ある方の講演を1台のビデオカメラで収録し、編集した。カメラ1台なので編集と言うよりも要らない部分をカットして繋げるだけの比較的楽な作業なのだが、大変なのがテロップ入れだった。作品時間が2時間半を越え、一言一句を全て起こしたわけではないのだが、かなり厳しい作業になった。ここまで長い作品のテロップ入れは経験がない。根気と集中力が必要で、思っていたよりも酷く手こずり、時間がかかってしまった。
　それでも何とか完了できたのは、その講演の内容が素晴らしかったからだと思う。手を抜くことなく、私なりにやり切ったと胸を張れるところまで出来た。ちなみにこの仕事は無報酬ではないが、ほとんどボランティアに近い。それでもこの仕事を全うすることが自分のためにもなると思い、頑張った。

　台本がなく、講演者の話している内容を何度も何度も聴き直し、観る人が印象に残るように要約し、テロップで起こした。音声の波形を見ながら、また音を聴きながら、テロップを表示させるタイミングを1フレーム（約30分の1秒）単位で調整し、一枚一枚丁寧に扱った。本当に根気が要る仕事で、終わった時は喜びよりも安堵が先だった。
　映画の字幕を入れる人の苦労が少し分かったような気がする。1フレームでもズレると気持ちが悪くて、何度も何度も再生し、表示が始まる位置を確かめる。消すタイミングも疎かにはできず、開始点と同様に細かく調整した。
　やってもやっても前へ進んだ感覚がなく、途中、永遠に続くのではないかと思われたほど辛かった。テロップを起こさないと決めた部分でも、起こさないと判断するために最低3回は再生してみて考える。敷いたらしい敷いたで、何回か再生して確認する。OKだと思ったら、おさらいで改めて再生する。恐らく全編を再生した回数は10では収まらないだろう。

　そんな苦労も知らずに、日本語の字幕が入った洋画を私は一体何本観たのだろう。字幕係りの方々にもっと一本一本敬意を表さなければならなかった。日本語に訳す人は一文の長さを調整しなければならないだろうから大変だとは思うが、表示させる役目の人たちもタイミングを合わせるのに相当根気が要ると思う。何と言っても、映画は全てのセリフをカバーしなければならない。
　それに外国語と日本語は、例えば動詞と目的語が逆になること等が往々にしてあり、ある程度長文になると、実際の音声と訳が間違っているように見えることがある。演者の唇が動いたタイミングで表示するしかないのだろうが、演者の表情と訳文が矛盾していることもあって、苦労は絶えないのだろう。一枚一枚最善策を見極めて、表示させていると思う。大変な仕事だ。

　辛くても、仕事だからやらなければいけないのだろうが、今回やってみて感じたが、テロップを入れる作品の魅力が大変さを軽減してくれるのだと思う。素晴らしい映画に携わることができたのなら、疲れも吹っ飛ぶというものだろう。むしろ名誉でもある。
　私が今回巡り合えたこのテロップ入れについても、本当にこの講演に携われたことに心から感謝する。神さまのお導きだと思う。こういう仕事をしていて良かった。大げさではなく、生きることって素晴らしいと思う。

　やりがいって、お金じゃない

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Overcoming Hardship

　I recorded a lecture given by a certain person using a single video camera and edited it. Since it was a single camera, it was relatively easy work to cut and join unnecessary parts rather than editing, but the hard part was putting in the message. The film was over two and a half hours long, and although I did not edit every single word, it was quite a demanding job. I had no experience in putting in the message for such a long film. It required a lot of patience and concentration, and it was much more difficult and time-consuming than I had expected.
　I think the reason I still managed to complete the work was because the content of the lecture was excellent. I was able to reach a point where I could proudly say that I had done it all in my own way without cutting corners. Incidentally, this work was not unpaid, but it was almost like volunteering. Even so, I did my best because I thought it would be good for me to fulfill this job.

　There was no script, so I listened to what the speaker was saying over and over again, summarized it so that the audience would be left with a lasting impression, and subtitled it. I carefully handled each message one by one, watching the waveform of the audio, listening to the sound, and adjusting the timing of the message in one-frame increments (about 1/30th of a second). It was a truly laborious job, and when it was over, I was more relieved than pleased.
　I think I now understand a little more about the difficulties faced by the people who put in subtitles for movies; if even one frame was out of place, I would feel uncomfortable, so I would play the film over and over again to see where it would start to appear. The timing of the erasure could not be neglected either, and was adjusted as finely as the starting point.
　No matter how much I tried, there was no sense of progress, and during the process, it was so painful that it seemed as if it would go on forever. Even in the sections where I decided not to cause a ticker, I had to replay it at least three times and think about it in order to decide not to do so. If I thought it was OK, I would replay it again for a review. Probably, the number of times the entire film has been replayed would not fit in 10.

　I wonder how many foreign films I have watched with Japanese subtitles without knowing the difficulty involved. I should have paid more respect to the subtitlers for each and every one of them. I know it’s hard for the translators to adjust the length of each sentence, but it also takes a lot of patience for the people in charge of displaying the subtitles to get the timing just right. After all, a film must cover all lines.
　In addition, foreign languages and Japanese, for example, often have verbs and objects reversed, so that the actual sound and the translation may appear to be incorrect when the sentences are somewhat long. The only way to do this would be to display the translation at the timing of the performer’s lips moving, but it must be a constant struggle because the performer’s facial expressions and the translation are sometimes inconsistent. I think they are trying to find the best way to display each and every picture. It is hard work.

　Even though it is hard, I guess I have to do it because it is the job, but as I felt after doing it this time, I think the charm of the work to include the ticker reduces the difficulty. If you are able to work on a great movie, your fatigue will be wiped away. In fact, it is an honor.
　I am truly grateful to have been involved in this lecture about putting in the message, which I was able to encounter this time. I believe that it was God’s guidance. I am glad I am doing this kind of work. I am not exaggerating, but I think it is wonderful to be alive.

　What is worthwhile is not money.