Forum: Subtitling
Topic: Rates for subtitling work
Poster: Bernhard Sulzer
Post title: With all due respect ...
[quote]José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
[quote]Bernhard Sulzer wrote:
Serious clients and serious language experts will always agree on adequate pricing. That goes for creating subtitles in any language as well. You need to know how much work is involved to be able to charge adequately. For that, you need to have all the info (video, transcripts if available, format and software requirements, etc.). Imagine you have 200 words per minute. And that's just the text. That's without even thinking of watching the video again and again, translating within the given time frames, special language, use of special software. Quoting/accepting flat rates per video minute because someone suggests that isn't a professional approach at all. On the contrary, it's for people willing to be exploited. It doesn't matter if that's what certain agencies want you to do. Don't do it.[/quote]
Bernhard,
With all due respect, subtitling work has just too many critical, cost-influencing variables at play to be oversimplified like this. Your approach above attempts to draw a parallel from the translation of a complex PRINTED publication, which could be broken down into independent stages. [/quote]
I did no such thing. I mentioned a few possible variables of subtitling. Each project can be different and involve more or sometimes fewer variables. Sometimes it is the time-coded text in a particular language that's needed and the actual technical side (putting the subtitles on the screen) is handled by the client or another contractor. I worked with a film director for example where that was the case.
I merely draw attention to the fact that no one should believe it's an easy task and that they should not simply charge some arbitrary rates per video minute as suggested by many. I also point out that we're not talking about merely translating and it should be obvious to the reader that pricing for subtitling is a more complex matter than for straightforward translation.
The only parallel to general text translation I draw is that no matter what you're working on in this business, you need to know all the facts and have all the information, special hardware and/or software (if required) to quote/charge adequately.
So let me quote again from my previous post:
[quote] Bernhard Sulzer wrote:
... Quoting/accepting flat rates per video minute because someone suggests that isn't a professional approach at all. On the contrary, it's for people willing to be exploited. It doesn't matter if that's what certain agencies want you to do. Don't do it. [/quote][Edited at 2016-03-20 14:03 GMT]
[Edited at 2016-03-20 14:19 GMT]
Topic: Rates for subtitling work
Poster: Bernhard Sulzer
Post title: With all due respect ...
[quote]José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:
[quote]Bernhard Sulzer wrote:
Serious clients and serious language experts will always agree on adequate pricing. That goes for creating subtitles in any language as well. You need to know how much work is involved to be able to charge adequately. For that, you need to have all the info (video, transcripts if available, format and software requirements, etc.). Imagine you have 200 words per minute. And that's just the text. That's without even thinking of watching the video again and again, translating within the given time frames, special language, use of special software. Quoting/accepting flat rates per video minute because someone suggests that isn't a professional approach at all. On the contrary, it's for people willing to be exploited. It doesn't matter if that's what certain agencies want you to do. Don't do it.[/quote]
Bernhard,
With all due respect, subtitling work has just too many critical, cost-influencing variables at play to be oversimplified like this. Your approach above attempts to draw a parallel from the translation of a complex PRINTED publication, which could be broken down into independent stages. [/quote]
I did no such thing. I mentioned a few possible variables of subtitling. Each project can be different and involve more or sometimes fewer variables. Sometimes it is the time-coded text in a particular language that's needed and the actual technical side (putting the subtitles on the screen) is handled by the client or another contractor. I worked with a film director for example where that was the case.
I merely draw attention to the fact that no one should believe it's an easy task and that they should not simply charge some arbitrary rates per video minute as suggested by many. I also point out that we're not talking about merely translating and it should be obvious to the reader that pricing for subtitling is a more complex matter than for straightforward translation.
The only parallel to general text translation I draw is that no matter what you're working on in this business, you need to know all the facts and have all the information, special hardware and/or software (if required) to quote/charge adequately.
So let me quote again from my previous post:
[quote] Bernhard Sulzer wrote:
... Quoting/accepting flat rates per video minute because someone suggests that isn't a professional approach at all. On the contrary, it's for people willing to be exploited. It doesn't matter if that's what certain agencies want you to do. Don't do it. [/quote][Edited at 2016-03-20 14:03 GMT]
[Edited at 2016-03-20 14:19 GMT]