How Combining Localization with Digital Marketing Can Help You Grow

Picture this: at 1 a.m., you are binge-watching your favourite K-drama. You have plugged in your earphones and those subtitles are keeping you hooked to the screen. They are like your best buddies, ensuring that you don’t miss any important plot twists or emotional scenes.

Subtitles are the absolute lifesavers. They make sure that you, or anyone else, can vibe with the content, no matter the original language. Basically, they make content more accessible and inclusive to people.

However, subtitling comes with its own set of challenges for those involved in creating subtitles. In this blog, we will discuss the top five challenges in subtitling and how to overcome them.

1. The Struggle with Timing and Synchronization

Ever had a watching experience where the subtitle appears on the screen even before the actor starts speaking? Frustrating, right? That’s one of the challenges with subtitles. Sometimes they’re off-sync. And, you are left to figure out a way to match the actions with the words. It can be quite annoying.

And you don’t even have to mention about auto-translations. One minute it is going perfect. The next minute it is total gibberish. Timing and synchronization is everything when it comes to subtitling. Subtitlers must focus on perfectly aligning the text with the audio.

2. Cultural Nuances and Localization Woes

Making subtitles doesn’t just involve translating the audio content into text in the preferred language. It is more about capturing the vibe of the content. Are you trying to directly translate idioms or jokes without understanding their essence? Big mistake. Something that is hilarious in one language can make zero sense or even offend in another.

So, what’s the game plan for this? Handle subtitling in the language you are an expert at. Else, you can look for professional translators or localization experts who understand the cultural nuances and keep the meaning intact. Though AI tools can help, a human touch is absolutely necessary for spot-on subtitles. Knowing the cultural quirks, or enlisting the help of someone who does is key to turning ‘lost-in-translation’ moments into smooth, relatable content.

3. Handling Multiple Languages

Are you making subtitles in multiple languages to reach wider audiences? Now, that’s a juggling act. Take the situation of a blockbuster movie getting released all over the world or even within a country with multiple languages, like India. It will need subtitles in over 20 languages, and this is no small task.

Every single line of the multilingual subtitle must be accurately translated while keeping the timing perfect. Make any mistake here, and you will be creating subtitles that confuse more than they clarify the content.

While trying to create multilingual subtitles, it is important to handle the languages proficiently. It is also crucial to maintain consistency while differentiating between the various languages for clarity.

4. Poor Font and Formatting

Subtitles must enhance your viewing experience, not distract you with poor text design. We all have been in situations where we have struggled to make out the light yellow subtitle on a white background. Or microscopic fonts that are hard to figure. A subtitle should be there to help us, not give us a headache.

What can you do? It is a good idea to stick to clear, sans-serif fonts such as Arial, Helvetica or Roboto. These fonts are easy to read, especially on the screen. You must also use proper contrast while creating subtitles. A white text with a black outline works well for almost all the subtitles. Also, ensure to keep your font size and style consistent across platforms. This helps to make the viewing experience an enjoyable one.

5. The Cost and Effort of Subtitling

Let’s be real here: subtitling isn’t a quick process or even cheap. The subtitling cost can quickly add up whether you use premium tools or hire someone for making subtitles. You might try DIY subtitling to save some money. However, it often lacks the quality that comes with hiring a professional.

Managing the cost and effort of subtitling is all about a balancing act between quality and affordability. Instead of premium tools, you can make use of open-source tools that can provide equally good subtitling. You can even enlist the help of an agency that can provide affordable subtitle solutions. Finding the right balance will help you keep up your subtitling game while preventing your funds from draining.

Conclusion

It’s true: subtitling comes with its challenges. However, these challenges can be easily overcome. There are so many hacks to help you. You can perfect the timing of your subtitles so they sync with the on-screen action flawlessly, taking care of cultural nuances or minimise the cost and effort of subtitling altogether.

All of this might seem like a lot to juggle, but with the right solutions, you can easily fix them. You can transform your subtitling headaches into powerful subtitles that fulfills viewers expectations. From binge-watching your favourite foreign language series to picking up new phrases in another language, subtitles are the unsung heroes of modern media. So, let us not take them for granted, but appreciate their true value in our viewing experience.

Want to know how Kalakrit can help you in your subtitling efforts and provide you with top-notch subtitling at reasonable prices? Get in touch with us.

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Localization, Digital Marketing, Global Growth, SEO, Customer Engagement