With the evolution of technology, businesses are not just limited to the geographical boundary of their own country. What can be better than a video when a business plans to expand its global outreach? The visual appeal of a video can cross boundaries and cultural differences to create communities. However, how can you ensure the same video is effective in different countries and for different, audiences? How can you break the language barrier? ‘Multilingual Videos’ is the answer!
Multilingual videos are those videos that are translated into different languages. Translation is neither an easy nor a quick process. It requires invaluable human technology and resources. Selecting a video translation service provider is an intimidating task, especially if you are doing it for the first time. You need to make sure that the video translation services meet certain translation quality standards. There are various companies offering these linguistic services like Video Translation, Video Localization, Dubbing and Subtitling, and selecting one of them can be a daunting task. However, there are definitely certain factors that can help select the best language service provider for your videos.
Points to Check While Selecting Video Translation Service Provider
1. Do you have Enough Information about The Company?
Search the Internet for the best service provider for video translation services. Try to find out all important information about the company, the kind of work they have already done, the list of clients they have worked with, their turnaround time, volume discounts, customer support, terminology consistency, processes and software used, feedback from their past customers, and so on.
Find out if the translation company is certified. If so, what kind of certification do they possess? The ISO 17100 is the current provision for European standard that defines quality requirements and certifies the services of the translation industry. Selecting a company by this standard is an assurance of quality services and professional delivery. Moreover, it’s a clear indicator of the fact that the company follows international standards. All this information will give you a broader idea of the company, its working practices, ethics, and value system.
2. Does Your Translation Services Provider Know Your Requirements?
Translation is an art and goes far beyond the change of language. The more creative the video the greater the responsibility of the translation service provider to ensure that the essence and creativity of the video are maintained. Thus, for different types of videos, different skill sets are required.
When looking for translation services, look for a service provider who understands your requirements and can fulfill them appropriately. They should be able to reproduce the nuances of the original language and research the local demographic. Make sure the provider is asking all the right questions at the beginning of the project. If they don’t, probably they don’t have a clear understanding of your specific needs and you should keep looking for a better match.
3. Do They Have Expert Professionals?
Video translation sometimes requires very specific terminology. For this reason, it is important to turn to experts and professionals from different fields in order to have the highest quality services. A person, who is a professional at translating Scandinavian videos, might have difficulty in localizing for the European market. Thus, if you have particular requirements for your videos, make sure your translation service provider offers those types of services.
Also, make sure you pay attention to the quote you receive. The two most important aspects of a quote are the price and the delivery date. Pay attention to these two factors while you finalize any particular quote. To make the right decision, it is important that you know the average rates offered in that particular market to make sure that you are paying a fair price for the service you receive. It is always a good idea to set a reasonable deadline with them, to give them time to deliver a quality service, and also to avoid last minute surprises.
The translator should be made aware of whether the translation is for voice-over or subtitles, as the requirements involved in the two services might be very different.
4. Are They Using The Right Software?
Pay particular attention to the kind of software used to create the SRT files. Some software does not interpret single keywords with two or more meanings, while other software muddles up idioms or metaphors. Unfortunately, that won’t become obvious until your video goes live. To avoid such a problem you should have prior knowledge about the software your service provider uses and pay particular attention to the translation. Are they using CAT (Computer-Aided Translation) tools to get the highest quality translation services at the most reasonable prices? These types of tools decrease the turnaround time and speed up the overall process.
5. Do They Have Robust Customer Service?
If you’re choosing the services of a professional video translator, it is quite obvious that the video in question holds importance for you and your business. And if you as a customer are not taken care of well, the entire customer experience cannot give you peace of mind. Reliability of services and availability to communicate is essential for a great customer experience. A translation services provider should cater to your requirements and should always be a step ahead in serving their customers. Assigning the same translator to the clients or making required changes in case the delivery doesn’t meet the expectations are some examples of what to expect from thoughtful customer service.
With the translation industry growing at a great pace, there are more options than ever for people looking for video translation services. Undoubtedly, there are various translation companies, good or bad, offering high or low quality work.
However, translation is an investment and ideally, you would want to get it right the first time around. Sometimes luck can help. However, taking the factors mentioned above into due consideration can help to obtain excellent language services. When you choose a multilingual translation services provider make sure you take time to decide and exercise caution, to ensure that the company you go for can help you by providing great quality and a good return on your investment.
Let Braahmam be your partner in providing video translation services and help you reach your global audience with engaging, localized videos. We specialize in technical and non-technical translation and can assist you with the best quality translation at the most reasonable price, all within a quick turnaround time. We bet you won’t regret it!
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