Two Minutes That Became Four Words
Imagine sitting opposite a man in a country whose language you don't speak.
You asked a question, the translator relayed it, and the man started talking.
He talked for two full minutes. His face changed twice, he laughed once, he fell silent in the middle as though searching for a word, then carried on in a quieter voice. At the end he raised his hand and pointed at something behind him.
When he finished, the translator turned to you and said:
"He says life is hard."
And you sat there knowing something large had been lost, without knowing what it was or how to get it back.
A Translator Isn't a Pipe
You think you're talking to your subject. In reality you're talking to a third person who decides what reaches you.
Translators condense, tidy up, cut what they find embarrassing, and add explanations of their own. All of it done with good intentions, because they think they're helping.
So your first job is to make them a conscious partner, not a silent intermediary.
Before the Interview: Half an Hour That Changes Everything
Explain the film to them. What it's about, and why you're asking these particular questions. A translator who understands the intent translates far better.
Ask for literal translation in plain terms. Say it in these words: relay what he said as he said it, even if it sounds odd or incomplete. Don't summarise and don't smooth it over. If he gets a fact wrong, relay the error and tell me afterwards.
Go through the questions with them before you sit down. Some questions are too direct in the culture of the place, and they'll know that before you do. Listen to them, but don't cut an important question just because it's difficult.
And agree on a signal. A small hand gesture meaning "hold on, I want a follow-up question" without interrupting the subject with your voice.
During the Interview
Seat the translator beside the camera, behind you. The subject looks at you, and the camera sees them looking in the right direction.
If the translator sits in front of the subject, the subject will look at them the entire time, and you'll come away with a shot of your subject talking to someone outside the frame.
And watch your subject while they speak, not the translator.
You don't understand the words, but you understand the face, the voice and the hands. That's half the interview, and it's the half that was lost in the story we opened with.
Leave two seconds after every translation. Silence pushes the subject to add something, and the best answers arrive after silence.
And record the original audio in full, without stopping during the translation. You'll need the subject's own words in the edit, and you'll translate them again, calmly, at home.
Questions That Survive Translation
Translation breaks some questions and passes over others. These rules protect yours.
One question at a time. Something like "when did you start, why, and do you regret it?" reaches the subject as a single question, and they answer only the last part.
Ask for a scene, not an opinion. "What was your first day like?" is far stronger than "what does this work mean to you?" Description translates. Abstract feeling gets lost on the way.
Avoid proverbs and idioms. Every saying you use comes out of the translator as something else entirely.
And ask about numbers and dates directly. "How many years?" arrives intact. "How long have you been doing this?" turns into a long story with no number at the end of it.
And What You Always Lose
Jokes. They never translate. Film the subject laughing and use it as it is.
Sarcastic tone. Your subject might say something wry and it reaches you completely straight. Watch their face to know.
And small details. Translators cut them because they seem unimportant, and they're usually the loveliest thing in the whole answer.
The only remedy: after the interview, sit with the translator and watch the most important five minutes together. Ask at every line: what exactly did he say here?
You'll hear things that never reached you during filming.
And One Last Rule
Don't let the translator answer instead of the subject.
When you ask and then go quiet, some translators fill the silence with their own interpretation: "what he means is…". Stop that the first time it happens, gently.
You came to hear a man, not to hear someone's opinion of him.
In Short
Explain the film to your translator. Ask for literal translation. Seat them beside the camera.
Ask one short question at a time, watch your subject, and record their original audio in full.
Then review the most important five minutes with the translator after you wrap. That's where you find the film.