How to translate a video into another language
We’re watching more video content than ever before. Since its launch in 2005, YouTube has become the world’s second largest search engine. And video is now the second most popular type of content on social media. We’re visual creatures. We find videos more memorable and engaging than other forms of content. It comes as no surprise, then, that 90% of businesses use video as part of their marketing toolkit.
So, what happens when you want to reach a wider audience and expand your business abroad? How do you engage with potential customers who don’t speak your language? What are the options for getting your videos translated into other languages?
Key Takeaways from this article:
| 🔸Video translation makes content accessible through subtitling, localisation, and voiceover options 🔸Professional editing ensures accuracy where AI-generated captions and translations fall short 🔸Balance budget and quality by prioritizing professional translation for key markets |
What is video translation?
Put simply, video translation refers to making your video content accessible to speakers of other languages. In this blog post, we show you how to choose the best approach to translating your videos according to your needs and budget.
How can videos be translated into another language?
There are three main approaches to translating videos: subtitling, video localisation and voiceover. The first two focus on text, while the last one focuses on audio.
Subtitling
Subtitles are a popular and cost-effective way to translate video content. Subtitles are boxes of text that reflect the dialogue in a video. They typically have one or two lines and appear at the bottom of the screen.
In the UK, people tend to use the terms “captions” and “subtitles” interchangeably. In the world of media accessibility, though, a distinction is made between the two terms:
- Captions are in the same language as the audio. They’re designed for viewers who can’t hear the audio.
- Subtitles are for viewers who can hear the audio but don’t understand the language spoken. Adding subtitles is a good option for making sure that your video is accessible to speakers of other languages.
Automated captions
You may have noticed the “enable auto-captions” feature when you post video content on social media. Or perhaps you’ve seen a “create captions” feature in your video editing tool.
There are plenty of tools that let you create automated captions for your videos. Many of these tools have tiered subscription plans, which often include a free option. Free plans tend to have limited features, such as a usage cap. Paid-for plans include useful extras, such as the ability to edit and even translate your captions. Although speech-to-text technology has improved in recent years, it’s always a good idea to edit auto-generated captions. That’s because AI captions often have:
- Clumsy segmentation and poor line breaks
- Mishears
- Punctuation errors that distort the meaning
- Difficulty handling acronyms and proper names
- No regard for comfortable reading speeds or shot changes
- Reduced accuracy with background noise, overlapping speech and regional accents
People who rely on same-language captions for accessibility often describe AI captions as craptions. And downstream, errors in auto-captions will be replicated in translation.
Yet for businesses on a tight budget, automated captions can be a good starting point if you don’t mind spending some time to edit your captions. You might find that editing your captions isn’t practical, though. Especially if you have a lot of video content. So, what are the options?
Professional captioning and subtitling
The subtitle translation feature in AI caption generation tools is built on neural machine translation. Aside from known translation accuracy issues, machine translation can’t pick up on errors in the source text.
If you really want to impress your viewers, it’s worth taking the time to find a professional AI subtitling and dubbing provider. This becomes all the more important when it comes to subtitles. Factors such as reading speeds, line breaks and character limits come into play. Machine translation can’t help with this yet. Subtitling professionals are adept at conveying your message in concise, easy-to-read subtitles. Professionally edited subtitles also show that you care about your audience’s viewing experience.
Closed and open captions
Closed captions come as a separate file to accompany your video. You can then upload them to platforms like YouTube or other social media sites. Your viewers can turn captions on or off with a simple click of the CC button. The video player determines how your captions will look. Some platforms let you customise the appearance of closed captions. Others don’t.
If you want to customise the appearance of your captions, then you can embed captions into your video. They’re known as open captions or burned-in captions. Open captions are a good option for styling captions in your brand fonts, but there’s a trade-off: your viewers can’t turn them off.
Here are our top tips for creating good open captions:
- Stick with off-white text against a black background
- Choose a sans serif font
- Use a readable font size
- Position your captions at the bottom, but don’t hide on-screen text
Video localisation
One way to translate unspoken on-screen text elements in your video is to add them to your subtitle track. However, things quickly start to get cluttered if there is dialogue going on at the same time. Which do you prioritise?
Video localisation might be a better approach to handling unspoken on-screen text. Multilingual video editors can localize your content with tools such as Adobe Premiere Pro or After Effects.
If you want to give international viewers a video that truly speaks to them, you might want to consider changing the audio language in your video, too. That’s where voiceover comes in.
Voiceover
The spoken word can make a huge impact on listeners. If you want your video to resonate with speakers of other languages, consider voiceover. The options here range from emerging technology like AI voice generators to movie actor quality – and price tag.
It’s worth keeping an eye on review sites like TechRadar to discover the latest in text-to-speech technology. HeyGen made the news recently with a solution that clones your voice and recreates it in other languages. It even adjusts lip movements for on-screen speakers. The technology is still in its infancy, though. And it’s built on machine translation, with its inherent limitations and accuracy issues. Even so, AI voices could be a good fit for basic training and explainer videos when your budget is tight.
For customer-facing content and high-profile advertising campaigns, professional voice artists are the way to go. With the right brief, they’ll be able to deliver a compelling message to audiences in your target markets.
Help! I understand the limitations of AI video translator tools, but I don’t have a blockbuster budget. How can I translate my video content professionally?
In many ways, it has become easier than ever to translate video content. Doing it well? That’s a little more difficult. It’s worth keeping the following points in mind:
- Captions and subtitles are more cost-effective than voiceover. Video localisation lies somewhere in the middle.
- AI tools can speed up the process of translating your video if accuracy isn’t important to you. How about those meeting or webinar recordings for starters?
- AI tools can help, but they can also hinder. Use auto-generated captions as the starting point. Then edit them for accuracy.
- Check your analytics. This will help you understand who’s watching your videos and where. If most of your viewers are in South America, consider adding Spanish subtitles to your video. If your video isn’t getting many views in Italy, then maybe adding Italian subtitles to your video is a lower priority.
- Consider a mix of approaches. Use professionals for customer-facing content in your key markets. Consider AI tools for smaller markets.
Want to know more?
If making your video content accessible to a global audience seems a bit daunting, get in touch with us. Planet Languages can help you find the best solution for your needs and budget. We work with an extensive network of subtitling professionals and voice talent in 80 different languages.
More video translation questions? Here are the questions people often ask after reading this post:
Captions are in the same language as the audio, designed for viewers who cannot hear it. Subtitles translate the dialogue for viewers who can hear the audio language but need translation. Both make video content more accessible, but subtitles specifically target multilingual audiences while captions support hearing-impaired viewers in the original language.
Professional video translation costs more than AI tools but delivers higher accuracy and quality. Subtitling is the most cost-effective professional option, video localisation sits mid-range, and voiceover is premium-priced. AI tools offer budget-friendly starting points but require editing time. Professional translation prevents costly errors and ensures your brand message resonates authentically with international audiences.
AI video translation tools work for low-stakes content like internal meetings, but professional translators are essential for customer-facing materials. AI struggles with context, cultural nuances, proper names, and reading speeds. Professional translators ensure accuracy, cultural appropriateness, and brand consistency. For marketing campaigns and important business videos, human expertise delivers the quality your brand deserves.
Video localisation adapts on-screen text elements like graphics, titles, and captions for different languages and cultures. Use it when your video contains significant visual text alongside dialogue, as subtitle tracks become cluttered. Video localisation ensures a seamless viewing experience by integrating translated elements directly into your video, making content feel native to each target market.
Choose subtitles for cost-effective translation when budget is limited or you need multiple language versions quickly. Opt for voiceover when emotional impact matters, like advertising campaigns or customer testimonials. Consider your audience’s preferences and viewing context. Subtitles work well for social media where videos autoplay silently. Voiceover creates deeper engagement for high-value content targeting specific markets.
About the author
Bethan Thomas has worked in the language services industry for 20 years. At Planet Languages, she manages audiovisual translation projects for companies that embrace accessibility. She has also provided English captioning to the UK broadcasting industry since 2015.
