The idea might sound similar, but it differs significantly in several key points.
First of all, it requires that some market research be done in order to choose the video to be translated, rather than tossing the dice on a randomly selected JAV. This would allow the translator to assess the potential number of people who might be willing to pony up what amounts to not much more than a cup of coffee at Starbucks before he spends any time whatsoever translating. Using this approach, there would be no need for him to waste time building a timed 10-minute sample file for a JAV, only to find that there's no substantial market interest.
I've suggested the shell timed file be provided because that the skills needed to build this are not rare, as opposed to the translation effort, which can only be done by someone who is fluently bilingual in Japanese and English. This allows the limited funding available to be focused on the value-added skill. The reason others, like fyfiul and JAVtoENG, have only provided partial translations is that translators are NOT being well compensated. If the shell file is provided, this means scarce funding is allocated to where it is most needed.
But here's where my proposal differs substantially: the translator would only begin work on a project once the shell file has been built and provided to him, at which point he would call in the funds from those who were committed to seeing the project through. If the funds are not sent as promised, he can choose to either call for additional subscribers or allocate the funding he's received to another potential project that his subscribers could vote on. The translator doesn't waste a single minute of his time unless the project is fully funded to a level that he accepts as adequate compensation for his effort. That way, once each project is completely translated, it could be publicly released. Because everybody benefits, this might provide an incentive for others to pitch in to fund subsequent projects.
As you can see, this method eliminates the risk to the translator and ensures that scarce resources, i.e. time and money, are only focused on projects that will be 100% translated.
Finally, it would be a mistake to underestimate the effort required to build a timed shell file. For example, it took me about 8 hours to tweak the timings and rework the dialogue for RBD-632 so that it sounds like normal conversational English. You simply don't get great results without putting in the effort. Take a look at RBD-632 and compare it to some of the other subbed files out there and you'll see what I mean.
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