Why Use a Professional to Translate and Subtitle Your Video?

Did you know that about 20 percent of the U.S. population speaks another language? That is over 63 million people! As most business professionals know, growing the number of people you can reach with your content is always a good idea.

Subtitles are a great way to affordably reach a larger audience using the content you already have. Whether you want to get more YouTube views or create a more versatile learning program, subtitles can help.

What Are Subtitles?

Subtitles are a translation of the dialogue in a movie, show or video. They typically appear at the bottom of the screen to help viewers who are not fluent in the language being spoken enjoy the movie!

All Subtitles Are Not Created Equal

Where can you get subtitles for your video? Unless you’re bilingual and have a lot of time on your hands, you have two options for sourcing subtitle files. The first option is to produce a captions file for your video. Then, use a computer or machine translation tool to translate the captions into subtitles in the language you need. For the sake of producing accurate subtitles, we do not recommend doing this. The English language is full of idioms and sarcastic sayings. Just imagine how translating “he is killing it at work” might turn out…awkward.

Friend vs. Professional Subtitling Services

Maybe you have a friend who is bilingual and owes you a favor, again if you are not using a professional, you could have a disaster on your hands. Think about the differences between British English and American English. While some are more a subtle, others tend to stand out.

Professional translators are experts in interpreting dialogue and understand how to avoid the pitfalls of casual translation. Subtitling a video is an art form, and trained professionals help you to avoid embarrassing mistakes.

The Takeaway

Are you serious about production quality? Do you want to get your content in front of a global audience? If so, your videos need accurate subtitle options in multiple languages. Just as closed captions are an important factor in making content accessible for those who are hard of hearing, quality subtitles are necessary to allow people in other countries to enjoy video. In a world that’s increasingly small, subtitles are an aspect of production that should be considered by anyone producing video content professionally.