Localization for Global Messages with TruScribe, The Whiteboard Video Company
Many of our customers need to deliver their content to multiple national and cultural audiences.
Traditional methods of translating video content can be limited in effectiveness and even distract the audience. Lowering engagement can diminish retention and follow-up action.
Localization is the process of making something local in character or relevant to a particular place or culture. Localization allows your content to be more relevant to a narrower audience than content with a global message.
Well Written, Concise Script
How do we help our global customers use TruScribe videos to cost-effectively deliver their messages to audiences all over the world?
It always starts with a well written script, often in your native language, that tells the right story. The story should convey a universal experience. It should also be concise and to the point as verbose use of language becomes harder to translate.
Professional Translation
We recommend using experienced professional translation services that ensure a high-quality considerate result. Professional services make it easier to identify the qualities you want in spoken content. They provide a selection of talent samples, in each language, so you choose the voices that fit your message best.
On-Screen Translation
When creating a whiteboard video that we know will be translated, we minimize or eliminate on-screen text. Where text is necessary, we redraw that text in each language that the video will be seen in. That may mean re-filming small sections of the video. In some cases, we use our proprietary techniques which allow an artist can simply redraw the on-screen text without re-shooting the whole scene. Either way it’s very simple.
Image Localization?
Localization can get the most interesting when it comes to images. And this is where many people stop in their localization efforts.
Images are there to support the words in your story. The same image can have vastly different meanings to different cultures. While we worry about images being offensive, we also worry about them being nonrelatable, which would detract from message engagement. To make sure the imagery will resonate with all audiences, we collaborate with your team and native speakers to take images into consideration. For example:
Example 1: In the Netherlands, a drawn character appearing in the video reminded the native reviewer of a local comic strip character that was known for being “ditsy”. We changed the character to get rid of that association
Example 2: Our characters are typically drawn with three fingers on each hand. A Japanese reviewer pointed out that this was potentially disrespectful to those who were themselves missing fingers. We put four fingers on all the characters for the Japanese version.
Drawing Ethnicity
A quick note about drawn characters. We do create characters that represent our clients’ global audience.
This may mean drawing ethnically neutral features. Or we create more noticeable changes in hair color, style, and dress to represent a specific audience where appropriate. Allowing the viewer to relate to the characters in the story they are watching enhances engagement and retention of the message.