Subtitle creator: In Slovakia, Disney+ will be more succeessful than Netflix

A new player has entered Slovak market.

Tom Cruise promoting his latest movie Top Gun: Maverick.Tom Cruise promoting his latest movie Top Gun: Maverick. (Source: TASR/AP)

Slovaks now have another opportunity to watch movies and series. From June 14, they can subscribe to the new Disney+ streaming service. The newest player is entering a market that has for many years have been occupied by Netflix, HBO Max (until recently HBO Go), Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video. When choosing a platform, the content is not the only important aspect, but also subtitles, ideally in Slovak.

Related article How much will people in Slovakia pay for Disney Plus? Read more 
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

For the last ten years, Michal Mojžiš has made a living by translating films and series. He started in a Slovak agency that worked with Netflix. Today he is at his most busy with contracts for Disney+, but he will also get to work on movie blockbusters.

SkryťTurn off ads

"I made subtitles for Top Gun: Maverick last June, they gave me a month. That was a luxury. I was able to take my time with them, take a closer look at the military aircraft terminology mentioned in the film, and consult it with experts," says Mojžiš in an interview with INDEX magazine.

Related article Computer scientist explains how robots see and translators translate Read more 

Before Netflix, many Slovaks downloaded movies and series via torrents and searched for Slovak subtitles on the web. Were you among the volunteers making the subtitles?

Yes, that's how I started with subtitles. I'm a big film and TV series enthusiast and I volunteered to translate subtitles while studying at university in Banská Bystrica. I studied English language and culture, specifically translation and interpreting. For me, creating subtitles was a combination of something pleasant and useful. Upon graduation eight years ago, I got a job in a Slovak agency that supplied Slovak subtitles to Netflix.

SkryťTurn off ads

But it didn't take long for Netflix to decide that Slovak subtitles were not necessary, and turned to Czech. I lost my income, so I looked for new ways to make a living. I started working with foreign agencies and did everything, including subtitles for movie trailers, Blu-Ray media, and the proofreading of finished subtitles.

Did you ever return to a Slovak agency?

No, because financially it was not worth it. They would pay half of what agencies abroad offered. Currently, I work with only one Slovak company, CinemArt, which provides subtitles to Slovak cinemas and distributes films from studios such as Universal or Paramount.

This is how I got to work on subtitles for the movie Top Gun: Maverick. Movie subtitles have the advantage of being adequately worth the money, and I usually have enough time for translation. Commissions from agencies working with streaming platforms are not paid as well and the pressure is relatively high.

What are the conditions if you want to translate subtitles for an agency?

The rest of this article is premium content at Spectator.sk
Subscribe now for full access

I already have subscription - Sign in

Subscription provides you with:
  • Immediate access to all locked articles (premium content) on Spectator.sk
  • Special weekly news summary + an audio recording with a weekly news summary to listen to at your convenience (received on a weekly basis directly to your e-mail)
  • PDF version of the latest issue of our newspaper, The Slovak Spectator, emailed directly to you
  • Access to all premium content on Sme.sk and Korzar.sk

Top stories

Two bear incidents over weekend, an effort to revive Bratislava calvary, and storks in Trnava.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad