Subtitling
Subtitles are text derived from either a transcript or screenplay of the dialog or commentary in films, television programs, video games, and the like, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen, but can also be at the top of the screen if there is already text at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added information to help viewers who are hard of hearing to follow the dialog, or people who cannot understand the spoken dialogue or who have accent recognition problems. The main purpose of subtitling is that these people should also receive the message of what the video is saying.
By the look of it, subtitling seems to be simple, but it is a tedious task and process which consists of many steps to be taken care of before the final version.
The need for subtitling
You recorded and made a video and published it over the net on social media, online communities and promoted on other platforms, changed and edited the title and description but the result was still short, you did not get enough views you were hoping for.
Ever wondered what else you can do to it?
You can add subtitles to it. Adding subtitles to your videos can have a big effect on how successful they are. This is the case with movies, TV shows, social media videos, training content, and any other kind of video you might record and share. Here is a list of reasons as to why subtitling is needed.
Everyone cannot hear your audio
Many people are unable to hear or are hard of hearing a particular language, or are unable to get the accent of your language, so they would prefer going for the subtitles video and if not available then you are at loss.
Many people do not or cannot turn on audio
According to a study, 85% of Facebook videos are watched on mute and every 1 out of 3 videos of Snapchat are played with sound. Many people play videos on silent mode on their mobile phones as they don’t want to hear the audio or they could be in a public place and don’t want to disrupt anybody, so if your videos don’t have subtitles then you are missing on them.
Subtitles improve understanding
Many people prefer watching videos with subtitles even if they don’t have to. A quick search reveals many people turn captions on when they’re watching TV shows or movies, even if they’re native speakers of the original language. They just understand it better.
Everyone does not speak your language
English is by far the most commonly used language on the internet, but Mandarin Chinese isn’t far behind. Some parts of the world use the internet mostly in Arabic or Spanish. Take your target audience’s language into account when you’re making your videos and offer subtitles in multiple languages.
Viewers are more engaged
In 2000s, PLYMedia found that 80% more people watched a video till the end where subtitles were given and on the other hand videos without subtitles were watched to 66% to completion, compared to 91% with subtitles on average.
Subtitles increase Video Social reach
Instapage found that captioned videos on Facebook had 16% higher reach than those without. They had 15% more shares, 17% better reactions, and 26% more call-to-action clickthroughs.
Subtitles make a big difference in how people see, react to, and engage with your videos.
It’s time to start subtitling!
You can magnify your reach to different parts of the world through subtitling your videos. However, this can be tricky; if the translation is too direct and close to the source language, the meaning could be lost. Our team of experienced and well-trained linguists create subtitles that complement the videos and convey the intended message. We offer our subtitling service for a reasonable price and cover many languages both regional and foreign as part of the service.
