Corporate videos are crucial to pretty much every company nowadays. They’re that little bit more personal than written text and some things are just easier to explain in a video. If you need a multilingual video, you have a few options. You can have the video subtitled; that’s the easiest and cheapest option. You can use a voice-over, but in that case you need to be sure that your viewers will be able to listen to the audio. Your third option is to have the entire video, including text animations, edited in a different language. It’s also possible to combine the three different options.
Subtitles
Subtitling videos and films is a lot less complicated than it seems, but it does require special subtitling software. Depending on the situation, the subtitles are either translated directly in the subtitling tool or a script is produced first. In both cases, the subtitles are of course spotted, i.e. they’re timed using the software to make sure they appear in the right place. We also make sure they’re legible and don’t run off-screen.
Subtitles need to be consistent with the other communications relating to a product or service. You can’t start calling a product or feature something entirely different to the name used in the rest of the communications, and the same goes for specific terms and concepts. That’s actually the reason why companies often have subtitles translated by their own translation partner and not the video agency, as this ensures continuity and a higher quality.
Video editing - modifying animations in numerous languages
If a video animation contains text, it’d be a shame to subtitle it. The text in the animation is part of the entire video. It clarifies the message and is also nice to look at. Subtitling such animations leaves viewers having to make do with a dreary sentence at the bottom of the screen that distracts them from the animation’s actual message. And on top of that, it looks odd.
It’s much better to edit the animation after translation and this is something HHCE does for various customers. Our video editor works together closely with the translators, and for good reason. Not all languages have the same word order or the same type of declensions, so it can be a real puzzle for the video editor who doesn’t speak all those languages. That one important word that was given a different colour for emphasis in the original video might consist of two or more words in the translation or might even be part of a different word. That’s even trickier. To give a simple example, the English term “marketing team” is written as two words, while the correct Dutch term is one word: “marketingteam”. If the word “team” is highlighted in the English video, what do you do in the Dutch version? Highlight half of the word or translate it differently? As you can probably imagine, languages like Finnish, Polish, Chinese and Turkish throw up even more questions, which is why HHCE’s video editor works together with the translators to produce the best result. Sometimes the text just has to be translated differently, and that’s something you often only see once the translated text is in the video.
Voice-overs
Translating a voice-over and having it rerecorded in the new language is the most expensive option of the three, mainly because an actor needs to be hired to record the voice-over after translation. This option should be selected if spoken word will create added value for the audience, e.g. in an advert, an introduction video at an event or conference, or in a video or film to be screened before a live audience. With this option, you also need to be certain that the viewers will be able to listen to the audio, otherwise you’d be better off going for subtitles.
It’s not only the quality and rhythm of the translation that will make or break a good voice-over, the speaker’s skills are also crucial. Always make sure you use an experienced native speaker. English advertising slogans are often recorded by Dutch natives in Dutch TV adverts. Not only can you hear the difference right away, it can also cause confusion for English natives. Back in the 1990s, Philips came up with the slogan “let’s make things better” and it was clear to hear that this had been recorded by a Dutch person, who pronounced the “e” as an “a”, making the slogan sound like “let’s make things batter”. So do be careful!
Get the information you need
If you’re struggling and not sure how to handle your multilingual video, feel free to contact us. We can give you advice with no strings attached. You’ll probably find talking about it helps you to make the right choice. Sometimes simple subtitles are enough, rather than an expensive voice-over. Or you might ultimately decide to have the animations edited.
Feel free to contact us for more information. We’d be happy to help you.
