Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Netflix Hermes test
Poster: Jan Truper
Post title: Kafkaesque, part 2
[quote]jbjb wrote:
There is another way that Hermes is fighting the bad translations - assigning each translator a Hermes number and forcing all of the vendors to include translator names to Netflix files.
...
Now, if they also directly test with Hermes as individuals, Netflix can assign work to them directly at higher rates and cut out the vendors because it also sees the track record of all translators and which vendors they work for.
[/quote]
I took the test for a vendor because I was required to do so. I might take it again as an individual if I find an opening, but at the moment I'm not inclined to do so. The apparent chaos surrounding the test is just one of several reasons.
My time is one of the products I sell as a freelance translator. When I spend time do an unpaid test, I'd like to know beforehand what awaits me in the likely event that I pass.
For the Hermes test, there is no clear indication what will be offered exactly. There is no contact person to provide any info, either. As I said in another post, I find this all very kafkaesque.
A factor that I have not seen mentioned anywhere are non-compete clauses. I have not checked my contracts with vendors that I work for, but for working professional subtitlers, there might be legal ramifications to be considered if we were to start working for an end client directly.
There's been a lot of negative statements about vendors and "middlemen" in this thread; I'd like to state that some of them actually add value.
From one of the vendors I work for, I receive perfectly spotted English source template files in a proprietary software application that is --WAY-- superior to the crap I had to use in the Netflix test.
All I have to do as a translator is concentrate on content. This vendor provides glossaries for TV shows which sometimes even inform me who has been kissing whom in what episode, so I can figure out whether informal German addressing is appropriate or not in the episode and scene I am currently working on. I know there's a reviewer who will check my work, which is great, because I can spend more time thinking about content than worrying about whether I have spotted every last typo. Technical, payment or any other issues? They respond swiftly, courteously and professionally.
This means that they have to pay for staff, which also means that my rate as a translator is lower than it would be if I were to work for the end client directly. But I don't mind, because it's worth it to me as a translator.
From what I can tell so far, Netflix is miles away from providing such a work environment for translators.
[Edited at 2017-04-21 07:24 GMT]
Topic: Netflix Hermes test
Poster: Jan Truper
Post title: Kafkaesque, part 2
[quote]jbjb wrote:
There is another way that Hermes is fighting the bad translations - assigning each translator a Hermes number and forcing all of the vendors to include translator names to Netflix files.
...
Now, if they also directly test with Hermes as individuals, Netflix can assign work to them directly at higher rates and cut out the vendors because it also sees the track record of all translators and which vendors they work for.
[/quote]
I took the test for a vendor because I was required to do so. I might take it again as an individual if I find an opening, but at the moment I'm not inclined to do so. The apparent chaos surrounding the test is just one of several reasons.
My time is one of the products I sell as a freelance translator. When I spend time do an unpaid test, I'd like to know beforehand what awaits me in the likely event that I pass.
For the Hermes test, there is no clear indication what will be offered exactly. There is no contact person to provide any info, either. As I said in another post, I find this all very kafkaesque.
A factor that I have not seen mentioned anywhere are non-compete clauses. I have not checked my contracts with vendors that I work for, but for working professional subtitlers, there might be legal ramifications to be considered if we were to start working for an end client directly.
There's been a lot of negative statements about vendors and "middlemen" in this thread; I'd like to state that some of them actually add value.
From one of the vendors I work for, I receive perfectly spotted English source template files in a proprietary software application that is --WAY-- superior to the crap I had to use in the Netflix test.
All I have to do as a translator is concentrate on content. This vendor provides glossaries for TV shows which sometimes even inform me who has been kissing whom in what episode, so I can figure out whether informal German addressing is appropriate or not in the episode and scene I am currently working on. I know there's a reviewer who will check my work, which is great, because I can spend more time thinking about content than worrying about whether I have spotted every last typo. Technical, payment or any other issues? They respond swiftly, courteously and professionally.
This means that they have to pay for staff, which also means that my rate as a translator is lower than it would be if I were to work for the end client directly. But I don't mind, because it's worth it to me as a translator.
From what I can tell so far, Netflix is miles away from providing such a work environment for translators.
[Edited at 2017-04-21 07:24 GMT]
