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Interpreters for Film, TV and Podcast Production
A documentary subject, a podcast guest, a chef on a food show or a cast of extras who do not speak the director's language all have to be understood twice: on the day, by the crew, and later, by the audience. Here is who books the interpreter, how to interpret an interview so it can still be edited, what live voice-over is and is not, and what a shoot day costs.
On a separate track
Mic the interpreter separately so the interviewee's audio stays clean for the edit.
Interpreting is not subtitling
The interpreter serves the shoot; subtitles come from a translated transcript afterward.
$1,100 for a ten-hour shoot day
In person at $110 an hour from call time, plus travel at $0.70 per mile.
Who arranges the interpreter on a production
The production does: the producer or production coordinator books the interpreter like any other crew position, for the hours of the call sheet. The interviewee should not be asked to bring a relative or a friend to interpret, and a crew member who "speaks some Spanish" will be busy with their own job at the moment the director needs them.
What we provide is interpreters — for pre-interviews, for the shoot day, for remote recordings and for live interviews. Subtitles, dubbing and recorded voice-over are not among our published services. Subtitles start from a written translation of the transcript, which is a separate written service; dubbing and voice-over are performed by voice talent from a translated script. Tell us what the finished program needs and we will say plainly which part of it we can do.
Interviewing through an interpreter so the footage can be edited
For a documentary or a feature where the subject will appear in their own language with subtitles, the subject should answer in their language, uninterrupted. There are two ways to do it. Consecutive: the interviewer asks in English, the interpreter renders the question, the subject answers in full, then the interpreter renders the answer for the interviewer. The pauses are cut in the edit, and the interviewer can follow up properly. Whispered simultaneous: the interpreter sits off camera beside the director or interviewer and whispers the answer as it comes, so the subject is not stopped. It keeps the flow but puts the interpreter's voice close to the microphones.
Either way, mic the interpreter separately — a lavalier or a handheld on its own channel — and keep them off the subject's lav. Position the interpreter beside the camera so the subject looks toward the lens, not toward the person speaking their language. Ask the interviewer to keep questions short and single; a three-part question becomes three questions in the other language, and the subject answers only the last.
Live interviews and voice-over
Live voice-over interpreting — the interpreter's voice heard over a lowered original, as in a live news interview — is simultaneous interpreting delivered on air. It needs a broadcast engineer, a clean feed of the guest to the interpreter, a return feed that excludes the interpreter's own voice, and a rehearsal. It is a different product from recorded voice-over in a finished documentary, which is read by voice talent from a translated, timed script; live interpreting captured on the day is not a substitute for it in a finished program.
For podcasts, consecutive interpreting is usually the better choice: the episode can keep both languages, the host can hear each answer before following up, and the editor has clean separations between voices. Recording remotely, put each speaker on their own track. On Zoom, cloud recordings keep the original audio and the interpretation channels, while a local recording captures only what the person recording hears; on Teams, recordings capture only the main channel, so an interpreter working on the interpretation channel will not be in the recording. Check how your platform records before the guest joins.
On set and on location
- Directing talent and extras. Short instructions, rendered immediately, often shouted across a set: the interpreter stands next to the director or the first assistant director, not at the monitor.
- Safety briefings. Stunts, vehicles, water, heights and pyrotechnics briefings must reach everyone involved; see workplace safety training on checking that a briefing was understood.
- Release forms and location agreements. The interpreter can read a release aloud in the subject's language (sight translation) and render their questions, but a release the subject signs in their own language is a written translation, prepared before the shoot.
- Sensitive subjects. Interviews about violence, migration or illness need an interpreter briefed on the topic in advance and told what the subject has agreed to discuss.
- Long days. Billing runs from call time, not from when cameras roll. A day that is mostly waiting suits one interpreter; a day of continuous interviews may need two taking turns.
Booking an interpreter for a production
In person is $110 per interpreter per hour with a two-hour minimum, from the scheduled call time: a ten-hour shoot day is $1,100, plus travel at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, confirmed before you book. A pre-interview or casting call by video is $80 with a one-hour minimum. A one-hour remote podcast interview interpreted consecutively runs long — book two hours, $160.
Send with the request the language and the region or dialect of the subject, the call sheet or schedule, the location, the interview topics and question list, names and places that will come up, and whether the program needs a translated transcript afterward. Transcripts and releases to be translated in writing are quoted separately.
By video, by phone or in person
Virtual interpreting runs on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, or over the telephone. It is quicker to arrange, costs less and carries no travel charge, and it suits appointments, calls and most meetings.
In person is what venues with their own rules tend to expect, and the right choice when documents are being signed or several people are speaking at once. Tell us the platform, or the city and the venue, when you send the request.
Languages
The standard-availability languages are: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Polish, Italian, German, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Armenian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Somali and Nepali. Every other language we offer carries the 25–30% limited-availability rate. If a language is not on that list it is not because we cannot do it — it is because the pool of qualified interpreters in the United States is small enough that we will not promise a date without checking.
Each language has its own page on what to watch for — dialects, names, dates, who the speakers usually are: see interpreters by language.
What it costs
Rates are per interpreter, per hour, and billed from the scheduled start time rather than from when everyone actually arrives.
- Virtual — $80 per hour, one-hour minimum. Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or telephone.
- In person — $110 per hour, two-hour minimum.
- Limited-availability languages — add 25–30%. Which languages those are is listed below rather than left vague.
- Travel for in-person work — $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location.
How the travel charge works out
Travel is charged at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, which means you can work it out rather than wait for a quote: a 20-mile round trip is $14, a 60-mile round trip is $42, a 150-mile round trip is $105. There is no separate call-out fee on top.
We will not pretend to know in advance where the interpreter will be coming from — that depends on the language, the date and the venue. What we do is confirm the interpreter and the exact travel figure before you book, so it is never a surprise on the invoice. Virtual assignments carry no travel charge at all, which is one reason most of what we do is virtual.
How booking an interpreter works
- You send the request with the form below: the language, the setting, the format, the date and how long it should last.
- We confirm before you commit: the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one. We reply the same business day, and no payment is taken at this stage.
- You confirm, and the interpreter is booked for your date.
What to have ready
The more of this comes in the first message, the fewer exchanges before you have a price:
- The language, the date, the start time and how long it should run.
- Virtual or in person: the platform, or the city and the venue.
- The setting and the subject matter.
- How many people need interpreting for.
- Any credential the venue requires of the interpreter.
Request an interpreter
Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will come back with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one — before you commit to anything.
Thank you — we have your request
We will reply the same business day with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one, before you commit to anything.
Sources
What this page says about the rules was checked against these official sources on October 28, 2026. Rules change; the source is always the authority.
- Zoom Support — Using Language Interpretation in your meeting or webinar (KB0064768): recordings of interpretation sessions
- Microsoft Support — Use language interpretation in Microsoft Teams meetings: recordings and interpreter audio
Frequently asked questions
Should a documentary interview use consecutive or simultaneous interpreting?
Consecutive if the interviewer needs to follow up properly and the pauses can be cut; whispered simultaneous off camera if the subject should not be interrupted. In both, mic the interpreter on a separate channel.
Can the interpreter do the voice-over for our documentary?
Not as a recorded voice-over: that is voice talent reading a translated, timed script, and it is not among our services. We provide interpreters for the shoot and for live interviews.
Do you provide subtitles?
No. Subtitles are made from a written translation of the transcript; we can quote the written translation separately, but subtitle timing and files are not among our published services.
Will a Zoom or Teams recording include the interpreter?
On Zoom, cloud recordings include the original and the interpretation channels; local recordings do not. On Teams, recordings capture only the original audio.
How much does an interpreter cost for a shoot day?
In person is $110 per interpreter per hour from call time: a ten-hour day is $1,100 plus travel at $0.70 per mile. Remote interviews are $80 an hour with a one-hour minimum.
Is the price per person or per interpreter?
Per interpreter, per hour, billed from the scheduled start time. One interpreter covers a meeting; a full-day hearing may need two working in relay.
How is travel charged?
$0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location — a 20-mile round trip is $14. We confirm the exact figure before you book, and virtual assignments carry none.
Need an interpreter?
Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will confirm the interpreter and the exact price.