Video dubbing, voice-overs and subtitling have always been used to spread ideas and
screen films in countries outside those where they were originally produced but in
recent years there has been a rapid growth in this sort of localisation using multimedia.
Live video streaming is the trend at the moment which is likely to develop further as the
year progresses.
The growth of multimedia has moved ahead rapidly because of the insatiable demand for it to be translated into foreign languages and particularly for use on the internet. It is
expected that 80 per cent of content published on the internet will be online video
localisation by the close of the year.

How video localisation is to be organised

Captions and subtitles as part of video localisation

Captions and subtitles are often an option for those who have poor hearing, but these are becoming more and more commonplace on online videos and not just in foreign languages, but as an addition to the language the online video is published in. You may be watching an online news report with captions and subtitles included in the video’s language. This has all become possible because of the increase in automatic tools which can put the captions and subtitles in place quickly in a cost-effective way.

They are not just popular with those who have difficulty hearing, but they are great for social media addicts who want to keep in touch on the subway, bus or even at their workplaces when the volume can be turned down but the information and message is still churned out. It is now so popular to read the subtitles or captions with the volume turned down, that platforms automatically put them in place. Now, subtitling is the go-to video localization choice for the sort of video clips you find on social media platforms because the sound can be eliminated or even softened. It just makes the whole online experience more satisfying.

 Virtual reality (VR) is today’s challenge for dubbing localization

VR has in the last two years or so been key news. VR content is now more commonly found in news feeds and on YouTube. The 1^st narrative 360-degree shorts are now popping up. With this has been developed a captioning standard which is now in place on a number of the online streaming outlets such as YouTube. Subtitling will probably mirror the current localisation model for captions and this is expected to be particularly appropriate for both videos which are accompanied by a presenter and a narrator who is off the screen.

It is likely the new VR content narrative which frequently includes several speakers will require lip-syncing dubbing. To begin with, this may prove to be a difficult task because VR videos are associated with complicated audio streams, which in real time tend to be manipulated depending on where a user has positioned their viewing. Talent separation is tipped to be critical as users usually go through content by using audio cues.

Multimedia likely to see agile localization

Agile localisation, as the name implies, means making localisation more flexible. It has been on the cards for ten years or more. In translations, this has been through the use of translation online management systems (TMS). More recently, this has spread to multimedia localization.

Dubbing and voice-overs have been a bit more of a challenge for the model for agile localisation. Delivering only a small amount of content is not considered to be cost-effective as sessions need the setting of a professional studio which has facilities for multilingual voice-overs and dubbing talents, a studio engineer and a native-speaking director, a quality control reviewer and a production engineer. However, integrated voice recordings (IVR) content, public prompts and app audios tend to benefit a lot from shorter production timeframes. Agile multimedia localizing is likely to continue through this year and beyond.

Dubbing and subtitling on the rise

As online videos grow in importance subtitling and dubbing are affected as well. There is likely to be some changes in e-learning localisation as more course platforms go online so that real-time collaborating can take place.  The languages of Southeast Asian and in particular India are likely to grow in importance as part of global localisation.

Overall this year, multimedia localization is going to experience strong growth as more and more content goes online and reaches more corners of the globe and more languages. Multimedia is the preferred platform so localisation will move in to play its role in facilitating communication around the world.