The Rise of Multiple Foreign Language Captions in Film and Media

The Rise of Multiple Foreign Language Captions in Film and Media

If you are not aware of the rise of multiple foreign language captions in film and media….then listen up and we will cover the basics.  As multiple foreign language captions and subtitles rise in the Entertainment industry, other industries are taking note and taking advantage of the new opportunities this affords. As the global population becomes more comfortable with seeing mixed languages in film, the use of captions and transcripts to conduct global business is also on the upswing.

Examining the Growth of Multiple Foreign Language Captions in Film and Media

It seems like a chicken or egg conversation. Which came first? Foreign language use in films across the globe? Or the ability to subtitle films, thereby increasing possible exposure to foreign language films?

It’s likely somewhere in the middle, a beautiful outcome of globalization and the rise of technology. Our messages, our art, our films, our stories can now be shared across borders – both physical and linguistically. 

For decades, people have been watching films through subtitles that are created in a language outside their native tongue. It used to be considered artistic to watch foreign-language films because – boy – watching those subtitles took extra effort and pulled away from the ease of the viewing experience. But that’s no longer true. People now regularly watch foreign-language films. 

Thanks to streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime people now have access to film and television shows in a vast array of languages. For example, Ekatarina (Russian) on Prime, Cable Girls (Spanish) on Netflix, and The Flame’s Daughter (Chinese) on Hulu are all popular around the world despite being non-English productions. 

In fact, Netflix didn’t incorporate any foreign language captions onto its platform until 2014 – 5 short years ago! They now have a vast array of foreign language caption offerings and to great success. In fact, the German film “Dark” claimed 90% of its audience outside of Germany.

This is a truly transformative and exciting time in our world.

Comfort with Subtitles Is Growing Worldwide

And as people’s comfort with subtitles and closed captioning rises, another interesting trend is beginning to build momentum – the use of multiple languages within one film or television series.

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Ekatarina, for example, uses Russian, French and German dialogue throughout, as well as English for narrative. This speaks volumes of the comfort people now feel with foreign languages and cultural exposure due to globalization.

With this comes the utter importance of proper subtitling. This cannot be emphasized enough. Without solid captioning and subtitling, not only will your media lose out on access to huge potential audiences, but poorly done captioning will actually detract from the experience and cause a negative perception of your creatives.

This is true also for any media beyond film and television – including product marketing materials, corporate training, all-hands meetings, and educational courses and resources. Because what this is telling us is that people are ready to embrace content from other countries in other languages. But they can only do so with proper video captions.

The Use of Multiple Foreign Language Captions in Film and What it Means for Business

As people’s comfort with subtitles and closed captioning rises, another interesting trend is beginning to build momentum – the use of multiple languages within one film or television series. Ekatarina, for example, uses Russian, French and German dialogue throughout, as well as English for narrative. This speaks volumes of the comfort people now feel with foreign languages and cultural exposure due to globalization. 

With this comes the utter importance of proper subtitling. This cannot be emphasized enough. Without solid captioning and subtitling, not only will your media lose out on access to huge potential audiences, but poorly done captioning will actually detract from the experience and cause a negative perception of your creatives. 

How Businesses are Capitalizing on the Growth of Subtitles

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This new development has informed companies worldwide that people are ready to embrace content from other countries in other languages. This creates a fantastic opportunity to reach new markets with more ease because businesses can speak directly to foreign consumers through captions that they’re comfortable using and which are now commonplace in their lives. This is true also for any media beyond film and television – including product marketing materials, corporate training, all-hands meetings, and educational courses and resources. 

But organizations can only reach these markets with proper video captions – meaning accurate, well-formatted and taking into consideration local culture and dialect.

Tips to Ensure You Have Quality Foreign Language Captions and Subtitles

  1. Consider Cultural Jargon
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One thing to consider are the terms and phrases that are used in one language/culture that – if translated directly – wouldn’t make sense. This is the whole “lost in translation” concept – but you don’t want your content to be lost in translation, you want it to successfully communicate your message. 

  1. Choose Multiple Markets

If you’re going to subtitle your videos, you should consider subtitling in multiple languages at once to avoid multiple projects, extra expenses, and lost productivity. To do this, you need to do a strong market analysis and determine which markets, and therefore languages, you want to target. You can then order multiple foreign language captions and translations at one time and – if you’re using cielo24’s Enterprise plans – can even upload all language subtitles into one video viewing experience through our Video Wrapper 3.0. This will provide a great opportunity to communicate effectively on a global scale while localizing your content. 

  1. Perfect Your Native Language Recording 

Finally, you want to make sure your original recording is of the highest quality. This allows for a pristine native transcription, which will be used to translate your media into other languages properly. Without a quality recording, you can’t have a high accuracy native transcript, and even one misunderstood word can change the meaning of your entire message. For example, marry me misunderstood as bury me conveys a very different point and it’s those mistakes you want to

cielo24 Subtitling, Captioning, and Transcription Solutions

How Much Video is watched in 2019cielo24 Enterprise-level plans include the option the translate and subtitle your video and audio content into as many as 27 different languages. Our foreign language caption services include improved and simplified ordering, access to the toggleable language Video Wrapper 3.0, and improved foreign language SEO through foreign language captions, transcripts, and keywords.

We also offer a Self Serve web app that allows you to get started ordering foreign language captions and transcripts in content recorded natively in Spanish, French or German, without the wait for contracts or quotes. You can select a preliminary amount of free machine-based transcriptions and captions – which provide a lower level of accuracy guarantee, or human-verified transcriptions beginning at less than a dollar per minute.

For more information on our video transcription, captioning and video intelligence solutions, contact us online or call us at 1-855-243-5624.

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cielo24 is removing barriers to increase video marketing ROI, searchability and compliance for all your videos!

cielo24’s new Self Serve app is easy to use and extremely cost-effective. Within minutes a video can be uploaded to your account and you will receive a free machine-based, searchable transcript with keywords.   Take a Video Captioning test-drive >>

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Nicole E. Flynn, CMO at cielo24, is deeply interested in exploring and communicating the ways in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) intersects with various aspects of our daily lives. She is passionate about exploring the ways in which AI can be ethically harnessed to improve the quality of life and make our world a better place. Nicole seeks to educate and inform audiences about the potential of AI technology and how it can be used to drive innovation and growth.