Full time subtitling - monthly output in minutes
Thread poster: phaelbr
phaelbr
phaelbr
English to Portuguese
Jan 28, 2019

Hi,
Is there anyone here doing translation of subtitles as a full time job? If the transcript is timed already and it is just the translation job, what would be your daily output in minutes (tv shows, documentaries and movies)? Is 60 minutes a day too much for a relative beginner? (If it serves as a comparison I used to deliver 5000 to 7000 words daily when I did “developers work” articles).


 
DarwinE
DarwinE  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 17:41
Spanish to English
+ ...
Do the math. Jan 28, 2019

On average, subtitling 1 minute of footage takes about 6 minutes of real time. So you can say that 10 minutes of video footage will take about an hour of real time, give or take a few minutes depending on audio quality, dialect, number of speakers, how proficient you are with your subtitling software of choice, the reliability of the timed transcript you receive from the client and the constant rewinding it takes to determine if the speaker said "could" instead of "would".

Using th
... See more
On average, subtitling 1 minute of footage takes about 6 minutes of real time. So you can say that 10 minutes of video footage will take about an hour of real time, give or take a few minutes depending on audio quality, dialect, number of speakers, how proficient you are with your subtitling software of choice, the reliability of the timed transcript you receive from the client and the constant rewinding it takes to determine if the speaker said "could" instead of "would".

Using the same formula, you can say a 60 minute video would take you about 6 hours. Personally, it'd probably take me 8 hours or more because I can't imagine subtitling for 6 hours straight, I take frequent breaks.
Collapse


Thayenga
Nikolina Novak
Jean Chao
Gabriel Turcato
 
Jan Truper
Jan Truper  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 23:41
Member (2016)
English to German
... Jan 28, 2019

phaelbr wrote:

Hi,
Is there anyone here doing translation of subtitles as a full time job? If the transcript is timed already and it is just the translation job, what would be your daily output in minutes (tv shows, documentaries and movies)? Is 60 minutes a day too much for a relative beginner? (If it serves as a comparison I used to deliver 5000 to 7000 words daily when I did “developers work” articles).




I've always been a freelancer, but I've had periods of several weeks where I did nothing but subtitle translation from timed templates.

1) The amount of subtitles/minute varies greatly depending on the project. A modern comedy series with 6 characters babbling at machine-gun speed means significantly more work than a John Ford western, for example.
2) What level of quality are you after? In order to achieve top-shelf subtitles, you will have to do significantly more work -- you actually have to watch the whole effing show, futz with the timing of most subtitles, try different translation variations, etc. -- than for what passes as subtitles on the lower end of the quality spectrum.
3) Your language combination plays a big role. For example, English to German generally means more work than German to English (because German words tend to be longer, but you still have to adhere to specifications regarding reading speed, character limit per line, etc.)

For these and other reasons, a blanket statement like "I can do x minutes/day" is never really accurate, and you have to assess each project individually.

That said, I think 60 minutes/day for a beginner is WAY too much.
I have A LOT of experience, and I do approx. 45 mins/day (top-shelf, English to German).


Henriette Saffron (X)
Gabriel Turcato
Semi Li
 
Manuel Bas y Mansilla
Manuel Bas y Mansilla  Identity Verified
Netherlands
English to Spanish
Find out Jan 28, 2019

It's not a great answer, but you should try by yourself. Spend at least an hour translating subtitles and measure the time. Take into account the exhaustion from prolongued work (subtitling it's my favourite translation task, but as in any translation, eventually I'm doing it significantly slower than at the beginning), or just try to spend a day doing it. There are many projects where you can volunteer, or just subtitle something you like.
As a reference, I think Jan's 45 min is a good n
... See more
It's not a great answer, but you should try by yourself. Spend at least an hour translating subtitles and measure the time. Take into account the exhaustion from prolongued work (subtitling it's my favourite translation task, but as in any translation, eventually I'm doing it significantly slower than at the beginning), or just try to spend a day doing it. There are many projects where you can volunteer, or just subtitle something you like.
As a reference, I think Jan's 45 min is a good number, but it will depend on how much you are willing to push yourself (quality vs output).
Collapse


 
Dietlinde DuPlessis (X)
Dietlinde DuPlessis (X)  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 15:41
English to German
+ ...
It depends... Jan 29, 2019

... on the title you are working on.

I have done 40 minutes in a day, but that is rare. 20-30 is more likely.
My projects have on average 20 subtitles per minute.


Jean Chao
 
DarwinE
DarwinE  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 17:41
Spanish to English
+ ...
How about TEDTalks? Jan 30, 2019

Manuel Bas y Mansilla wrote:

It's not a great answer, but you should try by yourself. Spend at least an hour translating subtitles and measure the time. Take into account the exhaustion from prolongued work (subtitling it's my favourite translation task, but as in any translation, eventually I'm doing it significantly slower than at the beginning), or just try to spend a day doing it. There are many projects where you can volunteer, or just subtitle something you like.
As a reference, I think Jan's 45 min is a good number, but it will depend on how much you are willing to push yourself (quality vs output).


Adding on to this, if you want to practice subtitling and timing it to see how long a particular task would take you (without stressing yourself out on meeting a deadline which itself could impact your quality), sign up to be a volunteer contributor for TEDTalks. The Amara platform for subtitling TEDTalks is very easy to pick up and simple to learn. There are thousands of videos on varying topics of different lengths that need Portuguese subtitles. The review team is also pretty good about providing feedback before your subtitles are officially submitted.


Manuel Bas y Mansilla
Gabriel Turcato
 
Jocelin Meunier
Jocelin Meunier  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 23:41
English to French
+ ...
Depends on the video Jan 31, 2019

Is it particularly chatty or filled with puns? Is it an action movie with a lot of running and stuff and not so much talk? All of this will dictate how much time you can translate.
I've been doing subtitle translation for five years and my average is more or less 30 minutes per video in a day, but that can vary according to the content itself. In a general manner, I'd advise to avoid doing 60 minutes per day. Not only you'll be dangerously close to the burn-out, but your quality will suffe
... See more
Is it particularly chatty or filled with puns? Is it an action movie with a lot of running and stuff and not so much talk? All of this will dictate how much time you can translate.
I've been doing subtitle translation for five years and my average is more or less 30 minutes per video in a day, but that can vary according to the content itself. In a general manner, I'd advise to avoid doing 60 minutes per day. Not only you'll be dangerously close to the burn-out, but your quality will suffer as well. 60 minutes per day is too much, even for long-term professionals, in my opinion.
There is also another side-effect: it can give bad habits to clients. The majority of clients/agencies I work for are locked in a simple mathematic thinking. Since 1 minute of video takes 5-10 minutes of work on average, they think this average works for -every- video, without taking into account how chatty it can be. Of course, you should always thrive to improve your productivity, but doing too much in little time can give false expectation to clients, which then backfires on every other professional.
Collapse


DarwinE
Andreas Kjeldsen
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Full time subtitling - monthly output in minutes







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »