What Are Subtitle Translation & Audio Localization Best Practices In 2020

International businesses often use subtitle translation and audio localization best practices to extend the reach of their multimedia content. More and more companies, television and movie content producers are releasing videos in multiple languages nowadays for maximum exposure. A subtitle is one such way that helps to make content accessible to viewers of various languages at the most reasonable prices. Just like subtitling, audio localization is also an imperative concept that plays a vital role as a crucial global business strategy. Don’t you have much information about these concepts and their significance? Here’s your most helpful guide.

What Is Audio Localization?

It is the process of taking sound (voice) content from multimedia assets such as reproduced, recorded, or transmitted content, and modifying it as per the new local market. Don’t consider audio and sound localization same because there are major differences between these. Opposed to audio, sound localization is the ability of a listener to figure out the sound location in terms of distance and direction. But, it is true that just like other localization processes such as marketing, app, e-commerce, content, and website localization for the global audience, localizing the audio scripts help a lot to expand the business reachability.

Business Applications
As companies are doing business across varying languages, nations, and cultures, it becomes necessary to integrate localization of audio in vital business practices. Here are its major applications-

• Localize audio content of the radio commercials as per the market demands.
• Improve the experience of customers of all languages using IVR (interactive voice response). You can record prompts in other languages as per your business requirement.
• Increased knowledge of students through localized e-learning courses.

Top Practices To Localize Audio Content

Wondering what is included in the process of localizing audio content? Just like agile localization practices, it also requires a step-by-step approach. Here is a short overview of this process.

1. Before recording the audio, ask your company for the recorded voice samples to check the quality. First know about the total voice required, the age of an expert, and the type of voice you need- male or female.

2. Once a talented voice artist is recruited, a script is localized to read in the desired language. This step includes many things such as the following-

• Transcribe a script
• Now, the script needs to be translated for audio recording. Add timestamps to the translated result.

3. Record the audio to achieve studio-quality sound.

4. In this step, edit audio voice-over, remove unwanted noise, match source tempo, figure out the major changes in the tone and volume of a speaker. Change the audio track to all applications.

5. Get QA (quality assurance) review to ensure that the final product is free from all errors.

6. After wrapping up a quality assurance phase, the localized files are delivered to clients.

What Is Subtitle Translation?

This is a process in which content is made accessible to viewers in the form of text-based content in the language they can use and understand easily. In other words, modifying the script in accordance with the cultural context is called subtitle translation. Launching the video with appropriately localized subtitles is the ideal way to reach out to customers in any market across the world, promote the brand at a wider level, boost sales, and get a prominent reputation in the international market.

Benefits of Subtitling

Check out the most common advantages of subtitling localization and translation –

• Highly cost-effective than voice-over production.
• Text in the subtitle perfectly matches with the audio track.
• The newly translated subtitle and audio track remain the same just like the original one.
• The visual appeal of the text goes in coordination with the sound effect.
• Engage viewers for a long time by providing them readable text in their native language along with quality sound.