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Rate per source subtitle?
Thread poster: Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:03
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
Aug 11, 2017

Hi there,

does anyone have experience with rates per source subtitle?

I'm not familiar with this kind of rate and need to know before I accept an offer. Thanks!


 
Max Deryagin
Max Deryagin  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 17:03
Member (2013)
English to Russian
- Aug 11, 2017

Inez Ulrich wrote:

Hi there,

does anyone have experience with rates per source subtitle?

I'm not familiar with this kind of rate and need to know before I accept an offer. Thanks!



Hi Inez,

On average, there are 15-20 subtitles in a minute of video (this depends on the sort of videos you work with, however). If you have a rate per minute, you can calculate the rate per subtitle.


 
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:03
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Aug 11, 2017

Hi Max,

thanks for the fast reply! They offer € 0,45 per subtitle (+ € 15,- per film). Would that be an ok rate?


 
Max Deryagin
Max Deryagin  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 17:03
Member (2013)
English to Russian
- Aug 11, 2017

Inez Ulrich wrote:

Hi Max,

thanks for the fast reply! They offer € 0,45 per subtitle (+ € 15,- per film). Would that be an ok rate?


An average 1.5-hour film contains around 1200 to 1500 subtitles, so it'd be 555 to 690 euros per film on average. Whether this rate works for you is up to you to decide.


 
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:03
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
so.. Aug 11, 2017

would that be ok for you, for example?

 
Andriy Bublikov
Andriy Bublikov  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 14:03
French to Russian
+ ...

Moderator of this forum
Some interesting topics about subtitling Aug 11, 2017

Inez Ulrich wrote:

Hi there,

does anyone have experience with rates per source subtitle?

I'm not familiar with this kind of rate and need to know before I accept an offer. Thanks!



Here are some interesting topics about subtitling:

http://www.proz.com/forum/subtitling/317540-prozcom_subtitler_pool_released.html#2671148
Forum: http://www.proz.com/forum/subtitling-123.html

About Netflix Hermes test:
http://www.proz.com/forum/subtitling/313708-netflix_hermes_test.html

About subtitling rates:
http://www.proz.com/forum/money_matters/284728-current_subtitling_rates.html

http://www.proz.com/forum/money_matters/227905-what_is_a_reasonable_rate_for_translating_subtitles-page2.html

http://www.proz.com/forum/money_matters/271439-subtitling_rates.html

http://www.proz.com/forum/money_matters/281794-rates_and_working_times_for_subtitling.html

http://www.proz.com/forum/subtitling/52756-[subtitling_rates]_per_minute_rates.html

http://www.proz.com/forum/money_matters/271439-subtitling_rates.html

http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/MegaBBS/forumthread381.htm?start=1

http://www.proz.com/forum/money_matters/227905-what_is_a_reasonable_rate_for_translating_subtitles.html

http://www.proz.com/forum/subtitling/255043-advice_on_subtitling_rates.html

https://www.google.ru/search?q=subtitling%20rates%20per%20minute%20site:www.proz.com&newwindow=1&biw=1464&bih=899&sa=X&ei=lh0TVbyjLYTOygOHxoGQAg&ved=0CCoQrQIoBDAA

Video : how to calculate your rates : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5X8sgdOG4J7eDBjc1AydzNIYm8/view?usp=sharing

I have added a topic in the Proz.com forum for French fellows :

http://www.proz.com/forum/french/317597-quelques_liens_intéressants_au_sujet_de_sous_titrage.html


 
jbjb
jbjb  Identity Verified
Estonia
Local time: 14:03
Estonian to English
+ ...
subtitles Aug 11, 2017

Depends on the subtitles and the subtitling style (while the average for English subtitles is indeed 1,200-1,500 per film, the average for the Scandinavian/Dutch subtitling style would be 800-1,000 or about a third less than that) - but 0,45 euro per subtitle is a good price in any case.
There are very few countries and languages that pay more than that. Japanese, French, German might be in that category. Scandinavian languages or Dutch would not get this much and the rest of the world is
... See more
Depends on the subtitles and the subtitling style (while the average for English subtitles is indeed 1,200-1,500 per film, the average for the Scandinavian/Dutch subtitling style would be 800-1,000 or about a third less than that) - but 0,45 euro per subtitle is a good price in any case.
There are very few countries and languages that pay more than that. Japanese, French, German might be in that category. Scandinavian languages or Dutch would not get this much and the rest of the world is even more behind.
Comparing the price between different languages is the same as comparing the average salary - the average monthly salary in Germany is over 3,000 euro a month but in Ukraine, for example, it is 250 euro a month. So how can we compare what is good price for a German translator and good price for an Ukrainian translator?
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Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:03
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
... Aug 11, 2017

thanks again. it is German company, but they said the budget is on the lower side as they are quite a young company.

Now I can put that rate in a much better context, thank you!


 
Juan Jacob
Juan Jacob  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 06:03
French to Spanish
+ ...
It's always important... Aug 11, 2017

...to know a fair rate... but to do what?
> from scratch or with spotting list? [Very different]
> which languages?
> what kind of material?
> where are you?
> who's the client ["A young company with low budget", you say... well...]

+ deadlines and payments conditions, too.

BTW, a "normal" film has 800 / 1.000 subtitles.

Good luck.


 
Andriy Bublikov
Andriy Bublikov  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 14:03
French to Russian
+ ...

Moderator of this forum
It is easy to calculate Aug 11, 2017

It is easy to calculate if you know your per minute rate or your per word rate for translation.

You need to multiply the numbers of minutes by your per minute rate, thus you will have the amount for the whole video, then you need to divide the amount by the subtitles number, so you will have the rate per subtitle.

However, before inform your customer about your rate you need to take into account all parameters listed above by Juan.

Good luck.


 
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 13:03
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you so much! Aug 11, 2017

That is such valuable info, I appreciate your help a lot!

 
jbjb
jbjb  Identity Verified
Estonia
Local time: 14:03
Estonian to English
+ ...
solid Aug 12, 2017

Basically - as a rate for a German company in Germany it is not exceptional but definitely solid. Maybe not that good for theatrical or very talkative things but a solid rate for normal average subtitles.
Also depends on what you are expected to do with the source subtitles - just translate or also merge/split/modify timings.

Clients in the industry prefer a per minute rate because then you know at once how much it will cost to translate a 100 minute film - let's say 6 euro pe
... See more
Basically - as a rate for a German company in Germany it is not exceptional but definitely solid. Maybe not that good for theatrical or very talkative things but a solid rate for normal average subtitles.
Also depends on what you are expected to do with the source subtitles - just translate or also merge/split/modify timings.

Clients in the industry prefer a per minute rate because then you know at once how much it will cost to translate a 100 minute film - let's say 6 euro per minute comes to 600 euro. When payment is by subtitle, it can be 500 subtitles for a horror film (225 euro) or 1,500 subtitles for a talkative drama (675 euro). Clients usually don't like it when translation costs can vary 2-3 times, therefore 90% of the time the industry works on per minute rates.
When translators are offered a per subtitle rate, it is either a flexible client, a trade union supported "fair rate" by a national broadcaster, or a company who gets a per minute rate from the client but believes it is more useful to pay per subtitle to the translators (horror films, music shows where lyrics are not translated etc) because they know the subtitle count will not be high for whatever reason.
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Margarida Martins Costelha
Margarida Martins Costelha  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 12:03
Member
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Is this rate reasonable? Sep 13, 2017

Hi,

A translation agency offered me 2,40€/minute for English>Portuguese subtitling using Aegisub (free software).
So a 90-minute movie would pay 216€. Of course, some films have 500 subtitles while other can have 2000.

From what I hear, subtitling rates keep going down, at least in Europe, but overall this rate seems pretty low.

I have 2 questions:
1. What is the average time 1 minute of video takes you to subtitle?
2. What do you thi
... See more
Hi,

A translation agency offered me 2,40€/minute for English>Portuguese subtitling using Aegisub (free software).
So a 90-minute movie would pay 216€. Of course, some films have 500 subtitles while other can have 2000.

From what I hear, subtitling rates keep going down, at least in Europe, but overall this rate seems pretty low.

I have 2 questions:
1. What is the average time 1 minute of video takes you to subtitle?
2. What do you think of this rate?

Thanks in advance for your help!


[Edited at 2017-09-13 10:15 GMT]
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José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 09:03
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
On speed and cash rates Sep 13, 2017

[quote]Margarida Martins Costelha wrote:

A translation agency offered me 2,40€/minute for English>Portuguese subtitling using Aegisub (free software).
So a 90-minute movie would pay 216€. Of course, some films have 500 subtitles while other can have 2000.

From what I hear, subtitling rates keep going down, at least in Europe, but overall this rate seems pretty low.

I have 2 questions:
1. What is the average time 1 minute of video takes you to subtitle?[quote]
Considering my average, corroborated by a considerable number of experienced colleagues, the usual ratio for pros is 6:1. IOW it takes six minutes to translate one. Before you think you can do 10 minutes per hour, this is either tiresome work if it's easy and you do it real fast, or it requires listening several times to get a few snippets sorted out.

Margarida Martins Costelha wrote:
2. What do you think of this rate?

I consider it VERY low, though some large subtitling companies are known to pay even less.
It would be some 20% below the minimum acceptable for translating on templates - pre-chopped and pre-timed formatted subtitles in the source language, that are almost a no-brainer for a decent bilingual person to translate.


 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 13:03
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
How can it be easy to calculate your per minute rate? Sep 13, 2017

Even in a normal translation, you cannot calculate properly as it is easy to get stumped by just one word, let alone a whole phrase. At least, I can't. I still find it impossible to calculate subtitle rates and always ask to see the text before being able to give a quote. The problem in subtitling is that you have to go back and forth to check who said which words or to whom they refer or were addressed, especially with regards gender for instance. And may I ask you if you charge extra for synch... See more
Even in a normal translation, you cannot calculate properly as it is easy to get stumped by just one word, let alone a whole phrase. At least, I can't. I still find it impossible to calculate subtitle rates and always ask to see the text before being able to give a quote. The problem in subtitling is that you have to go back and forth to check who said which words or to whom they refer or were addressed, especially with regards gender for instance. And may I ask you if you charge extra for synchronisation? As you have to make sure the speech coordinates.Collapse


 
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Rate per source subtitle?







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