Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Netflix Hermes test
Poster: José Henrique Lamensdorf
Post title: It was a test, not a fun ride
[quote]Jan Truper wrote:
[quote]José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
I think it was well-devised. [/quote]
The German test I did was not, in my opinion.
The multiple choice part contained some answers that were too similar in nature; sometimes none of the German answers really hit the mark.
The "find the error in the subtitle" part contained a small mistake by the spotter, but that was none of the options given.
Most of all, I hated the fact that the video window could not be resized or separated to put it on a different monitor -- I had to put on reading glasses and move my head close to the screen like an idiot.
Plus, I find the whole thing a bit kafkaesque ... I do not assume we will be given details on the score.[/quote]
My point was that the test (I took the EN-PTBR one) - as devised - addressed some critical skills a professional subtitling translator will use often.
Not all actors - as a matter of fact, few - will always say it as clearly as IMHO Eva LaRue and James Spader do it in EN, regardless of the role they play. I guess every language has its Rocky Balboa roles.
Nevertheless, an immense global crowd of bilingual or sesquilingual people worldwide can't stop dreaming about the privilege of getting paid to be the first to watch closely and translate the next Friends or Seinfeld series. Quite frankly, I've translated more than my share of pretty dull flicks, including a bunch of quite disgusting ones.
If any question is improperly stated, offers no unquestionably correct alternative, or includes more than one right option, it is easy to exclude it while scoring, or use it to oust those who merely guessed relying on luck.
The time limit, IMHO, was quite fair, as I am admittedly a 'slow' video translator, since I originally came from the translation-for-dubbing realm, having adapted my initial m.o. for subtitling. So no qualified candidate should complain about the time constraint, which I guess was adopted to prevent candidates from easily outsourcing the test.
The size of the window is the industry standard. Normally a subtitling translator will get a 640x480 video with some logo overlay, to thwart any intent of leaking it to YouTube or torrent servers. It's a working copy, not intended for fun. Audio - of course - should always be kept pristine.
In any case, the test is Netflix's very own choice on the method for selecting translators. It is not regulated by any law, and they'll have to live with whatever results they get it. Nobody is forced to take this test, nor work for them.
As I noticed that it does indeed address a few tricky situations a professional subtitles translator will often face, I considered it well-devised. Like any test, it shouldn't be expected to be easy nor fun.
Topic: Netflix Hermes test
Poster: José Henrique Lamensdorf
Post title: It was a test, not a fun ride
[quote]Jan Truper wrote:
[quote]José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
I think it was well-devised. [/quote]
The German test I did was not, in my opinion.
The multiple choice part contained some answers that were too similar in nature; sometimes none of the German answers really hit the mark.
The "find the error in the subtitle" part contained a small mistake by the spotter, but that was none of the options given.
Most of all, I hated the fact that the video window could not be resized or separated to put it on a different monitor -- I had to put on reading glasses and move my head close to the screen like an idiot.
Plus, I find the whole thing a bit kafkaesque ... I do not assume we will be given details on the score.[/quote]
My point was that the test (I took the EN-PTBR one) - as devised - addressed some critical skills a professional subtitling translator will use often.
Not all actors - as a matter of fact, few - will always say it as clearly as IMHO Eva LaRue and James Spader do it in EN, regardless of the role they play. I guess every language has its Rocky Balboa roles.
Nevertheless, an immense global crowd of bilingual or sesquilingual people worldwide can't stop dreaming about the privilege of getting paid to be the first to watch closely and translate the next Friends or Seinfeld series. Quite frankly, I've translated more than my share of pretty dull flicks, including a bunch of quite disgusting ones.
If any question is improperly stated, offers no unquestionably correct alternative, or includes more than one right option, it is easy to exclude it while scoring, or use it to oust those who merely guessed relying on luck.
The time limit, IMHO, was quite fair, as I am admittedly a 'slow' video translator, since I originally came from the translation-for-dubbing realm, having adapted my initial m.o. for subtitling. So no qualified candidate should complain about the time constraint, which I guess was adopted to prevent candidates from easily outsourcing the test.
The size of the window is the industry standard. Normally a subtitling translator will get a 640x480 video with some logo overlay, to thwart any intent of leaking it to YouTube or torrent servers. It's a working copy, not intended for fun. Audio - of course - should always be kept pristine.
In any case, the test is Netflix's very own choice on the method for selecting translators. It is not regulated by any law, and they'll have to live with whatever results they get it. Nobody is forced to take this test, nor work for them.
As I noticed that it does indeed address a few tricky situations a professional subtitles translator will often face, I considered it well-devised. Like any test, it shouldn't be expected to be easy nor fun.