| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Have you ever done subtitling? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
|
|---|
| Something is very wrong in this industry. Definitely! | Jun 27, 2011 |
Gilla Evans wrote:
Something is very wrong in this industry.
Definitely!
Have a look at another thread here. A colleague there felt insulted because I said many outsourcers treat (and seek) video translators strictly as labor.
Actually, there are two kinds of market for subtitling:
Corporate video, as I name it. A corporation (whose core business is anything but video) will have their video subtitled for use in their training programs, to show it to prospects, stockholders, etc. having a vested interest in causing the best possile impression. The food chain is short, and they have the power to demand high quality translation and subtitling, because it's their show; their image will be directly at stake.
Commercial films and TV. A TV network will be paid by sponsors to exhibit their adveritising during the breaks in some movie or series they'll be showing anyway. The amount the network will get depends on the audience the film/series will attract, which is a function of the time/day it will be transmitted, and the program itself. If the award-winning film will be replaced by something less prestigious for any reason, the sponsor will be entitled to some credit or refund. However there is usually no clause in the sponsorship contract stating that that if the translation and subtitling are bad enough to make all monoglot spectators switch to another channel - thus missing the commercial ads which are actually funding the show - the network will be liable to any penalty whatsoever.
This is the broken link in the chain. Irate bilingual spectators write complaints to the network, to no avail. IMO they should be writing the sponsors, or their media agencies.
To give just one clear example, evidence of what I'm saying here is that most producers - after a TV series has been successful in several countries - when they decide to launch and sell a collection of DVDs (with subtitles/dubbing in several languages) a containing the episodes from whole season, they get the whole thing retranslated from scratch by competent professionals. The producers have a vested interest in quality here, since there are no sponsors involved.
It wouldn't be difficult to obtain, recycle and implement all those translations from their distributors, and this would save a lot of time and money. However they know the situation, want top quality, and are willing to pay a reasonable price for it.
Since the series has already been broadcast, it would be even easier and cheaper to download all fansubs available for free on the web. Yet this would entail driving quality to the bottom of the pit, as I've highlighted on my article in Portuguese (BR).
It is rather simple to pipoint what's wrong in this industry: If sponsors had, in their media agreements, a clause stipulating pecuniary penalties for badly translated movies/TV series, bad enough to motivate spectators to move to a different channel (or switch off the TV and read a book), the whole video translation industry would take a major step upwards.
| | | | | Pages in topic: < [1 2] | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Poll: Have you ever done subtitling? | Protemos translation business management system | Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!
The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.
More info » |
| | 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 » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
