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[Subtitling Rates] per minute rates
Thread poster: The LT>EN Guy
Ismael Romero
Ismael Romero
Colombia
Local time: 18:40
English to Spanish
+ ...
Subtitles from scratch Apr 27, 2017

Hello to everyone, I have many questions integrated in one, so I'll try to go straight to the point.
As a newbie on both translation and subtitling fields , I would like to get some direct clients while I do some jobs in freelancers platforms to grow my portfolio.
So I was thinking to offer a sample of my services to different individuals and companies that have lectures, talks, seminars, etc in English and need to be subtitled into Spanish since they'll catch a much bigger audience.
... See more
Hello to everyone, I have many questions integrated in one, so I'll try to go straight to the point.
As a newbie on both translation and subtitling fields , I would like to get some direct clients while I do some jobs in freelancers platforms to grow my portfolio.
So I was thinking to offer a sample of my services to different individuals and companies that have lectures, talks, seminars, etc in English and need to be subtitled into Spanish since they'll catch a much bigger audience.
Supposing that I just called the attention of any of these prospects, how much should I charge?
I would do all the job from scratch, transcription, translation, subtitling and time coding on videos that go from 30 to 45 minutes, I think is something between 5000 and 7000 words on average.
In this forum I read that the average lowest price is between $3 an $5 american dollars per minute but,
1- Does that price include the translation already or is just for subtitling?
2- How can I break down prices?
4- What are considered fair prices in the industry but considering I am still a nobody?
3- Is there any free subtitling software suitable to show a professional work?
5 - What is a standard delivering format for time codes?

Thank you very much to all of you for your time!
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Jorge Payan
Jorge Payan  Identity Verified
Colombia
Local time: 18:40
Member (2002)
German to Spanish
+ ...
Un enlace que le recomiendo. Apr 28, 2017

Como colombiano que soy prefiero comentar su publicación en español.

No tengo mayor idea acerca de subtitulación; por eso le recomiendo esta interesantísima discusión:

http://www.proz.com/forum/subtitling/283471-ask_me_anything_about_subtitling.html

En lo que sí le puedo dar mi opinión es con sus dudas con rel
... See more
Como colombiano que soy prefiero comentar su publicación en español.

No tengo mayor idea acerca de subtitulación; por eso le recomiendo esta interesantísima discusión:

http://www.proz.com/forum/subtitling/283471-ask_me_anything_about_subtitling.html

En lo que sí le puedo dar mi opinión es con sus dudas con relación a la traducción, puesto que hace ya 15 años que me dedico a ella de tiempo completo. Por el momento estoy en Chile, pero si quiere hablar por Skype, mi ID es jorge_payan.

Saludos
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Alejandro Torres
 
Anna Norman
Anna Norman  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 00:40
English to Swedish
I wonder how much BTI pays May 3, 2017

I have submitted my resume to them several times. But only evewr gotten the automatic Thank you-message.

 
jbjb
jbjb  Identity Verified
Estonia
Local time: 01:40
Estonian to English
+ ...
dumping May 3, 2017

I think after the dumping war, when subtitling tariffs went down several times in Scandinavia, all of the major subtitling companies finally signed a truce and pay pretty much the same rate to all translators. Netflix pays USD 12 per minute for Swedish, companies usually share USD 3-5 of this with translators.

 
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 00:40
English to French
+ ...
Glad Jun 14, 2017

that I ended up finding this thread. I've been working as a subtitler for two years now but, to my shame, my major client pays ridiculously low (2.5€/min...). My second (both are agencies) pays 3.8€/min, which is better. It was always difficult to find information on the standard translation rate for subtitling and I was always thinking that I was asking too much by wanting to go as far as 5€/min.

Zofia Wyszynski
 
Sylvano
Sylvano
Local time: 00:40
English to French
Appalling by French standards Jun 14, 2017

Jocelin M wrote:
I've been working as a subtitler for two years now but, to my shame, my major client pays ridiculously low (2.5€/min...). My second (both are agencies) pays 3.8€/min, which is better. It was always difficult to find information on the standard translation rate for subtitling and I was always thinking that I was asking too much by wanting to go as far as 5€/min.


Those rates are way too low/ridiculous, as you point yourself. All the more so if your clients are French. 10€ per minute ought to be considered a minimum.


Devin Gilbert
Zofia Wyszynski
 
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 00:40
English to French
+ ...
Unfortunately Jun 15, 2017

Sylvano wrote:

Those rates are way too low/ridiculous, as you point yourself. All the more so if your clients are French. 10€ per minute ought to be considered a minimum.

they aren't French. It seems that there isn't many French subtitling companies around since I rarely encounter one when looking for new clients. If they pay this much, I could finally make a living out of my job.


 
Inga Petkelyte
Inga Petkelyte  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 23:40
Lithuanian to Portuguese
+ ...
Then tell straight away Jun 15, 2017

Sylvano wrote:

...

Those rates are way too low/ridiculous, as you point yourself. All the more so if your clients are French. 10€ per minute ought to be considered a minimum.


The typical approach here on ProZ that everyone is prompt to tell that someone works for peanuts but whenever that somoene (dozens of them, in fact) ask for a specific figure as a guidline, the opinion givers suddenly become vague and figures are not named. It happens all the time, with very few exceptions.
So how can a translator quote adequate rates if the whole advice is just telling "your rates are ridiculous"?
Don't take it personally, Sylvano, your post is only one among hundreds of this type.

I have done couple of subtitling jobs, straight from a video, no one party had a clue how much it could be so we agreed on a fixed price. The first was pretty funny, it was in Galician (only similar to Portuguese), not much talking, nice views (medows and cows), afterall it was more a pleasure rather than work. I remember, I spent several hours on somewhat 14-minutes video, but I took my time for checking and rechecking everything several times to make sure I can sign my work with pride.


Sabina Alasgarova
Cristina Heraud-van Tol
Liudmyla Chernyshevska
Matthew McKay
 
Sylvano
Sylvano
Local time: 00:40
English to French
Well, I gave a rate, didn't I ? Jun 16, 2017

Inga Petkelyte wrote:

So how can a translator quote adequate rates if the whole advice is just telling "your rates are ridiculous"?
Don't take it personally, Sylvano, your post is only one among hundreds of this type.


10€ per minute ought to be considered a minimum. And you may get 15€ per minute or more.


 
Sylvano
Sylvano
Local time: 00:40
English to French
Where do you look for them ? Jun 16, 2017

Jocelin M wrote:

It seems that there isn't many French subtitling companies around since I rarely encounter one when looking for new clients. If they pay this much, I could finally make a living out of my job.


They exist. You could find them after a quick web search. They pay way more than than the rates you give and it is possible to make a living out of subtitling. I'm not saying it's easy, there is growing competition and pressure on rates, but I still do after 17 years in the business.


 
Sylvano
Sylvano
Local time: 00:40
English to French
You point a problem, I point another Jun 16, 2017

Inga Petkelyte wrote:

I have done couple of subtitling jobs, straight from a video, no one party had a clue how much it could be so we agreed on a fixed price. The first was pretty funny, it was in Galician (only similar to Portuguese), not much talking, nice views (medows and cows), afterall it was more a pleasure rather than work. I remember, I spent several hours on somewhat 14-minutes video, but I took my time for checking and rechecking everything several times to make sure I can sign my work with pride.


That kind of approach on subtitling is also pretty common on this (professional) forum. In a nutshell and caricaturing : "well, I did some subtitling once or twice for fun, the rate was low and I didn't really qualify for the job, but I enjoyed it very much." Or people wanting advice or rates on a field they want to try on the side without any training or sense of its realities, etc. This is pretty annoying when you've been a dedicated translator for the screen for years. My trade is very specific, as is book translation, interpretation, sign language or any other translating field. And it wouldn't come to my mind to tackle any of them on the fly, without any idea of how it's done or paid decently. Whenever somebody acts as a translator for the screen without knowing the trade (its techniques and steps, its rules and technical specs, the time it takes, the rates you need to live from it 100%, etc.), it affects all of us subtitlers and dubbers. That's one-shot for them, but that can be a deadly wound for us (and I'm not even mentionning illegal amateur fansubbing). That may explain the arsh dry comments, I guess. I'm sorry but when I read some of the questions asked or experiences related on this forum (often implying subtitling is fun and easy for a quick buck, not even something you need to get trained for), I can't help but being upset. Why would that be different from surgery, for instance? Would you have heart surgery performed on you by a brain surgeon ? I wouldn't.


Simon Thomas
Louise Péron
 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 20:40
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Several issues to consider Jun 16, 2017

Sylvano wrote:

That kind of approach on subtitling is also pretty common on this (professional) forum. In a nutshell and caricaturing : "well, I did some subtitling once or twice for fun, the rate was low and I didn't really qualify for the job, but I enjoyed it very much." Or people wanting advice or rates on a field they want to try on the side without any training or sense of its realities, etc. This is pretty annoying when you've been a dedicated translator for the screen for years. My trade is very specific, as is book translation, interpretation, sign language or any other translating field. And it wouldn't come to my mind to tackle any of them on the fly, without any idea of how it's done or paid decently. Whenever somebody acts as a translator for the screen without knowing the trade (its techniques and steps, its rules and technical specs, the time it takes, the rates you need to live from it 100%, etc.), it affects all of us subtitlers and dubbers. That's one-shot for them, but that can be a deadly wound for us (and I'm not even mentionning illegal amateur fansubbing). That may explain the arsh dry comments, I guess. I'm sorry but when I read some of the questions asked or experiences related on this forum (often implying subtitling is fun and easy for a quick buck, not even something you need to get trained for), I can't help but being upset.


The point is that too many people ask everywhere about "subtitling rates", as if it were an in&out job like making photocopies of whatever is on the originals.

The most frequent question I see here and on Facebook about subtitling is:
A client has asked me to subtitle a video. How much should I charge for it?


It is often followed by the question #2:
Can you recommend any free software that would do it for me (sic!)???


First, the input material - and consequently the work involved - can vary a lot, for instance:
  • Just the video, nothing else
  • The video and a transcript
  • The video and a transcript made concise, ready for direct translation (weird, but I have such a request now)
  • The concise transcript above already broken into subtitles, requiring time-coding
  • A pre-timed subtitles file, e.g. SRT, in the source language, ready for translation as-is


Then, the output material, i.e. how far the translator/subtitler is expected to go:
  • Just translate the video into concise text - this is common for small producers, whose internal staff will break that into subtitles, and then place one by one, often using FinalCut (which always puzzles me)
  • Translate it into broken subtitles - the client's (often a mid-size producer) staff will take it from there
  • Translate, time-spot, and deliver a SRT file - the client will upload that to YouTube etc. or play it using VideoLAN VLC
  • Translate, time-spot, and deliver in a proprietary formal file (usually involves having pricey software) - used mostly by TV stations
  • Translate (and time-spot or not) on our online platform
  • Translate, time-spot and burn those subtitles on video
... and many other different possibilities. Yet too many people put all this under one same umbrella, name it as "subtitling", and want to know how much $ they should charge per minute.

And yet we haven't got near any other video features like:
  • Availability of video translators in that language pair?
  • Technical, specialized content, or for general audience?
  • Audio quality (i.e. studio recording or shot with a smartphone in a cheering crowd)?
  • Time (current or ancient history on stage)?
  • Slang, jokes, word plays in comedy?
... and others, which often mean extra work, but at no additional price.

So this entire issue about subtitling rates sound likes the guy who phones his mechanic, asking:
"Hey, Jim, how much will you charge to fix my car? A friendly neighbor who knows something about mechanics examined it, and said that something was 'blown', though I can't remember if he said it was a 'fuse' or a 'gasket'."


Yuri Yang
Simon Thomas
Reene Pei Ling Wong
 
Bernhard Sulzer
Bernhard Sulzer  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 19:40
English to German
+ ...
Round and round we go Jun 16, 2017

José Henrique Lamensdorf wrote:

Sylvano wrote:

That kind of approach on subtitling is also pretty common on this (professional) forum. In a nutshell and caricaturing : "well, I did some subtitling once or twice for fun, the rate was low and I didn't really qualify for the job, but I enjoyed it very much." Or people wanting advice or rates on a field they want to try on the side without any training or sense of its realities, etc. This is pretty annoying when you've been a dedicated translator for the screen for years. My trade is very specific, as is book translation, interpretation, sign language or any other translating field. And it wouldn't come to my mind to tackle any of them on the fly, without any idea of how it's done or paid decently. Whenever somebody acts as a translator for the screen without knowing the trade (its techniques and steps, its rules and technical specs, the time it takes, the rates you need to live from it 100%, etc.), it affects all of us subtitlers and dubbers. That's one-shot for them, but that can be a deadly wound for us (and I'm not even mentionning illegal amateur fansubbing). That may explain the arsh dry comments, I guess. I'm sorry but when I read some of the questions asked or experiences related on this forum (often implying subtitling is fun and easy for a quick buck, not even something you need to get trained for), I can't help but being upset.


The point is that too many people ask everywhere about "subtitling rates", as if it were an in&out job like making photocopies of whatever is on the originals.

The most frequent question I see here and on Facebook about subtitling is:
A client has asked me to subtitle a video. How much should I charge for it?


It is often followed by the question #2:
Can you recommend any free software that would do it for me (sic!)???


First, the input material - and consequently the work involved - can vary a lot, for instance:
  • Just the video, nothing else
  • The video and a transcript
  • The video and a transcript made concise, ready for direct translation (weird, but I have such a request now)
  • The concise transcript above already broken into subtitles, requiring time-coding
  • A pre-timed subtitles file, e.g. SRT, in the source language, ready for translation as-is


Then, the output material, i.e. how far the translator/subtitler is expected to go:
  • Just translate the video into concise text - this is common for small producers, whose internal staff will break that into subtitles, and then place one by one, often using FinalCut (which always puzzles me)
  • Translate it into broken subtitles - the client's (often a mid-size producer) staff will take it from there
  • Translate, time-spot, and deliver a SRT file - the client will upload that to YouTube etc. or play it using VideoLAN VLC
  • Translate, time-spot, and deliver in a proprietary formal file (usually involves having pricey software) - used mostly by TV stations
  • Translate (and time-spot or not) on our online platform
  • Translate, time-spot and burn those subtitles on video
... and many other different possibilities. Yet too many people put all this under one same umbrella, name it as "subtitling", and want to know how much $ they should charge per minute.

And yet we haven't got near any other video features like:
  • Availability of video translators in that language pair?
  • Technical, specialized content, or for general audience?
  • Audio quality (i.e. studio recording or shot with a smartphone in a cheering crowd)?
  • Time (current or ancient history on stage)?
  • Slang, jokes, word plays in comedy?
... and others, which often mean extra work, but at no additional price.

So this entire issue about subtitling rates sound likes the guy who phones his mechanic, asking:
"Hey, Jim, how much will you charge to fix my car? A friendly neighbor who knows something about mechanics examined it, and said that something was 'blown', though I can't remember if he said it was a 'fuse' or a 'gasket'."


The sad thing is that the question about subtitling rates keeps being asked and answered, and this post originally dates from 2006, but the people asking don't seem to bother looking for previous answers and the opinions, except yours and those of a few others, never seem to change about what meager rate should be paid as if that were at all realistic. You must get tired of answering the same old questions again and again. Bottom line: everyone should think twice before even tackling this field of expertise. And if someone thinks they should pay/charge less for subtitling than for translating simple documents or even proposes a quote per "video" minute without having heard or seen the audio/video and /or read the script, then they are certainly in the wrong line of work. It's called exploitation.


 
Inga Petkelyte
Inga Petkelyte  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 23:40
Lithuanian to Portuguese
+ ...
Solution? Jun 16, 2017

Sylvano wrote:

Inga Petkelyte wrote:

I have done couple of subtitling jobs, straight from a video, no one party had a clue how much it could be so we agreed on a fixed price. The first was pretty funny, it was in Galician (only similar to Portuguese), not much talking, nice views (medows and cows), afterall it was more a pleasure rather than work. I remember, I spent several hours on somewhat 14-minutes video, but I took my time for checking and rechecking everything several times to make sure I can sign my work with pride.


That kind of approach on subtitling is also pretty common on this (professional) forum. In a nutshell and caricaturing : "well, I did some subtitling once or twice for fun, the rate was low and I didn't really qualify for the job, but I enjoyed it very much." Or people wanting advice or rates on a field they want to try on the side without any training or sense of its realities, etc. This is pretty annoying when you've been a dedicated translator for the screen for years. My trade is very specific, as is book translation, interpretation, sign language or any other translating field. And it wouldn't come to my mind to tackle any of them on the fly, without any idea of how it's done or paid decently. Whenever somebody acts as a translator for the screen without knowing the trade (its techniques and steps, its rules and technical specs, the time it takes, the rates you need to live from it 100%, etc.), it affects all of us subtitlers and dubbers. That's one-shot for them, but that can be a deadly wound for us (and I'm not even mentionning illegal amateur fansubbing). That may explain the arsh dry comments, I guess. I'm sorry but when I read some of the questions asked or experiences related on this forum (often implying subtitling is fun and easy for a quick buck, not even something you need to get trained for), I can't help but being upset. Why would that be different from surgery, for instance? Would you have heart surgery performed on you by a brain surgeon ? I wouldn't.


I did ask you not to take it personally - the reasons explained earlier, won't repeat myself.
To this your post:
What would be your solution for a very specific linguistic combination where translators simply do not exist?
Do you really think a several-layer subtitling/translation is better?
Then you don't know the story about 12 (the figure varies) translators at a roundtable translating one short sentence and what the result of it was.

(BTH, yes, there are situations where not surgeons operate and many lives are saved like this, and not everyone keeps their arms crossed in specific moments just because they don't hold a respective diploma.)


 
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 00:40
English to French
+ ...
Pretty much everywhere I can Jun 17, 2017

Sylvano wrote:

They exist. You could find them after a quick web search. They pay way more than than the rates you give and it is possible to make a living out of subtitling. I'm not saying it's easy, there is growing competition and pressure on rates, but I still do after 17 years in the business.


most of the time, by typing things like "subtitling companies" in google, looking on ProZ boards, Translatorspub/cafe as well and sometimes subtitling companies list other companies that I check. I specifically searched for French companies this week and found five of them, only two recruiting in those five and no answer yet from both.
If you have advice on how to find more, or even companies' names, I'd gladly take it. I'm always searching all day long since I began and getting even an answer is rare.


 
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[Subtitling Rates] per minute rates







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