#WORKING AS A SUBTITLER FOR NETFLIX HOW TO#
#WORKING AS A SUBTITLER FOR NETFLIX FULL#
#WORKING AS A SUBTITLER FOR NETFLIX SERIES#

“But time for checking and proofing is also usually limited, especially for smaller productions.” A week is the typical lead time to get a one-hour show done,” says the Tokyo-based subtitler. The average fee in Japan for a one-hour episode is about $300, though the most experienced subtitlers working on a major production can command double that. “Fees have fallen by about 25 percent for very experienced subtitlers but nearly halved for entry-level work,” says the industry veteran. The pay and conditions for subtitling in Japan have worsened since Netflix launched locally in 2015, according to a multidecade veteran who also teaches the craft at a specialist college in Tokyo (and who also preferred to remain anonymous because of business relationships). “Rather than a mode of writing with its own intrinsic artistry, subtitling is generally regarded as a necessary work task for getting Japanese ‘content’ out to buyers,” says Gray. In neighboring Japan, the kind of attention lavished on the Parasite subtitles is unthinkable, according to Jason Gray, a producer at Tokyo’s Loaded Films and an occasional subtitler. The translator reported payment of $255 for a 110-minute film for a local streaming service, and that such low pay, often accompanied by short deadlines, can result in a shoddy final product. That’s probably due to the show’s success.” “For example, you can tell that the quality of subtitles in season two of Netflix’s Kingdom has improved drastically compared to season one.

#WORKING AS A SUBTITLER FOR NETFLIX SERIES#

“Streamers seem to pay better attention to series that are more successful, but given the enormous quantities they are delivering, they can’t seem to maintain the same quality for every production,” says an experienced Korean-to-English subtitler (who asked not to be named because of ongoing work with the platforms). “He understands well the importance of subtitle translation, and he gave me a lot of guidance about what aspects of the original dialogue to emphasize.”īut such attention to detail and collaborations with directors are rare luxuries, particularly in the high-volume realm of the streaming platforms. “I had very detailed discussions with director Bong while working on the translation of Parasite,” explains Paquet. Darcy Paquet, a Seoul-based film critic, lecturer and occasional actor, was brought in for the subtitles and given lengthy notes from the director before he began.

#WORKING AS A SUBTITLER FOR NETFLIX HOW TO#

Netflix’s megahit has suffered through comparison to another Korean success story, Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar winner Parasite, which industry insiders point to as a case study in how to do subtitling right. Such issues arose in Squid Game, where the Korean word “oppa,” used by women to address an elder brother or man a few years their senior, became “old man” and “babe” in different scenes, while “ajumma,” which refers to a middle-aged married woman, was translated as “grandma.” Unsurprisingly, given the scale of the show’s success, Netflix took a fair measure of heat on social media from bilingual viewers worldwide over the clumsy treatment of Korean cultural nuances. These have no direct equivalent in English or many other languages, creating headaches for those translating across them. In East Asian languages, for example, there are terms used specifically for older and younger siblings, and aunts and uncles, which also have culturally specific meanings when applied to people outside the family. The task is difficult enough when the meaning is straightforward - but when translating across cultures, it seldom is.Īs complex expressions of language, scripts often contain words that don’t translate well, jokes that don’t travel, cultural references that are meaningless to outsiders, and even concepts that have no equivalent in other countries.

#WORKING AS A SUBTITLER FOR NETFLIX FULL#

Workers in the field are generally required to limit the length of their subtitles to approximately half the number of letters or characters that are available for an audio dubbing script, but they also are expected to retain the full meaning of dialogue while making it so easily readable that it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the onscreen action. There is a widespread lack of appreciation in the industry for just how challenging the work of a subtitler can be, insiders say. So we’re constantly working to improve them.”

Emanuele Crialese on 'L'Immensità,' Penelope Cruz and Transgender PoliticsĪsked about its quality control, a Netflix spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter, “Generally, we think our subtitles and dubbing are good but not yet great.

Working as a subtitler for netflix