Translation - art & business » Getting established »
Transcription Pricing
Thread poster: Simon Harris
Simon Harris
Simon Harris  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:14
Spanish to English
+ ...
Nov 19, 2009

I'd be grateful if anyone could give some orientation on setting rates for a transcription/translation that I've been asked to do . . .

Any ideas about a standard tariff per minute would be gratefully received!

Or do you think I should charge per word?
 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 07:14
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
See the last part... Nov 19, 2009

... on http://www.lamensdorf.com.br/audio_-_en.html

I published it years ago here on Proz, but that version is now somewhat obsolete. This one on my site has been updated.
 
Simon Harris
Simon Harris  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:14
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
A Good Place To Start Nov 20, 2009

Thanks, José Henrique

This is just what I needed - the client has offered me a rate per minute (which sounds low to me) but now I've got an idea of how to calculate a reasonable price.
 
Geraldine Oudin
Geraldine Oudin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Japanese to French
+ ...
Brownse the forum Nov 21, 2009

I think this question has been adressed 5 times last month
 
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 07:14
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Because there is no correct answer Nov 22, 2009

Geraldine Oudin wrote:
I think this question has been adressed 5 times last month


On top of accent/text complexity issues, all kinds of recording quality issues may come into play. Have a look at http://www.lamensdorf.com.br/palestras_br-1.html .
Mission impossible situations have led me to turn down more jobs than you'd believe. And then clients get desperate, they offer to pay more and more, and can't believe that their precious recording is worthless.

Depending on the material a transcriber/translator gets, their pricing actually should vary so much that any figure is a guess.

The first mission: impossible recording to translate/transcribe is unforgettable, because we really want to do it. I had been translating script-less but professonally produced films for dubbing for some 15 years already when my first M:I came in. As far as I could ascertain, it was a conversation between two elderly men, both with different Central European accents in their English. It was divided in 12 episodes on a CD-ROM. From the sound quality, I figured it had been originally recorded using one of those early cassette recorders with a built-in mike. Apparently they had run out of batteries, so they plugged it to the mains, the cord being short and the only available socket far away from our protagonists. On the third episode, I guess one of them lit a stinky cigar, the other grimaced, and some kind soul turned on a fan. Of course the fan was plugged to the same power socket, the wind was directed towards the microphone, and... the cherry on the top... the fan had a worn bushing, making a terrible noise. While I could identify three words out of every ten in episodes 1-2, from 3 on it went down to 1 out of 20. I simply HAD to give up!
 
Simon Harris
Simon Harris  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:14
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks, once again! Nov 24, 2009

Interesting food for thought on the relative difficulties of transcription projects, José Henrique.

Thanks to Geraldine too - I hadn't seen the other thread and the pricing range is very clear!
 


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

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jorge Rodrigues[Call to this topic]
Rita Pang[Call to this topic]
James Heppe-Smith[Call to this topic]

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

Transcription Pricing







CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »
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 »