 4:

Answer: synchronization

Supporting sentence: This process is then followed by a manual review, subtitle by subtitle, and time- codes are adjusted to improve synchronisation and respect shot changes.

Keyword location: paragraph 4, lines 11-13

Explanation: The next step in the process is to manually review the subtitles to make it look better timed and synchronised.

Question 5:

Answer: spotting list

Supporting sentence: For multilingual projects, the timing is done first to create what is called a ‘spotting list’, a subtitle template, which is in effect a list of English subtitles pre-timed and edited for translation purposes.

Keyword location: paragraph 6, lines 1-2

Explanation: The first thing to do while subtitling multilingual projects is to make a spotting list which is a list of already made English subtitles which can then be translated into different languages.

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Questions 6-10:

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 177?
In boxes 6-9 on your answer sheet write

TRUE           if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE          if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

Question 6: For translators, all subtitling work on films is desirable.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting sentence: Virginie is quick to point out that this is as exciting as any translating job. 'You work hard. It's not all entertainment as you are translating.

Keywords: translating, exciting

Keyword location: Paragraph 3, lines 1-2

Explanation: The protagonist says that translators find the job at hand exciting which implies that the job is desirable.

Question 7. Subtitling work involves a requirement that does not apply to other translation work.

Answer: TRUE

Supporting sentence: ‘We would start with translating and adapting the film script. The next step is what we call ‘timing’, which means synchronising the subtitles to the dialogue and pictures.’ This task requires discipline. You play the film, listen to the voice and the subtitles are up on your screen ready to be timed. You insert your subtitle when you hear the corresponding dialogue and delete it when the dialogue finishes.

Keywords: translating, adapting, synchronising, dialogues and pictures

Keyword location: Paragraph 4, lines 1-6

Explanation: Subtitling involves not just translating but also timing the translation according to the film/video. Therefore, it differs from the usual translation jobs.

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Question 8. Some subtitling techniques work better than others.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Question 9. Few people are completely successful at subtitling comedies.

Answer: NOT GIVEN

Question 10. Every single movie has the same tone and style.

Answer: FALSE

Supporting sentence: Translators often have a favourite genre, whether it’s war films, musicals, comedies (one of the most difficult because of the subtleties and nuances of comedy in different countries), drama, or corporate programs. Each requires a certain tone and style.

Keyword: each, requires, a certain tone, style

Keyword location: Paragraph 9 lines 1-4

Explanation: There are different genres of films. They could be war films, musicals, comedies, or dramas and each of them require a different tone and style of subtitling.

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Questions 11-14:

Complete the sentences below with words from Reading Passage I.

Use NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 11—14 on your answer sheet.

Question 11: Poor subtitling can be a result of the subtitler not being excellent at ………….………......

Answer: the source language

Supporting sentence: Mistakes usually occur when the translator does not master the source language and misunderstands the original dialogue

Keywords: mistakes, does not master, source language

Keyword location: Paragraph 7 lines 3-4

Explanation: It is said that the translator can make mistakes only when he does not understand the source language of the script.

Question 12: To create subtitles for a video version of a film, it may be necessary to ………….………......

Answer: to reformat the timing

Supporting sentence: We may need to adapt subtitles to a new version of the film: the time code may be different. The film may have been edited or the subtitles may have been created for the cinema rather than video. If subtitles were done for cinema on 35mm, we would need to reformat the timing for video, as subtitles could be out of synch or too fast

Keyword: new version, time code different, reformat the timing

Keyword location: Paragraph 7 lines 7-11

Explanation: It is said that when subtitling is being done for a new format or version of the film, the timings vary, hence the translators need to change the format of the subtitles and reformat it according to the new script.

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Question 13. Subtitles usually have a ………….………...... around them.

Answer: thin black border

Supporting sentence: Characters usually appear in white with a thin black border for easy reading against a white or light background.

Keyword: characters, white with a thin black border

Keyword location: Paragraph 8 lines 5-6

Explanation: It is said that for easy readability against a light background, subtitles usually have a black border around them.

Question 14. Speakers can be distinguished from each other for the benefit of ………….………......

Answer: the hearing impaired

Supporting sentence: We can also use different colours for each speaker when subtitling for the hearing impaired.

Keywords: speaker, different colours, hearing impaired

Keyword location: Paragraph 8 lines 6-7

Explanation: It is said that for the ease of the hearing impaired, different colours are used to denote the subtitles of the different speakers/characters in the film.