Voice-over translation: a step to globalization

Among various types of translation services available today, voiceover translation is the technique in which some native language expert records the context in the desired language over the original audio. This method is used in documentaries and news for the translation of foreign languages. Whereas, in many countries, it is also used for the translation of feature films. 

Why use voiceover translation?

As per the statistics, 55% of the people prefer buying the product or services available in their native language. Localization, thus have a crucial role to play in the globalization. Well, without any doubt, the subtitling is another cost-effective method for the same purpose. However, reports suggest that voiceovers are better when it comes to an understanding and retaining the video content. Here are some of the reasons why you should prefer the voiceovers over subtitling-

• On reading the texts while watching the video, you often miss out some exciting action or scene, thus distracting from the primary task.  

• Subtitling becomes challenging when many speakers are talking at the same time while voiceovers have no such problem.

• The translation into another language often amends the length of the audio, thus deviating from the original context.

Areas where voiceover is used

Voice-over translation covers broad aspects, making it one of the most used translation services. Following are the materials where the voiceover translation can be used-

• Documentaries

• E-learning materials

• Promotional audio and video content

• Radio

• News reports

• Animation

• Software

• Internet videos

Of all these fields, the animation is one of the most prevalent clients for the voiceover translation.

Type of voiceover translation

Before you choose the company to perform the task, you need to educate yourself about the various types of services available-

UN-style- This is a popular type of translation generally used for the news reporting, documentaries, and to present the dialogues by leaders and politicians. It maintains authenticity as the original voice can be heard in the background. 

Instructional style- This is an entirely different concept as it has no trace of the original audio. Instead, that is replaced by a sound in a new language. It is generally used for videos and e-learning materials.

Dialogue replacement- This type of translation is used in the corporate videos and e-learning tools, mainly focussing on differentiating between each speaker’s voice.

The dubbing method- Highly used for the television shows and films, it includes a translation where the audio has to be synchronized with the on-screen lip movement.

Even though there is software available for every kind of translation, manual translation always makes the process efficient and effective and succeeds in providing an error-free output