This document discusses tips and best practices for localizing rich media, websites, and interactive content for a global audience. It recommends keeping localization in mind from the start by focusing on specific markets and assets that need translation. Key steps include script translation, production, quality assurance testing, and tracking metrics. Challenges include scheduling, requirements gathering, asset management, and quality control. The document emphasizes making content simple, globalizing messaging and experience, and allowing flexibility for translation. Using a vendor with multimedia expertise can help with localization.
Expert Tips for Localizing Rich Media, Websites & Interactive Content
1. Localization for Rich Media,
Websites, & Interactive Content:
Expert Tips & Best Practices
John Assalian, CEO
2. John Assalian
Founder & CEO, Viewstream
San Francisco & Seattle
Viewstream provides rich media localization services, including
Flash demos, videos, product demonstrations, screencasts,
interactive assets, websites, and more. With strategic and
technical expertise to back our localization work, we are a
leading content creator with global reach.
3. Content Growth
Vendor Web
Page Count
Plus 15x over
the past five
years
Formats
have grown
by 80% over
the past 10
years
40% more
content
types than
seven years
ago
Source: IDG Connect, Bob Johnson, Analyst, n=389, October 30, 2008
4. % Global Growth of Internet Usage 2000 – 2010
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
Source: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm
5. Internet Growth in Asia
China and India possessed nearly 500 million
internet users in 2008.
By 2015, that number will increase to 1.2 billion
users.
Source: http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/investing-in-the-next-internet-boom-ewt-cqqq-chib-alvr-bidu1006.aspx
6. What has caused this growth in Content?
• Lower cost of digital technology
– Cheaper production and storage
– Faster creation of assets
• Easier, cheaper distribution
– Global hosting of multimedia assets
• Customer expectations
– Prospects around the world want multimedia content
• Global reach of the enterprise
– Growth in many companies comes in China, Brazil and
India
16. Production Localization
• Production Localization
– Minimum changes to assets
– Globalized content for general audience
– Rapid production
– Typically not mission-critical content
17. Strategic Localization
• Strategic Localization
– Content story
– Nuanced changes to asset based on target
language & region
– Target-specific content and messaging
• Traits
– Adjusts content to specific audience expectations
– Higher cost/low volume
18. Steps To Rich Media Localization
Project/Content
Requirements
Translation Production QA & Testing
Tracking &
Metrics
23. Keeping Localization in Mind
• Focus your market – geographic, linguistic
• Identify need – what must be localized?
• Ensure project assets can be edited
25. Making it simple
-Keep navigation/UX simple
- Identify what does & does not need to be
localized
-Localize components only when necessary
-Don’t try to do too much
47. Rich Media Localization Vendor
• Expertise in the latest digital technology
• Global tracking
• International hosting
• Awareness of brand requirements
• Sensitivity to cultural expectations
Thank you to Amy Ephrem and the team at GALA for putting this on.We are new members to the organization, and are looking forward to interacting with all of you in the future.
Defining Rich Media Localization
Voice over.
Project/Content Requirements– Understand how the project is built. Identify each piece of content. Separate each component, identify what is to be translated, how it is built. Extract what needs to be localized.Translation - Translate with the written script as well as the reference file. Consider time limitation for audio. – sync with video.ProductionComponent Localization, bringing content togetherAudioVideo SubtitlingAudio/Video syncVideo EditingFile EngineeringFlash integration and EditingTake all translations and put them back into the assets – across media. Production/capture/creation. Animations re-created with localized components, and assembled/built into a final product. Staged for review.QAWhat to look for:Linguistic accuracyBrandingTiming – audio with visual Technical – navigation, UI, trackingTracking & MetricsReal-time view of asset performance across languages and geographies
Keep navigation/UX simple- Identify what does & does not need to be localized-Localize components only when necessary-Don’t try to do too much
Brand/Product Messaging - Create campaigns that speak a common language Market LanguageDeploy terms and ideas that are universalVisual RepresentationUse images that connect with a wide audience- Represent the world all prospects reside inUser Experience ExpectationsUse Best Practices and global conventions in navigation/interactivity Visual messages may inspire very different meanings as they cross from culture to culture.
-Keep all source files together – track assets-Keep files separate -audio track, animation, on-screen textLocalization begins with a localization engineer (carefully) dismantling your lovingly constructed source document - keeping an eye on such issues as colorspecifications, system fonts, text attributes, navigation and interactive text. Onscreen text is then pulled out and sent, along with any script, for localization.
Plan for 25% change for on-screen and spoken text. Make sure you understand the character sets for different languages. Anticipate how the synchronization of voice files will differ between languages. Ensure your on-screen buttons accommodate translated text?
1) Translation quality: Is the source effectively translated into each language?2) Visual review: Does the document conform to the "look and feel" of the original source materials?3) Functional testing: Does your software, website, or on-screen display function properly in the localized technical environment?Reviewers: Media Developer, Native Speaker (In-country), Brand Review
Challenges to in-house: - Sporadic use of technological resources - Keeping up with production technology detracts from core business - Multimedia localization does not fit traditional localization models - Complex project/asset management requirements The Solution: Partner with Production Experts Benefits: - Accurate assessment of existing source assets - Expertise to identify opportunities for cost/time savings - Focus on newest technologies and trends in multimedia