Translating Video Text, Graphics and Dialogue

Translation in itself can seem to be a simple process. Translating text is something that may require only a completed manuscript or document, and a qualified translator. In contrast, translating video can require a significant amount of work. Caption translation involves working with subtitling software not only to correctly time translations, but significant editing in order to ensure reading speeds are kept adequate. Where there is onscreen text or animation, video text first needs to be transcribed, then translated and timed appropriately to match. Any integration of onscreen text into video can require working with video editing software, which can mean working with a number of different professionals with different specialisms.

At Capital Captions, we offer a fully comprehensive service to transcribe, translate, caption, and edit onscreen video text for your required translation projects. Some of our services for translation are outlined as below…

Video Translation and Transcription

In terms of captions and subtitles featuring dialogue, here are a number of options when it comes to translating video, which are outlined as below…

Video transcription, subtitling and translation involves typing out dialogue from videos, timing it into subtitle format and subsequently translating it. This is the recommended method for translating subtitles and achieves the best results in terms of accuracy.

Direct foreign subtitling and translation is an alternative option. In this case, a translator will watch a video in its source language but transcribe directly into the target language, translating as they go. This can be a faster process and also cheaper, but may be slightly less accurate and lead to sometimes truncated or summarised subtitles. It’s also more difficult to run quality control without a source language text file to compare against.

Foreign Subtitling and Caption Translation

When it comes to foreign subtitling, there’s lots more that goes into captions and subtitle translation than meets the eye. Different languages tend to be either wordier or more succinct, and this can lead to issues with reading speeds. When working with translating video, it’s important to check against reading speeds and tailor subtitle timings and breaks as appropriate. Fonts also need to be checked for compatibility as some foreign characters may display incorrectly for certain languages, and Asian languages such as Chinese and Japanese, incorrect font types can even lead to characters displaying sideways!

Subtitle Burning and Translation

If you are translating video and have a lot of onscreen graphics, subtitle burning is definitely the way to go. Traditionally placed captions at the bottom centre of the screen may obscure your onscreen graphics and/or text, so burning in foreign subtitles allows the option to move captions up or down, left or right, as required, to avoid clashing with any important visuals.

Video Editing and Integrating Translations

When translating videos with graphics and text into another language, it’s imperative to have a seamless translation that matches the style and editing effects of the original video. This is where Capital Captions comes in. Not only do we translate dialogue and onscreen text, but we work with complex video editing techniques to ensure that your newly translated animations match their source language counterparts. We work with transcription of your onscreen text, translation and then video editing where the new text and effects replace that on your original video.

Especially when it comes to eLearning and animated videos with a lot of onscreen graphics, the first step is usually translating voiceovers and adding in as captions or dubbing. This requires transcription and translation, followed by either captioning or recording by a voice artist.

Video Software and Translation

When working with translating video text for animations and subtitles, we work with a wide range of software. Most projects involve Adobe Premiere, After Effects or similar, but we are able to work with project files and conversions from a number of different suites. Most importantly, if you don’t have project files to work from, where we can seamlessly integrate your translations, we are able to accept MP4 video and will work collaboratively to find the best way to edit in translated text without it looking clunky and like a translation ‘afterthought.’

Whatever your requirements for translating video text, graphics or dialogue, at Capital Captions, our host of services has you covered. Contact us today for a full quote.