how do translators get paid?

[tinlunlau]

hi! i've finally finished translating dvd special features for Jackie Chan's "THE MYTH" for free and now, about to start on translating for a new movie called "A Chinese Tall Story" starring Nicholas Tse and Charlene Choi (from that pop group...twins?).

anyway, i've discussed with the people down in Hong Kong and they said this time, they're paying me. but haven't decided how translators get paid. so i guess the point of this thread is, how do professional translators usually get paid? especially in my case where Hong Kong dollars would have to be converted to Canadian currency. (if u divide hong kong dollars by 6.5, u can get the exact canadian dollar equivalent.)

[CSR]

O so the broken Englrish subtitles are done by you?










jk u have a fun job.... congrats... ........ i guess paid per movie

[Big Brother]

i guess paid per movie

o_O yes. You get to watch a movie as payment

[tinlunlau]

oh...i'm not translating the movie itself. that's taken care of by EMG.
i'm gonna be handling the special features. and i'm a CBC so my english is not a problem. and i'm not british either so you won't have simplified english translations like the ones Bey Logan did for "AV" (i swear....he's made the funniest movie very unfunny).

although, i've always wanted to re-translate hong kong comedy classics into ebonics. that would be interesting.

don't translators get paid by the word?

[Loup]

don't translators get paid by the word?

Yes they do - the government pays about $0.25 per word.
Business of course do not pay that much, but the standard is def on a per word basis.

[rayesyn]

how do you land a job as a translator?

[Loup]

how do you land a job as a translator?

Are you serious?
How do you land a job in any profession?
You can start here: The Translation Bureau ... it's called research my friend.

[tinlunlau]

how do you land a job as a translator?

well, i went to a chinese dvd forum at www.tower3a.com and this representative from Joy Sales Video was asking for people to come up with suggestions on the DVD release of "The Myth" starring Jackie Chan and he also wanted questions on the dvd commentary which features the voices of Stanley Tong (director), the producer Barbie Tung and Oliver Wong, the production designer. and since i've always been translating news articles regarding Jackie, i thought i might as well offer to do it for free....so i did....and now, i'm talking to all sorts of dvd distributors in hong kong. i think one of them is distributing legit anime dvd's in hong kong. if there's anyone who can translate from Japanese to Chinese, gimme a holler and i'll hook you up. i think they're doing some new shows from Gonzo. or something...some show called Last Exile...?!

[IceMan77]

We're paying $.35/word. Translation is a lucrative business. Props to your new job! Now the downloaded movies on the internet will have decent sub-titles

[tinlunlau]

We're paying $.35/word. Translation is a lucrative business. Props to your new job! Now the downloaded movies on the internet will have decent sub-titles

it'll be a long way before i actually start translating a full movie. my translations are most likely to be only on the legit dvd's. and nobody uploads bonus features on the net anyway. i was in the manga fan scanslation scene before anyway.

[Txiasaeia]

As others here have said, it's per word. This is standard in the industry (unless you're an intern working for slave wages...)

[tinlunlau]

As others here have said, it's per word. This is standard in the industry (unless you're an intern working for slave wages...)

well, i just asked the guy and he says he knows they charge per word. but in hong kong and taiwan, it's different. they charge by program. he even told me that anime translations make good money. you can make about $800 bucks per 20 minute episode. that's a good $123 canadian.

but anyhow, we haven't figured it out yet but i'm going to charge cheap for now. it's good job reference i can add on to my resume and of course, i get first-hand information on the movies.

[Txiasaeia]

well, i just asked the guy and he says he knows they charge per word. but in hong kong and taiwan, it's different. they charge by program. he even told me that anime translations make good money. you can make about $800 bucks per 20 minute episode. that's a good $123 canadian.

Assuming that an average episode has about 500 translated words, then you're doing okay (actually about average), but if it's a lot more than that...

but anyhow, we haven't figured it out yet but i'm going to charge cheap for now. it's good job reference i can add on to my resume and of course, i get first-hand information on the movies.

Fair enough, but if you decide you want to do this professionally, make sure you start to charge per word as early as possible - the longer it takes you to change your rate, the more resistant your employer would be.

[tinlunlau]

Assuming that an average episode has about 500 translated words, then you're doing okay (actually about average), but if it's a lot more than that...

too bad i'm not dealing with anime. lol! i don't speak japanese. hahaha! i'm translating bonus featurettes on dvd's. so my pay is most likely cheaper than what anime translators get.