Video localization is the process of modifying video content to suit the linguistic and cultural preferences of a target audience Every component of the video must be customized to ensure that the message relates to the local way of life. That could comprise:
- Making subtitles and captions.
The words captions and subtitles are frequently used synonymously. However, each has a specific function for viewers. To express speech, non-speech noises, and music that are essential to understanding the content, captions are words that are overlaid at the bottom of the video.
In order to distinguish non-speech from the dialog, it is marked with brackets. This additional information helps hard-of-hearing or deaf viewers. Captions can be translated into several languages, just as subtitles.
Text translations of spoken sounds are known as subtitles. They don’t include music or other sounds that aren’t speech. Even though some websites that contain videos, like YouTube, can generate automatic captions or subtitles, they aren’t always accurate. These platforms are unable to localize content for the intended audience.
A video localization service, on the other hand, will modify the original script to guarantee the correctness and cultural relevancy.
- Adding dubbing to the existing audio.
Audio dubbing is the process of substituting audio in the target language for the source conversation. Videos with many talking heads and/or conversations between two or more persons will work best with this technique.
When replacing the existing audio with dubbing in the target language, as accurately and naturally as feasible, the dialog is to be replaced, which includes emulating lip and speaking habits. This frequently necessitates changing the dialogue in the video or editing it to better fit the target language.
- Voiceover in the target language
An individual’s off-screen remark or narration during a video is captured in a voiceover. The original video must be translated, the script must be recorded in the intended language, and the script must then be edited onto the new video. Videos that either rely on narration or have just one speaker benefit most from voiceover.
A voice actor is typically hired to record the screenplay in a sound booth as part of the production process for voiceovers. To create voiceovers today, artificial intelligence can be used. The artificial intelligence technology extracts individual voices from the video, translates them into the intended language, and produces synthetic voiceovers that mimic human speech.
Voiceover is less accurate than dubbing because it doesn’t have to match a speaker’s mouth or facial expressions. Because just one voice actor is needed, it is also quicker and less expensive.
- Editing and synchronizing images to go along with the new audio.
Images with text, measurements, or significant information are frequently translated so that speakers of the target language may understand them. At the same time, images containing content that does not match the local culture will also be blurred, replaced, or removed.
- Translating metadata
The term “metadata” refers to data about a video that is used to describe and organize its content. This includes the transcript and sitemap, which aid in the video’s indexing by search engines, as well as the meta title, which is the title that appears in search results, meta description, which is the description that appears in search results, tags, or keywords that describe the video.
Localizing the video’s metadata will raise its position in the target language search results and increase traffic from that audience.
All of these components might be present in a localized video, or only a few. The type of material, intended audience, desired quality, and budget are some of the variables that will determine how much you need to alter it.
