Challenges
- Script Mismatch: The client provided video transcripts for translation. However, there were discrepancies between the script and the actual dialogue in the English video. This required aligning the provided scripts with the video to maintain consistency.
- Translation Length: The German translation presented a specific challenge. German sentences tend to be longer, and the client insisted that subtitles should fit within one line, maintaining a clean and professional appearance. This called for strategic editing and resizing of text in several places.
- Visual Specifications: The client requested a specific Helvetica font for the subtitles, along with a soft drop shadow for clarity and aesthetics. The font needed to be applied consistently across all translations, without disrupting the visual flow of the video.
Solutions
- Script Realignment: To address the script mismatch, our team reviewed the original English videos and cross-checked the provided transcripts. We identified the discrepancies and made necessary edits to ensure that the subtitles matched the spoken dialogue accurately.
- Creative Translation: For each language, we creatively adapted the translations, especially for German. This involved paraphrasing and adjusting sentence structures to reduce the length without losing the meaning. We also made sure the text was concise enough to fit within the one-line requirement while still being legible.
- Font and Design Management: We ensured the use of Helvetica font across all subtitles with a soft drop shadow as specified. For longer German subtitles, we resized the text dynamically to fit the one-line constraint without compromising readability or aesthetic quality. We conducted rigorous quality checks to ensure consistency across languages.
Benefits
- Consistency Across Markets: The client achieved a set of localized marketing videos that were visually consistent and culturally appropriate for the German, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese markets. This helped them maintain brand integrity globally.
- Increased Viewer Engagement: The accurate and visually appealing subtitles allowed for seamless viewer engagement, ensuring that target audiences in each region could fully understand the content.
- Time and Cost Efficiency: By creatively managing text length and ensuring consistency in font and style, we avoided additional rounds of revisions, saving the client both time and cost.
eCommerce website Localization vSpeeq
vSpeeq specializes in remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI) for virtual events across various platforms, including Zoom. With a growing Spanish-speaking clientele, the company sought to localize its website to enhance service delivery.
End-to-End Video Localization for a Non-profit organization
A non-profit organization dedicated to providing sustainable energy solutions sought to expand its outreach in East Africa. To effectively communicate their message, they needed their marketing videos originally produced in Kannada translated and localized into Swahili. The project involved multiple stages: transcription from Kannada to Kannada, translation from Kannada to English, and then translation from English to Swahili. The final deliverables included dubbing the video in Swahili and adding open captions while incorporating the client’s new logo.
