Subtitles from scratch
Thread poster: Ismael Romero
Ismael Romero
Ismael Romero
Colombia
Local time: 00:06
English to Spanish
+ ...
Apr 28, 2017

Subtitles from scratch

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
... See more
Subtitles from scratch

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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Kim Edwards-Buarque
Kim Edwards-Buarque  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 05:06
Portuguese to English
+ ...
My experience so far.... Apr 30, 2017

Hi Ismael,

I became a full-time translator around a year ago, and whilst I didn´t initially promote transcription/translating services, they have arisen through working with agencies that I am collaborating with for translation projects.
I have done both transcription (EN-EN) and more recently, translating straight from the source (SP/PT) into EN, without the transcription stage. Through working with these agencies, I have charged 6€/min for transcription, and around 35% m
... See more
Hi Ismael,

I became a full-time translator around a year ago, and whilst I didn´t initially promote transcription/translating services, they have arisen through working with agencies that I am collaborating with for translation projects.
I have done both transcription (EN-EN) and more recently, translating straight from the source (SP/PT) into EN, without the transcription stage. Through working with these agencies, I have charged 6€/min for transcription, and around 35% more when it´s straight translation. I haven´t until now worked with subtitling software, but I would be interested in learning more about possible software options, as it's something I really enjoy.

I would have thought that with direct clients, one would charge more per minute, especially if you´re taking care of the whole process. On the other hand, it depends on the material at hand. Some producers request a translation for unedited video first, in order to assess what material they have, to later decide on the edit.
In any case, it may be a good idea to work with some agencies anyway to get some experience with the timecodes, the time that each task involves (I find that generally, 1 minute of audio takes between 15-20 mins to translate if it´s a monologue. When there are several people speaking at the same time it will take longer. Essentially, your charge should reflect your hourly rate, as at the end of the day it´s your time and only you know how much that is worth.

I hope this helps, I would welcome any information on subtitling software if you receive any feedback.
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Ismael Romero
Ismael Romero
Colombia
Local time: 00:06
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Subtitles from scratch May 1, 2017

Hi Kim,
thank you very much for your answer, I'll count on that to evaluate pros and cons and I definitely will apply to some companies to gain experience and improve my skills to play at a higher level as soon as I can.


 


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