Multimedia Translation
Subtitles
Combine videos with translation to increase the power of your message. Read more.
Voice Over
Speak to your audience in a voice they know. Listen to what we have to offer.
Audio Transcription Translation
Have your audio and videos translated into text. Explore.
Be seen. Be heard.
Written text is no longer king when it comes to getting your message across.
With the rise of the internet and social media, audio, video, images and other interactive content are now reaching the eyes and ears of an ever-increasing audience.
This is especially true for a Chinese speaking audience, where apps like WeChat, Weibo and Tik Tok have completely changed the way that information is presented.
This means that when it comes to translating your message, multimedia can no longer be ignored.
Whether it is subtitles for your video tutorials, voice overs for your promotional advertisements or audio transcription and translation for your podcasts, translating multimedia is key to getting your message across to a wider audience.
Read on to learn more about how multimedia translation works within these specific areas. Feel free to jump back to the main menu at any time using the Back to top arrow icon.
Subtitle translation
Translating subtitles is one of the best ways to make your video content reach a larger audience.
With video increasingly becoming one of the most powerful mediums for message communication, subtitles are now an essential part of marketing, education and entertainment.
In addition, for those of us who provide services and information online, subtitles can also help you to improve your SEO.
This means that now, more than ever, it is important to get subtitles right.
But translating subtitles requires much more than just translation.
Getting subtitles right
When doing subtitles the most important thing to take into consideration is the viewer experience.
Things like making sure the subtitles appear for the right amount of time, ensuring that there are not too many characters on one line, that they do change lines in the wrong places, are all factors that enhance viewer experience.
However, probably the most important factor in translating subtitles is knowing your audience.
Know your audience
Translators who know what their audience like can use the inherent flexible nature of translation to craft subtitles that can truly be enjoyed.
As far as subtitling of Chinese goes, one of the best examples of a translator who knew their audience and got their subtitles right is Jing Han’s translation of the popular Chinese dating show ‘If you are the one.’
Broadcast on Australia’s multilingual broadcaster SBS, the subtitles of the show, which focus on a more cultural rather than literal translation, have been so good that the show has gone on to be the longest running non-English program in Australian broadcasting history.
mbChinese subtitles
Here at mbChinese, the audience is always central to the way that go about translating subtitles.
Daring to be creative, our subtitle translation aim is to make sure that your video has just as much of an impact on its audience in translation as it does in its original language.
For a short example how we can translate subtitles, see this translation of a recent WeChat commercial that was done using the open source subtitle platform Amara.
Note: To get the subtitles to show you will need to click on the ‘Subtitles’ box at the bottom and click English after which you will need to click on the ‘CC’ box.
Voice Over
From commercials to documentaries, advertisements to corporate videos, voice over services can make sure that your message is heard in a voice that its audience knows best.
When undertaking a voice over project, the most important thing is getting the right voice for your voice over.
While voice over artists are generally divided into categories, of gender, tone of voice and age, Chinese voice over artists also have the additional category of dialect. These include Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese and Sichuanese just to name a few.
Here at mbChinese we currently only provide voice over services in Mandarin, but look to provide further dialects soon.
Transcription and translation of the script
The first step in creating a voice over is to have your text transcribed and translated.
Translations for voice over are more restricted than normal translations, as they have to make sure that they fit in with the time requirements of the video as well as match the style of the original.
Once your text has been translated, it is then ready to be recorded by a voice over artist.
Our voice library
Here at mbChinese we are lucky to work with one of Australia's finest Mandarin voice talents Charles Lone. Having undertaken rigorous training in China, Charles voice has a wealth of experience, including interviewing multiple Australian prime ministers and staring on his own internet radio startup, Iconey.
Why the bloody hell would you want to have a Mandarin voice over with an Australian accent?
The answer is that sometimes it is important to show that your brand is Australian to the core and is confident enough to say this out loud, without kowtowing to the audience's expectations of using standard Mandarin.
Using Mandarin with an Australian accent in your voice overs is a bold statement and should be used with care as a Chinese audience will immediately detect that the speaker is not native.
The voice behind mbChinese's Australian Mandarin is our very own Michael Broughton.
While he is no Chris Hemsworth, Michael has spent a long time investigating spoken Mandarin and has years of experience as a radio host for a Mandarin language show.
Audio and Video Translation and Transcription
Do you have Chinese audio or videos that you need transcribed and translated?
Here at mbChinese we provide transcription and translation services for a range of audio and video texts.
- Legal
- Education
- Business
- Recordings of Court hearings
- Audio based evidence for trials
- Security footage
- WeChat spoken messages
- Recordings of lectures
- Interviews conducted during research
- Webinars and online tutorials.
- Recordings of meetings and conferences
- Phone calls with business partners
- Podcasts and other audio copy material
