Global communication requires video localization in an ever-evolving digital world.
But perhaps you already know that?
As you know, AI can help you with multiple aspects of video localization, and it’s time to start implementing it.
If that’s you, keep reading further.
This blog post explores the localization process in the past and today, identifies the domains where AI excels (and fails), and describes specific tools for localizing videos.
What is Video Localization?
A video’s localization involves modifying its content for different audiences, including dialogue, captions, graphics, and cultural references.
There is no doubt that localization involves translating, dubbing, or subtitling the original video’s audio into the target language, but that’s not all. A video must also be adjusted visually and ensure that the overall message and context resonate effectively with the intended audience. Think about images, colors, date formats, puns, idioms, etc.
Multimedia localization enables videos to reach a global audience, engage viewers, and foster cultural understanding and sensitivity.
Remember to speak more than just their local language when interacting with a new audience.
Key aspects of video localization include:
- Subtitling and dubbing: Subtitling involves writing a translation of the spoken content, whereas dubbing is the process of replacing the original audio with a translated version.
- Transcription: This involves converting the audio of a video into written text. The first step in subtitling, as well as creating closed captions for hard of hearing individuals, is usually this step.
- Translation of on-screen text: It is necessary to translate all text appearing in the video, such as signs, letters, subtitles, and infographics.
- Voiceover and lip-syncing: Sometimes, a new voice track may be created in the target language. A new voice track can sometimes be lip-synced with the original speakers’ lip movements to ensure that they are captured as accurately as possible.
- Conversion of measures and formats: Currency, dates, and measurements may need to be converted into formats that are familiar to the target audience.
- Cultural adaptation: Adapting content to the new audience’s cultural context. It may be necessary to change references, humor, or images in order to avoid offending the new culture or not being understood by the current one.
Why is video localization important?
The process of adapting video content for a new audience, however, takes time and effort. Also, it doesn’t come for free – it costs both time and money. However, it pays off in the end. Here’s how:
1. Expanding reach
The ability to localize your video content allows you to reach a global audience and expand your brand’s reach online and offline.
2.Increased conversion and engagement
A localized video can increase conversion rates and viewer engagement, which will improve your return on investment.
3. Improved user experience
The localization of your videos ensures that viewers can enjoy your videos and engage with them, creating a positive user experience.
4. Competitive advantage
A localized video will also give your brand a competitive edge by positioning it as culturally sensitive and customer-focused.
5. Cultural relevance
You can build a deeper connection with your target audience by adjusting your videos to their local values, cultures, and preferences.
6. Legal and compliance reasons
There may be legal requirements for some types of content to be localized in certain regions. It is common for countries to require native language marketing of products and services.
7. SEO Benefits
The localization of your video content will make it easier for search engines and YouTube to find and index your video content globally.
The 10-step video localization strategy
A thorough research of the new markets is essential before creating localized videos, as well as identifying what resonates with the new audience.
Let’s take a look at the 10 steps to localize video content once you have identified that:
- Analyzing content and identifying localization requirements.
- The original script has been transcribed and translated.
- Graphics, text overlays, and captions on screen can be translated into the local language.
- A voice-over recording or dubbing in the target language is required.
- Translating or captioning the video in the target language.
- Subtitles, voice-overs, and translated scripts are edited and synchronized.
- Quality assurance and review of the localized video.
- Creating the desired file format for the localized video.
- A variety of channels will be used to distribute and promote the localized video.
- The monitoring of feedback from the target audience is crucial to improving future efforts at localization.
Localizing video content can be quite time-consuming and expensive, since external providers are typically required.
A company with a tight budget may not be able to hire translators, localization experts, voice actors, video editors, designers, or other specialists to translate one video.
With AI, however, things have changed. Here’s how.
How to simplify video localization with AI
Synthesia is an AI tool that can be used to perform different localization tasks at scale and at a cost-effective price.
The following are six concrete video localization tasks you can quickly accomplish with AI.
1. Video translation
Using artificial intelligence, video translation can be automated quickly and accurately by analyzing text and converting it into different languages.
Video content can be translated automatically into 70+ languages using Synthesia, including the on-screen text and subtitles.
2. Subtitling & captioning
Transcribing audio and matching subtitles or captions to video content can be automated using artificial intelligence. We’ll do the rest based on the video you provide.
You can automatically generate subtitles for translated videos using Synthesia. Automatically, the subtitles will be synced with the voiceover.
3. Voiceover and dubbing services
Automated dubbing in different languages can be assisted by AI, which can generate synthetic voices. It is even possible to clone your voice with some of the best AI voice generators!
Using Synthesia’s AI voiceover generator, you can create voiceovers in 120+ languages and 400+ voices by simply typing in text.
4. AI presenters
AI can be used to create videos with presenters without hiring real actors. A variety of AI avatars can speak multiple languages and can easily be customized to meet the needs of different audiences.
You can use AI avatars instead of actors. The Synthesia platform, for example, offers 140+ avatars that speak 120+ languages. Creating your own AI avatar is also possible!
5. Video editing
In the market today, there are many AI video editors, which offer automation of certain video editing tasks, including trimming, color correction, and visual effects.
6. Visual design and image generation
Visual design tools such as DALL-E and Midjourney can assist in the creation of designs, assist in image editing and resizing, and provide automated tools for tasks like object recognition.
Try AI for video localization
Hopefully, you now understand why and how AI can be used to localize video content.
Now that we have talked about it for a while, it is time for the practice to begin.
There is a free demo version of Synthesia available here if you’d like to try it out for yourself.
