Translation of a DVD Thread poster: Philippe Oubelhaj
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Hello,
I don't know if this is the correct category for my question. If not, the moderators can always move it to the appropriate one.
A client of mine has sent me a DVD. It is an English speech from a business consultant. He wants me to write the entire speech down and translate it into Dutch.
He also wants me to send him an offer first, but that is my problem. I don't really know how to calculate a correct price for this job. I would really like to do this one, because it ... See more Hello,
I don't know if this is the correct category for my question. If not, the moderators can always move it to the appropriate one.
A client of mine has sent me a DVD. It is an English speech from a business consultant. He wants me to write the entire speech down and translate it into Dutch.
He also wants me to send him an offer first, but that is my problem. I don't really know how to calculate a correct price for this job. I would really like to do this one, because it is interesting, but I don't want to be too cheap either.
Is there a trick we can use to calculate this? It is about 40 minutes long, and he speaks rather fast.
The only "trick" I can think of is do one minute of it, to see how long that takes, and then estimate how long I would need for the entire DVD.
Thanks for your help or tips!
Best regards,
Philippe ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Transcription/Translation quote calculation | Dec 15, 2009 |
Hi Philippe,
I have done transcription work in the past and find that it takes roughly one hour to transcribe ten minutes of video. I would therefore calculate at least 4 hours to transcribe your DVD and maybe add on an extra hour to watch the DVD once again checking you have included everything in your transcription.
I would estimate that a 40 minute video, particularly if the speaker is talking very fast, could turn out to be around 5,000 words long.
I ... See more Hi Philippe,
I have done transcription work in the past and find that it takes roughly one hour to transcribe ten minutes of video. I would therefore calculate at least 4 hours to transcribe your DVD and maybe add on an extra hour to watch the DVD once again checking you have included everything in your transcription.
I would estimate that a 40 minute video, particularly if the speaker is talking very fast, could turn out to be around 5,000 words long.
I would charge your client at a rate per minute for the transcription (based on what you expect to be paid per hour) and then charge him per word for the translation of the transcription.
I hope that helps!
All the best,
Carla ▲ Collapse
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This should enlighten you about the whole setting:
http://www.lamensdorf.com.br/guide.html
(at least it was written with this purpose)
Now... with all due respect... have you got what it takes?
I mean not only the software, but the subtitling skills?
I translate video for lip-sync dubbing since 1987, and for subtitling since 2004. Why did it take ... See more This should enlighten you about the whole setting:
http://www.lamensdorf.com.br/guide.html
(at least it was written with this purpose)
Now... with all due respect... have you got what it takes?
I mean not only the software, but the subtitling skills?
I translate video for lip-sync dubbing since 1987, and for subtitling since 2004. Why did it take me so long? Though I use basically the same or similar tools for the translation part of the job (actually Word for dubbing, and Win Notepad for subbing, but the same Express Scribe for both) the key difference is in the mindset.
In dubbing, artists and technicians will use your translation to rebuild the whole soundtrack. It took me all these years to grasp the subtitling mindset. Subtitling should work as if the spectator had a mute interpreter and typist extraordinaire who would write - in as little text as possible - what's being said there. So conciseness is essential.
I'm telling all this because you say the speech is fast-paced. If you put a complete translation on your subs, there won't be time to read all that and watch the video.
You can learn most of the technical aspects from the tutorials at http://www.videohelp.com . However it takes time and practice. It took me almost six months from the decision to subtitle a video myself to get the first professional-quality authored DVD out.
Good luck! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Translation of a DVD | Dec 15, 2009 |
Hello colleagues,
Thanks for your replies!
@ José: It is not a subtitling job. I just have to deliver a word-document with the text of the speech in Dutch. Subtitling is something completey different, I know!
And I have a question for Carla: so you would make two calculations? First for the transcription and then for the translation?
I will try to transcribe + trnaslate one minute of 5 minutes of it tomorrow, to see how long that takes.
I usually ... See more Hello colleagues,
Thanks for your replies!
@ José: It is not a subtitling job. I just have to deliver a word-document with the text of the speech in Dutch. Subtitling is something completey different, I know!
And I have a question for Carla: so you would make two calculations? First for the transcription and then for the translation?
I will try to transcribe + trnaslate one minute of 5 minutes of it tomorrow, to see how long that takes.
I usually work with a rate of 25 euros per hour for proofreading jobs, so I thought I would also use this rate per hour to calculate a total amount.
Best regards,
Philippe ▲ Collapse
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| | | Transcription/Translation quote calculation | Dec 15, 2009 |
Hi Philippe,
Yes, I would break the quote down into a calculation for the transcription part and a calculation for the translation part so your client can see that they are two very separate things charged in different ways. Personally, I would charge for transcription at a rate per audio minute (so based on your proofreading rate 2,50 EUR per minute) and then charge for translation at a rate per source word.
If you try transcribing and then translating 5 minutes that s... See more Hi Philippe,
Yes, I would break the quote down into a calculation for the transcription part and a calculation for the translation part so your client can see that they are two very separate things charged in different ways. Personally, I would charge for transcription at a rate per audio minute (so based on your proofreading rate 2,50 EUR per minute) and then charge for translation at a rate per source word.
If you try transcribing and then translating 5 minutes that should give you a good idea of the time it takes you and the word count that you get (for calculating the translation cost).
If you haven't done any transcription work before, just be aware that it can be quite a slow process at first but once you get into it you become quicker at it. I would also encourage you to use any shortcut keys on your keyboard if you are viewing the video on there and typing into a word file on there at the same time. Work out the shortcut keys for playing and pausing the video and for switching from one window to the other without using the mouse, and that should help you save some time.
Good luck!
Carla ▲ Collapse
| | | | juvera 
Local time: 07:42
English to Hungarian
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of everything Carla said.
Your transcription testing should be a bit longer than one minute of the running time, to be on the safe side. It would give you a better idea for the calculation of the wordcount as well, although you should agree on an approximate figure for that, to be finalised when the job is ready, based on your usual fixed price per one thousand words or whatever you normally use.
The time spent on transcription depends a lot on the clearness and speed... See more of everything Carla said.
Your transcription testing should be a bit longer than one minute of the running time, to be on the safe side. It would give you a better idea for the calculation of the wordcount as well, although you should agree on an approximate figure for that, to be finalised when the job is ready, based on your usual fixed price per one thousand words or whatever you normally use.
The time spent on transcription depends a lot on the clearness and speed of speech, your typing speed and the amount you can retain in one go for writing it down, and how fast you can stop, rewind if necessary (as you don't have special equipment, and it is not worth getting for a single job) and carry on from the right place.
The delivery of a speech is usually clearer and smoother than some conversation or interview, so the 6 min transcription time for 1 minute tape is realistic. As you have not done this before, it is unlikely that you would manage to do it much faster.
Definitely a two step project; price it accordingly. ▲ Collapse
| | | | kmtext
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:42
English
+ ...
| It helps if you have the right equipment | Dec 22, 2009 |
Transcribing audio/video and controlling everything via the keyboard can be very slow. There are various software packages that allow you to transcribe audio/video with or without timecodes controlling the playback with a foot pedal. If this is something you're going to do regularly, it's a worthwhile investment as it can double your productivity.
I'd agree with Carla that it's a two-stage process and should be invoiced as such - at least intially until you're familiar with the proc... See more Transcribing audio/video and controlling everything via the keyboard can be very slow. There are various software packages that allow you to transcribe audio/video with or without timecodes controlling the playback with a foot pedal. If this is something you're going to do regularly, it's a worthwhile investment as it can double your productivity.
I'd agree with Carla that it's a two-stage process and should be invoiced as such - at least intially until you're familiar with the process and your own capabilities. ▲ Collapse
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