by Alex Joffe
According to Statista, the global localization industry has been enjoying steady growth over the past decade, almost doubling in size. The creative industries, which encompass arts and culture, marketing and advertising, media and publishing, as well as gaming, constitute the highest-growth sector globally in the localization space. Streaming content localization has been the driving force in the media industry and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated it further, with no sign of this slowing down. In fact, Digital TV Research predicts a rise in SVOD subscriptions globally by 65% from 2020 to 2026, which could only mean increased content localization demand. The media localization sector is thus attracting a lot of attention in the form of M&As, investment funding opportunities and technology innovation.
As video overtakes written forms of communication, especially online, video localization has also become a core function in verticals such as e-learning and is steadily making headway in institutional, corporate and ecommerce localization. According to The 2021 Nimdzi 100, over half of the world’s top language service providers offer subtitling (68.4%), transcription (58.2%), dubbing, voice overs and audio services (54.4%), while most of them are LSPs that do not specialize in the media vertical. The launch of the Subtitling and Voice-Over Unit by the European Parliament’s Directorate-General for Translation last year is a testament to the increasing importance of video localization workflows.
The ability to handle video source content has been singled out as “a key skill for the translators of the future” by audiovisual localization expert Yota Georgakopoulou. No wonder localization analysts report on its bright future–see Multilingual’s multimedia localization service market report in 2020, The 2021 Nimdzi 100 which includes a section on multimedia localization, or Slator’s 2021 video localization report– and LSPs offering video localization services are mushrooming.
This growth has created an ever-increasing demand for professional tools to service video localization workflows, preferably online, so as to support remote working and centralized quality assurance processes. The recently updated Nimdzi Technology Atlas provides a bird’s eye view of the fast-growing number of tools available to service the wider localization industry. Many new additions that cater to audiovisual localization workflows are making their way into the atlas, which now lists over 100 such tools. At the same time, all major computerassisted translation tools have now added the
ability to translate video by way of subtitles on top of their traditional text editors. While there are plenty of tools to choose from that can provide one with the ability to create subtitles, few offer the full set of functionalities required by seasoned subtitlers, who require tools that provide them with the accuracy and flexibility needed to make their daily work more efficient. As opposed to the traditional desktop editors that were dominating the market until recently, even fewer are available in a stable online environment.
Features subtitlers have come to love in desktop subtitling editors are not easily found in most online ones. Such features include accurate frame timing, shot-change detection, reading speed indicators, customizable hotkeys, automated backups, sophisticated QA and assisted translation tools, support for different user profiles and customer presets, the ability to use templates and communicate between team members for better and faster workflows, as well as conversion to any of the myriad file formats used in the subtitling industry.
Security is also a prime concern for the media sector, with content owners making it a prerequisite before onboarding any potential vendors. Multi-factor authentication, video watermarking, cyber security certifications, continuous pen testing and 24/7/365 technical support are now the norm for platforms used by LSPs wishing to offer video localization services to their end clients.
Add the need for a sophisticated translation management system able to handle any type of video localization workflow and any team size, able to scale at whim, as content volumes fluctuate, and one will be pressed to find a platform that will tick all these boxes. Furthermore, the ability to handle client orders automatically, auto- or bulk-assign work to resources, maintain metrics on users, offer live dashboards and file management, as well as integrate with finance tools for a complete endto- end solution, cut down duplication of effort, turnaround time, the potential for error, and offer a seamless experience to users.
The need for such video localization workflows is of course not new – it was only accelerated in recent years as everyone was moving to the cloud. A decade ago, basic freeware tools and a couple of LSP-owned proprietary solutions was all there was. In 2012, OOONA started with a translation management platform and webbased localization tools were later added. Since then, the platform development has evolved by working alongside high-profile, multinational LSPs servicing top film studios and streamers to reimagine the aim of servicing the world’s most demanding video localization needs.
With a security-approved tech stack, multiple security certifications, and an interface informed by the feedback of world-renowned academics and practitioners, the platform was moved to AWS a few years ago for a seamless delivery of content and the ability to work on all operating systems. Built for scale, it is able to support accelerated media workflows. It focuses on user experience and integrates via APIs custom complementary tools, such as speech recognition and machine translation engines. Translation memories are also on its roadmap being at the heart of the localization workflow and growing needs without having to leave its ecosystem. More specifically, the OOONA Integrated platform handles subtitle and caption files, scripts, metadata, and synopses and any other type of information around video that helps automate and streamline video localization workflows.
The media localization market thrives despite its fragmentation, and accounts for “over a thousand LSPs of all sizes around the world, many of them smaller, family-owned businesses,” says Yota Georgakopoulou.
Therefore, the purpose is for the toolset not to be limited to large enterprise users alone, but to make it accessible to individual freelancers as well.
In line with the belief in supporting the industry and making it sustainable, the EDU platform provides academic institutions the ability to prepare new trainees for the business of video localization, in a fully remote setting if needed, while the joined effort with GOSUB ensures highend training specific to our media localization tools to all prospective OOONA users. The POOOL initiative in turn aims to provide professionals in our booming sector with more visibility through an online directory that connects them directly with hundreds of LSPs requiring their services.
The aim is to make this an even more inclusive initiative for the benefit of the hundreds of language service providers and thousands of translators that specialize in video localization, a sector that has witnessed unprecedented growth in recent years with a bright outlook for the future.
