For decades the translation industry has been centered on “mainstream” translation services and fields. However, in recent years, thanks to constant technological changes, new —and not so new— trends and services have emerged.
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One such service —or rather set of services— is audiovisual translation. It’s an industry that’s already worth billions of dollars, and with more and more key players coming onto the scene it’s expected to continue increasing in value in the next few years. So this field is full of new opportunities with new clients and new professionals starting up new relationships every day.
For this reason, ProZ.com has launched new features to allow audiovisual translation professionals to get the most out of their profiles and to meet new clients more easily. So if you’re an audiovisual translator keep the following tips in mind and get the most out of your ProZ.com profile.
Report your subtitling services
The subtitling process can be divided into several tasks, and not always clients will ask you to perform all of them nor will you be willing to do so.
That’s why ProZ.com has made it possible to add subtitling specific services to your language pairs. Now potential clients can find you more easily, and see beforehand which service or services you can offer, thus maximizing the possibilities of a successful first contact.
To add specific subtitling services to your language pairs, just enter your “Languages” settings, click on “Edit services” for each of the language pairs you perform subtitling services in, add the specific services, and then click on “Save language pair”. You can read more about this feature in this article.
Set your per-minute rates
Unlike general translation which is usually charged per word, per page, or even per hour, audiovisual translation is mainly charged per runtime minute. In the same line as the subtitling specific services, ProZ.com has introduced a new price unit: “per audio/video minute”.
This change allows you to enter your minimum rates on your profile, using the appropriate currency price unit, so that potential clients entering your ProZ.com profile will know how much you charge for that type of project. But the most important thing about this feature is that it will allow you to filter out job notifications below that minimum, reducing noise in your inbox.
To report your per-minute rates the only thing you need to do is edit your general rates, and also your language pair-specific rates by clicking on "Edit rates" for each language pair you have listed and enter your minimum and target per audio/video minute rates, and click on “submit”. You can read more information about this feature in this article.
Showcase your subtitling abilities
If you’re an audiovisual translator, you might feel that plain text is not the best way to show your abilities to potential clients.
ProZ.com has included a new video portfolio for professionals who cannot make the most out of their profiles just by showing a translation sample in plain text. This new feature doesn’t just benefit audiovisual translators but also voice talents and interpreters.
To add your video samples to your portfolio, click on “Add a new video sample”, and upload a video directly from your computer or embed it from Youtube, TED, or Vimeo. Then just fill in the information about your sample (language pair, type of service, and title), and click on “Save”. Note that if you’re not a member you can only upload one (1) video sample, if you’re a Standard member you can upload up to three (3) video samples, and if you’re a Plus member you can add up to five (5) video samples. To learn more about this new feature feel free to read this article.
Join ProZ.com’s Subtitlers Pool
Last but not least, if you’re already an experienced subtitler, consider joining our Subtitlers pool. Pools are smaller directories of pre-screened professionals; i.e. professionals who have been screened by ProZ.com staff to verify that they have worked in a certain field.
The advantage of being part of the pool is that you’re going to appear in specific searches for the field to which the pool belongs, in this case, subtitling. Another advantage is that whenever you appear in a pool search, you have a better chance of being contacted. Remember that pools have fewer members than our main directory, meaning that your profile will be more visible.
Note that if you’re not a member you can only join one (1) pool, if you’re a Standard member you can join up to three (3) pools, and if you’re a Plus member you can join up to five (5) pools. Here’s the list of available pools.
If you have any doubts or questions regarding these new features don’t hesitate to contact ProZ.com site staff.