Jeffrey Lee McLean
- Editorial Department
- Additional Crew
Jeff is a multi-lingual Scottish American who immigrated to Norway in 1996 where he started a family together with ex-wife Marit. After first spending a few years on Norway's west coast in Bergen, Jeff and family made the move inland to Vikøy in Hardanger where Jeff and Marit both worked as language teachers.
Jeff got his start as a freelance translator by doing weekly translation work for Bergen Kino, which was the municipal-operated cinema franchise, which ran all the cinemas in Bergen during the late 1990s (well, except for Forum Kino at Danmarksplassen). Jeff remembers this as one of his favorite translation gigs as he got paid in so-called "fribilletter", which gave him free entry to the city's movie theaters. This was a dream situation for a movie buff like Jeff who grew up in Orange County, California, just a short drive down the 405 freeway from Hollywood, etc.
It took Jeff a few years to become fluent enough in Norwegian so as to be fully qualified as a translator of Norwegian into English. This process was made slightly less difficult by the fact that he participated in a one-year exchange program between the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Bergen back in 1983-84. Jeff additionally did a year of exchange study in the same Education Abroad Program in France in 1985-86.
Most of the assignments Jeff has completed as a freelance were related to branches such as advertising, accounting and general business related documents. IT and HSE translations have also been a specialty of the years, however, Jeff's real passion lies in the translation of film scripts and subtitles for films and videos of all kinds and regardless of the duration. Feature films, short films, info films, advertising clips, TV commercials, TV series, documentaries, etc.
Jeff puts great focus on adapting his long experience with freelance translation work for the more technical processes involved in subtitling or captioning films for the ever-growing subtitle & captioning market, both here in Norway and internationally. The creative freedom a translator is allowed when conveying the tone and essential message of dialogue in feature films makes for very enjoyable work and a fun lifestyle.
Marit and Jeff eventually called it quits on their marriage, but did not exactly go their separate ways, and both still live on the small island of Bolga in Northern Norway. Population: 100... and holding steady. Together, but in separate homes, they are cooperating in the upbringing of their four children, and Jeff has not regretted staying on the island and in Norway for a second. Island life above the Arctic Circle is apparently not that different from coastal living just north of the Mexican border in Southern California where Jeff grew up and lived until age 34.
Networking is not a simple matter for someone who lives and works far from the mainland, but Jeff has been fortunate to get work from the main film production companies in Oslo, Norway, including both Filmkameratene AS and Paradox Film AS. Subtitling is an art form, which will not soon be replaced by automated, machine-based translation software due to the nuances of often hidden meaning that only a human being can perceive in a source language such as Norwegian, Swedish and Danish and then accurately convey in English.
Jeff uses the SubMachine subtitling software supplied by Titlevision of Denmark. He really enjoys the features of this software and finds that a translator who has mastered the more intricate technical aspects of subtitling will surely appreciate its user interface. He praises the excellent advice and user support that Niels and Uffe at Titlevision are always willing to provide.
Jeff encourages all fans of Scandinavian cinema to check out his work in such feature films as Birkebeinere, Kings Bay, Løvekvinnen, Børning 2 - On Ice, In Order of Disappearance, A Somewhat Gentle Man, Before Snowfall, etc.
Jeff really loves his work making subtitles and hopes to hear from colleagues, fans, and film production companies who need his services!
Jeff got his start as a freelance translator by doing weekly translation work for Bergen Kino, which was the municipal-operated cinema franchise, which ran all the cinemas in Bergen during the late 1990s (well, except for Forum Kino at Danmarksplassen). Jeff remembers this as one of his favorite translation gigs as he got paid in so-called "fribilletter", which gave him free entry to the city's movie theaters. This was a dream situation for a movie buff like Jeff who grew up in Orange County, California, just a short drive down the 405 freeway from Hollywood, etc.
It took Jeff a few years to become fluent enough in Norwegian so as to be fully qualified as a translator of Norwegian into English. This process was made slightly less difficult by the fact that he participated in a one-year exchange program between the University of California, Irvine, and the University of Bergen back in 1983-84. Jeff additionally did a year of exchange study in the same Education Abroad Program in France in 1985-86.
Most of the assignments Jeff has completed as a freelance were related to branches such as advertising, accounting and general business related documents. IT and HSE translations have also been a specialty of the years, however, Jeff's real passion lies in the translation of film scripts and subtitles for films and videos of all kinds and regardless of the duration. Feature films, short films, info films, advertising clips, TV commercials, TV series, documentaries, etc.
Jeff puts great focus on adapting his long experience with freelance translation work for the more technical processes involved in subtitling or captioning films for the ever-growing subtitle & captioning market, both here in Norway and internationally. The creative freedom a translator is allowed when conveying the tone and essential message of dialogue in feature films makes for very enjoyable work and a fun lifestyle.
Marit and Jeff eventually called it quits on their marriage, but did not exactly go their separate ways, and both still live on the small island of Bolga in Northern Norway. Population: 100... and holding steady. Together, but in separate homes, they are cooperating in the upbringing of their four children, and Jeff has not regretted staying on the island and in Norway for a second. Island life above the Arctic Circle is apparently not that different from coastal living just north of the Mexican border in Southern California where Jeff grew up and lived until age 34.
Networking is not a simple matter for someone who lives and works far from the mainland, but Jeff has been fortunate to get work from the main film production companies in Oslo, Norway, including both Filmkameratene AS and Paradox Film AS. Subtitling is an art form, which will not soon be replaced by automated, machine-based translation software due to the nuances of often hidden meaning that only a human being can perceive in a source language such as Norwegian, Swedish and Danish and then accurately convey in English.
Jeff uses the SubMachine subtitling software supplied by Titlevision of Denmark. He really enjoys the features of this software and finds that a translator who has mastered the more intricate technical aspects of subtitling will surely appreciate its user interface. He praises the excellent advice and user support that Niels and Uffe at Titlevision are always willing to provide.
Jeff encourages all fans of Scandinavian cinema to check out his work in such feature films as Birkebeinere, Kings Bay, Løvekvinnen, Børning 2 - On Ice, In Order of Disappearance, A Somewhat Gentle Man, Before Snowfall, etc.
Jeff really loves his work making subtitles and hopes to hear from colleagues, fans, and film production companies who need his services!
