Multimedia localisation
Subtitle translation, voice-over recording, dubbing scripts and on-screen text localisation for film, TV, online video and podcasts.
Sector: Media and entertainment
Subtitling, transcription and translation for media and entertainment
SILA Linguists® provides subtitling, transcription, translation and interpreting for producers, broadcasters, publishers, podcasters and game studios, for stories going out to audiences in other languages and material arriving in them.
Audiences now expect content in their own language, whether they are watching a series, playing a game or listening to a podcast. Subtitles and captions are now expected across film, streaming series and live broadcasts, and dubbing and voice-over open content to audiences who prefer to listen.
SILA Linguists® provides transcription, subtitle translation, voice-over recording, dubbing script translation and localisation of on-screen text and promotional material. Our translators work to time and reading-speed limits and adapt humour, slang and cultural references so that the result works on screen.
Documentary and news teams also need help in the other direction: interpreters for interviews in the field or by video, and transcription and translation of rushes and archive material in less common languages. Book and script translation covers longer-form work.
What this sector needs
Language challenges in media
Subtitles that fit the screen
Subtitles must respect reading speed, line length and shot changes while keeping the meaning and tone of the dialogue.
Humour, slang and culture
Jokes, idioms and references often need adaptation rather than translation to land with a new audience.
Accurate transcripts of rushes
Documentary and factual producers need timecoded transcripts and translations of interviews before editing.
Interpreting for interviews
Journalists and producers need interpreters for interviews, press junkets and events, on location or remotely.
Game and app text
In-game text, menus and store listings need consistent terminology and must fit the interface.
Confidential pre-release content
Unreleased films, scripts and manuscripts must be handled securely under NDA.
How we help
Services for media
Transcription
Timecoded transcription of interviews, rushes, podcasts and archive material, with translation where needed.
Book translation
Translation of novels, non-fiction, scripts and children's books for publishers and authors.
Software and game localisation
Localisation of in-game text, menus, apps and store listings.
Interpreting for interviews and events
Interpreters for interviews, press conferences, festivals and premieres, in person or by video.
SILA Linguists®
SILA Linguists® subtitling, transcription, translation and interpreting for media
Our vetted, trained and qualified transcribers, subtitlers and translators can support producers, broadcasters, publishers, podcasters, festivals and game studios, for stories going to new audiences and material arriving in other languages. Transcription turns documentary rushes, archive footage, location interviews and podcasts into time-coded transcripts in the original language and in translation. Multimedia localisation produces subtitle translations for film and TV, captions for Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, voice-over and dubbing scripts, and adapted trailers and promotional copy. Subtitlers follow the reading speed, line length and style conventions of each broadcaster or platform, and translators adapt humour, idioms and cultural references so audiences react as the original audience did.
Our literary translators work on book translation and scripts, keeping the author's voice, and game text and store listings go through software localisation. Press junkets, festivals and live broadcasts are supported by simultaneous interpreting and conference interpreting, while crews filming abroad can take travel and escort interpreters or reach an interpreter by video or telephone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Contracts, releases and rights agreements can be supplied as certified translation.
Media work overlaps with our technology, fashion and travel services, and investigative journalism can call for the same verification skills as our private intelligence work. SILA Linguists® covers more than 350 languages and dialects, including Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese, Arabic and Hindi, for media organisations in the UK, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and beyond. Unreleased footage and scripts stay confidential under NDA and UK GDPR. One project manager coordinates transcription, translation and interpreting across a production. Releases can be prepared for several territories at once.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do you deliver subtitle files ready to use?
Yes. We deliver timed subtitle files in SRT, WebVTT and other common formats. Tell us your platform or broadcaster specifications and we will follow them.
Can you transcribe interviews in less common languages?
Yes. We transcribe and translate material in 350+ languages and dialects, including many that are hard to source elsewhere, with timecodes for editing.
Do you translate books and scripts?
Yes. Our book translation service covers fiction, non-fiction and scripts, with literary translators matched to the genre.
How do you protect unreleased content?
We work under NDA, restrict access to named linguists and use secure file transfer for pre-release material.
Get in touch
Tell us the language, the format and the date
Our bookings team will confirm the details with you and arrange the right linguist. Have the language (and dialect, if you know it), the type of assignment and the date ready.