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subtitling rate question French to English in France
Thread poster: frenchamerican
frenchamerican
frenchamerican
French to English
Jan 31, 2013

Hello,

I'm living in France and translating from French to English.

I have done the occasional translation, etc, for an senior art professor. Mostly the work is paid for by the school. So not a tip-top film production/or avertising rate, but not a student rate either.

He originally asked me to translate his website about trailers. So, for that I give my usual rate.
Then asked me to translate the Titles, of which there are not a ton, so I gave the same... See more
Hello,

I'm living in France and translating from French to English.

I have done the occasional translation, etc, for an senior art professor. Mostly the work is paid for by the school. So not a tip-top film production/or avertising rate, but not a student rate either.

He originally asked me to translate his website about trailers. So, for that I give my usual rate.
Then asked me to translate the Titles, of which there are not a ton, so I gave the same rate.

Then he asked me to do the subtitling.
I didn't change my rate and did an approximate timecoding.

He asked if I could do specific timecoding for a supplement. And he accepted a rather decent supplement.
Since it's a friend/colleague and he gives me regular work, I don't want to go over price either.

I know that union rates in france are said to be 3,9 euros per line not counting time code.

I would like to have an idea of what would seem a reasonable rate for this.

Per minute seems not so appropriate. Some of the trailers have 2-6 words and others have a constant non stop flow of fast words.

I am to do the time coding too, but not input it in the software, long story, which will be done by the webmaster.

It's about 9 minutes of clips with about 89 lines of subtitles, plus a bit more if i add the titles in, which i guess i have to.

Also, is there a protocall for separating translated titles (coming soon) from subtitles onscreen.

thanks for any answers. will be billing on monday morning ▲ Collapse
 
Sylvano
Sylvano
Local time: 07:09
English to French
It's... kind of up to you, actually Feb 1, 2013

Hello,

I guess every project has its own recipe as far as rates are concerned... What I mean is YOU have to decide what's a good/decent/OK rate for what you're asked to do. A good way to sort that out is evaluate a daily rate : how much time will I need and how much money should I get for this ? A per subtitle rate is of course the best for the translator, but a per job rate may apply, especially when you get few subtitles to do (because you still have to watch the entire video, cre... See more
Hello,

I guess every project has its own recipe as far as rates are concerned... What I mean is YOU have to decide what's a good/decent/OK rate for what you're asked to do. A good way to sort that out is evaluate a daily rate : how much time will I need and how much money should I get for this ? A per subtitle rate is of course the best for the translator, but a per job rate may apply, especially when you get few subtitles to do (because you still have to watch the entire video, create a file, if those few subtitles are a poem, puns or ad slogans, it'll take you way more time, etc.). Moreover, institutional clients (public authorities, museums, brands, corporations and so on) usually pay better than your regular translation or TV/video company. Maybe because they're usually more quality-focused and demanding about the translation you do for them. In France, I'd say you may ask around 2 euros per subtitle (cueing included) in that field. But again, it's the type of work in which you usually negociate rates, as you obviously already have done with the client you mention. ▲ Collapse
 
frenchamerican
frenchamerican
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Sylvano Feb 1, 2013

Hello Sylvano,

Thanks so much for your answer. That's extremely helpful.

I feel reassured and that sounds about right to me, in terms of rate.

It is demanding work with fast speech, plays on words and a job where meaning and specific esthetics are key.

At the same time, it's for someone who has done me a few big favors, who i've already done a few interesting translation jobs and who has already committed firmly to giving me another fairly big ... See more
Hello Sylvano,

Thanks so much for your answer. That's extremely helpful.

I feel reassured and that sounds about right to me, in terms of rate.

It is demanding work with fast speech, plays on words and a job where meaning and specific esthetics are key.

At the same time, it's for someone who has done me a few big favors, who i've already done a few interesting translation jobs and who has already committed firmly to giving me another fairly big translation job at some point this year and may well give me other ones in the future, and has lots of contacts and influenct in his particular field so I wanted to be sure not to overcharge. He's highly under pressure in terms of time, so agreed immediately to my supplement.

But I thought he might check out rates later, when he has the occasion, and I don't want him to discover that I had overcharged him.

You are right that each job is different and has different requirements. Some a piece of cake. Others much more challenging.

I'm being painstaking about reviewing and reviewing to get as perfect as possible, even moreso, as it will surely be viewed by others, and there were several writers involved and I will be credited.

Thanks again! Great forum! ▲ Collapse
 


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subtitling rate question French to English in France







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