I thought I'd update this post, since we are always on the lookout for staff.
Many people think that you need to be able to speak Japanese to join a fansub group. While translation is one of the most important parts of anime subbing, it's not the only part by any means. It's equally important that all the other jobs are done well to bring you a quality release.
The people involved in creating a sub are:
Translator (TL): The person who converts from moonspeak to Eng(r/l)ish
Translation Checker (TLC): The person who verifies that the TL has correctly understood moonspeak and helps to translates lines and words the TL couldn't get
Editor (ED): The person who converts from Engrish to English. He or she makes the script flow better and sound more natural. He or she also fixes grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes. You need to speak and write good English to fulfil this position. Familiarity with Japanese is helpful but not required.
Typesetter: This person typesets signs - that is, positions and animates (where required) text on screen that translates anything that might be written down (notes, shop signs, newspaper headlines etc.). This is normally done using either Aegisub for basic signs or Adobe After Effects (AFX) for more advanced effects (for example, moving text). The typesetter is commonly also involved with styling (selecting fonts and colours for the subtitles).
Stylist: This isn't really big enough to be a role in its own right. The stylist selects fonts and colours for the main text. You need to have a good feel for the kind of font that is appropriate for any particular anime. For example, you don't use a big bold rounded sci-fi type font for a historical anime (except, perhaps, if it involves mechs).
Quality Control (QC)/Quality Assurance (QA): Different groups have different definitions of this role. In FTP-A, we have both QCs and QAs. The QC checks the script for anything the translators and editors missed, correcting punctuation etc. It is not the QC's job to necessarily make the script flow better. The QA checks this and also checks for timing errors, scenebleeds, encoding problems, karaoke problems and anything else that is wrong. You need to have a good eye for problems, good English and a thick skin for this position, but QA is what is responsible for the final quality of the episode.
Timer: This person sets the times at which lines appear. This is not as easy as it sounds - you have to decide when pauses are long enough to split lines into two, when to time background speech and make sure that the lines don't spill across scene changes, as well as make sure there is an adequate lead-in and lead-out so the lines don't disappear too quickly. Related to this, and more difficult is the karaoker timer (k-timer), who has to time the individual syllables of songs. This is difficult enough to be a job in its own right but it is often done by the...
Karaoker FXer: The person who actually makes the karaoke look cool. He or she animates the letters, makes them disappear, spin around, fade etc. I personally don't really understand how this is all done, it's a dark art to me :)
Encoder: This person takes the original raw source (which might be a DVD rip or a TV capture) and adds everything the people above did to turn it into what you see. He or she needs to understand when to use filters (to make sources that are sometimes poor look better) and what encoding standards to use. A fast PC is also needed, as encoding takes a long time and sometimes has to be done multiple times.
I may have missed people out, if I have, I apologise. We're always looking for people for all staff positions - the more staff we have, the more quality series we can bring to you, so if you think you have what it takes, get in touch! The subbing staff can be found on the irc channel (#@irc.rizon.no">ftp-anime@[deleted].rizon.no) and several can be contacted through the forum. Poke Ketsurui, RJD (or me) if you are interested.
