What media translation involves.
Media translation is constrained by time and space as much as by meaning.
- A subtitle has to be read in the few seconds it is on screen.
- A voice-over script has to fit the length of the original line.
- A dubbing script has to match the speaker’s mouth movements.
- Our media linguists translate with those limits in mind rather than fixing timing afterwards.
Media and entertainment content we translate.
Subtitling, voice-over and dubbing scripts for film, television, streaming and digital media, by linguists who understand cadence, register and reading speed.
- Film and TV subtitles (SRT, VTT, TTML)
- Voice-over and dubbing scripts
- Documentary translation
- Festival and screener materials
- Press kits and EPK content
- Streaming platform metadata and synopses
Services for film, TV and digital media.
Media projects often combine several of these services.
- Subtitling: SRT, VTT and TTML files, timed to the picture.
- Voice-over translation: scripts adapted to length and tone for recording.
- Transcription: interviews, documentaries and raw footage, often the first step before subtitling.
- Localisation: games, apps and streaming metadata. See game translation and localisation.
- Press and festival materials: press kits, EPKs, synopses and screener notes.
How we work
Working on media projects.
- A named project manager and a written quote before work starts.
- Your choice of three quality tiers, including a second linguist’s edit or a full proofread.
- Consistent character names and terminology across episodes and seasons, through translation memory and termbases.
Our standard
Timing and platform specifications.
Subtitles must fit reading time and screen space. Voice-over is timed to the agreed video or narration length; matching mouth movements is a dubbing requirement, not a requirement for every voice-over. Send the intended platform specification so timing and delivery formats can be agreed.
Provide the final video or recording where possible, any existing script and time-coded files, the source and target languages and your publication deadline. Tell us whether you need translated subtitles, captions, SDH, narration or dubbing adaptation. The quotation sets out which preparation, translation, recording and review stages are included.
Request a media translation quote.
Send us the project details and we will match the work to a linguist with the right language pair and subject knowledge.