More Than Meets the Eye: A Look Inside the Video Localization Process

Video production and consumption are exploding globally. But when it comes to video localization, there’s much more than meets the eye. What does it actually mean to localize a video properly? Here’s a peek behind the curtain.

Take two types of clients we often work with: companies with educational videos, such as training courses and product tutorials, and companies making videos for social media and advertising. What they have in common is that their videos need to be localized to match the look and feel of their intended markets.

Educational videos can have many visual elements (bullet points, chyrons, descriptions, logos, and graphics), all of which need to be translated for the video to feel like it was made in that language.

On social media, where many people watch with the sound off, the text on screen has to tell most of the story.

In both cases, localized videos boost viewer engagement, and over time they can have a real impact on sales.

In our experience, video localization is rarely a standalone service. It often goes hand-in-hand with subtitling and voiceover, and our guide to multimedia localization explains how to choose between them.

A lot has changed since we first wrote this post in 2022. AI tools now do the first pass on several steps, and our linguists and multimedia engineers check their work. Read on to see how the process works today, and what you’ll need.

Understand the Video Localization Process

To get the ball rolling, we need your source files.

We’re flexible, so if you can’t supply an editable file, the Multimedia team at Argos will recreate the file from scratch. However, if time is of the essence, we recommend sending files that can be edited, along with the fonts, footage, and audio they use.

Before production starts, our multimedia engineers check each file for missing elements that could bring the project to a halt mid-production. Automated tools handle much of the media preparation, so translation can start sooner.

If there’s no script for the dialogue, AI speech recognition produces a first transcript, and a language specialist corrects it. As with subtitling, we also transcribe what appears on the screen. The on-screen text gets its own script and is translated with the rest of the video, so terms and vocabulary match wherever they appear. A product name reads the same in the voiceover as it does in a caption.

Our translators work in tools that play the video alongside the text, so they see each subtitle on screen as they write it. That way they can catch a subtitle that disappears before viewers can finish reading it, or adjust a label that’s too long for its space.

For voiceovers, we work with both professional voice actors and AI voice tools, and a language specialist reviews every AI-generated track. For dubbed videos, AI lip-sync tools can adjust the speaker’s mouth movements to match the new audio.

Putting the translated text back into the video used to be mostly manual work. Video editing tools can now detect on-screen text and replace it, although animated titles and motion graphics still need an editor to match the movement and timing of the original. From the engineering team to the desktop publishing (DTP) team, it’s all hands on deck to create a cohesive viewing experience.

You can review the localized video in your browser and leave comments right on the video timeline, so each note points to the exact moment that needs a change. Once the video is complete, our post-production quality assurance (QA) steps make sure each version is accurate and consistent before delivery.

How Long Does Video Localization Take?

That depends on the type and size of source files we receive from you. We work with a wide range of files, from six terabytes for three videos to files small enough to be sent as an email attachment. Some are editable and some aren’t, and the approach is different for each. The voice makes a difference too, since AI voice can turn around large volumes of content quickly.

So, it varies.

The more prepared a client is, the more efficiently we can work. One thing that helps is leaving room for the translation. Most translations from English are longer, and English text of up to 10 characters can double or triple in length in European languages. If each piece of text is on its own layer with space around it, editors can fit the translation without redesigning the graphic. It also helps to finalize your script and on-screen text before translation begins, since a late change multiplies across every language.

We understand that there are many moving parts to localization. Perhaps you’re working in tandem with an agency on the same project. We’ll advise on the best file types before the process begins, so it runs smoothly for everyone involved.

Argos’s Goal for Video Localization

Content is localized because companies understand the importance of speaking to customers in their language. Whichever audience or market your localized video is meant to reach, we want your viewers to think: “This was created in my language for me.”

Planning to localize your videos for international audiences? Reach out to see how we combine AI tools with expert linguists and multimedia engineers. We’re happy to help!

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