Voice-over translation is a fast-growing industry globally, with many people making it a career. Generally, voice-overs aim to personalize viewers’ experiences when relating to the visuals on screen.
Voice-over translation is the translation of the original script of a production, read and recorded by an artist in another language. Recently, more emphasis has been placed on eLearning localization for voice-over productions.
The reason is to capture the essence, color, and tradition of the original language during the translation. So, a voice-over mustn’t be bland, repetitive, and lacking in emotional color. In most cases, subtitles are insufficient to convey the original message to the audience.
This article deals with the reasons to localize voice-overs for learners.
Why are localizing voice-overs important to your foreign learner?
Localization of voice-over seeks to preserve the original content of the work before its translation. There have been countless productions where the voice-overs are not in sync with the visuals due to a lack of proper translation.
Here are the reasons localizing voice-overs is essential to foreign learners:
1. Effective storytelling
When the original script is translated into the local language, a local voice-over artist will make the experience pleasant for viewers. Even for interviews and documentaries, it helps fill in gaps and pauses and keeps the conversation flowing and natural.
2. Content personalization
Many top producers have realized this and have maximized their capacity to earn and reach more people worldwide. With the diversity in languages, it is refreshing to see material delivered in your local context. This allows the material to be more relatable to the consumer.
3. Greater success for your projects
There is a greater chance of recording success when your visuals are delivered in the local language of an area. Statistics have shown that over 65% of people in a survey preferred content in their local language. It is a win-win situation for all parties, as your viewers will be happy while you smile at the bank.
4. Preserves the originality of the work
Unfortunately, many original contents have been muddled in the process of unprofessional translation, especially when you rely solely on sub-titles. With a localized voice-over, the recording artist will use the script and their fluency in both languages to achieve the best product.
5. Heightened Interest
A project delivered professionally in a local language will be met with interest from the locals. Seeing a movie or an advertisement organized in your local language will stoke your interest in discovering more.
eLearning has become increasingly adopted by many institutions since the outbreak of covid. People can easily access course materials and training videos through online platforms such as YouTube.
However, most of these contents are created with only one target audience in mind. Voice-over sessions now prioritize localization as a tool to reach larger audiences.
An instructional video can now be translated into several languages by voice-over artists, which allows for more views and a higher adoption rate than recording in just a single language.
To achieve successful eLearning localization, you must:
Pay attention to visuals and language: Your production’s images and video content are also very important to your audience when engaging in localization. Pay attention to cultural differences and remove offensive content in the target area. Consider supported font styles for the particular language group you are focusing on.
Understand the emotions and personalities of your target audience: You must understand your target audience in-depth to create the right content that suits their needs. You should also consider small details like currency and date.
Bottom line
Voice-over translation is essential for capturing the interest of a wider audience by relating with them on a personal level. This new development ensures that people get materials like instructional videos and other media directly in local languages.
This allows each user to have a more personal and relatable experience, while also resonating on a deeper cultural level with them. eLearning localization is now at the forefront of the content drive.
Voice-over translation must be handled with professionalism to create rich and engaging content for users.