About Me
Hi there! My name is Fabien.
I was born on December 25, 1988, in the French town of Saint-Étienne, where I still live. I am a French translator specialized in subtitling. In addition to foreign languages, which I am talking about further down, I love watching movies and TV shows. I also love writing (besides, I have a French personal blog on top of this one). Moreover, personal development and yoga are part of my daily life. Finally, I love going to music concerts.
Education
After getting my baccalaureate in Literature, I pursued a bacherlor’s degree in Foreign Languages (English and Spanish) at the French University of Jean-Monnet, in Saint-Étienne. I also studied for a year in the Spanish town of Zaragoza. After that, I did a Master’s degree in Foreign Languages and International Business. However, that professional field didn’t suit my personality.
Therefore, I began studies in the field of translation. I did my first year of Master’s degree in Grenoble, where I was trained in technical and legal translation, and introduced to subtitling. That’s the reason why I completed my second year of Master’s degree in Dijon, which was generally specialized in audiovisual translation. Moreover, many classes there focused on subtitling.
Baccalaureate in Literature
2008
(Saint-Étienne, France)
Bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages
2011
(Saint-Étienne, France)
Bachelor's degree (Erasmus)
2011
(Zaragoza, Spain)
Master's degree in Foreign Languages & International Business
2013
(Saint-Étienne, France)
Master's degree in Foreign Languages & Specialized Translation (first year) (EMT Label)
2018
(Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France)
Work Experience
During and after my studies, I worked in different businesses so I put my language and translation skills into practice. And thanks to my work experience, I discovered new places in France and abroad (like Barcelona in 2011 and 2018). Consequently, I occupied the position of translator in various firms and agencies before working at the French subtitling agency Le Joli Mai in 2019.
There, I really learned the different subtitling techniques:
- Multilingual subtitling (from English and Spanish to French);
- French SDH (Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing);
- French monolingual subtitling.
I could then work on fictional full-length and short-length movies, documentaries and town councils. It was clearly a good way for me to improve my professional skills as a French translator specialized in subtitling!
Web Content Writer
La Fourchette.com
2011 (Barcelona, Spain)
Technical Translator
Didactec
2012 (Fraisses, France)
Translator & Web Content Creator
Skoring & Co
2013 (Lyon, France)
Technical Translator
Viavi Solutions
2015 (Saint-Étienne, France)
Translator
Tys
2018 (Barcelona, Spain)
Translator
Junior Agence T2M
2019 (Dijon, France)
Audio-visual Translator
Le Joli Mai
2019 (Foix, France)
Why subtitling?
To start with, I love foreign languages: I have been fond of English and Spanish from my very first classes at school. Then, I prefer watching movies and TV shows in their subtitled original version so I see my colleagues’ work. To finish, when I studied in Grenoble, the subtitling course was my favorite. So, it was quite logical for me to finish my translation studies in Dijon.
And when I started my freelance translator career, my first jobs consisted in English-to-French subtitling of TV shows. Thanks to my work experience, translation and subtitling agencies, DVD/Blu-Ray publishers and research institutions have given me other videos to subtitle. Therefore, my professional expertise in subtitling allows me to meet my clients’ expectations.
What are my professional values?
As a professional freelance translator, I find some professional values to be essential. It is important that they actually show through my projects and, thus, through my relationships with my clients. Here they are:
- Quality: when I start a new project, I always go through a rigorous quality process;
- Transparency: I always ensure that I have the skills to do the subtitling job you offer me to work on;
- Collaboration: according to me, the ideal client/service provider relationship is when both sides are equal. Is it absolutely not an employer/employee relationship. In other words, each side actively takes part in the subtitling project: a service on one hand, and clear instructions and answers on the other hand;
- Expertise: I show you that subtitling is my field of expertise and the best way to proceed so your project is successful;
- Professionalism: I always deliver on time and keep you informed on how your project is progressing.
If you have the same professional values as I do, you can send me a custom quote request.
Professional commitment
I am a member of the French organization ATAA (in English: the Audio-visual Translators and Adapters Association). For me, it was important to join a professional organization, as the ATAA protects the rights of audio-visual translators who work in the subtitling, dubbing and videogame localization fields. They also wrote (in French) a code of ethics, so the relationship between the clients and service providers is better supervised. Therefore, my membership is important both for me and my translator colleagues.
I am also a member of Le Tradiscord, a French online community of 2,000 freelance French-speaking translators.
