Preserving the story at production speed
A short-drama platform needed multilingual versions of a 600-episode catalogue for overseas distribution. The project combined subtitle translation, character voice, cultural adaptation and selected dubbed versions, while batches had to keep moving through production.
Short episodes still created difficult language choices. Relationships, insults, jokes and character-specific phrasing needed to work in the target language without losing the plot. Translated lines also had to fit a small screen and a limited reading window.
Project scope
Subtitle localization and selected AI dubbing
- Content
- Vertical short-form drama
- Delivery window
- 4-6 weeks, in rolling batches
- Batch size
- 60-120 episodes
- Subtitle formats
- SRT, VTT and ASS where required
- Language resource
- Approx. 320 core terminology entries
- Dubbing scope
- English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Indonesian
Languages in this projectSubtitles: English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Indonesian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, German, French and Turkish. AI-dubbed versions: English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Indonesian.
How we approached the work
Prepare a usable subtitle master
Source preparation brought video, transcription and timecodes into a repeatable workflow. Human review corrected the automatically transcribed Chinese subtitle master before multilingual work began. File naming and delivery formats were established for the recurring batches.
Review language in context
AI pretranslation used the project terminology resource, followed by native-language post-editing. Reviewers worked on character voice, culturally specific expressions, reading speed and line breaks. The terminology resource covered names, locations, brands and recurring story language across episodes.
Produce and check each version
The four selected dubbing languages used AI-generated voices with checks for character continuity and timing. Production assembled subtitle files, audio and burned-in video versions. Final checks covered missing lines, timing, terminology, readability and package structure before client review.
From preparation to delivery
- PrepareBatch days 1-2
Video preparation, transcription and subtitle master review
- AdaptBatch days 2-5
Translation, cultural review and selected AI dubbing
- PackageBatch days 5-7
Subtitle integration, technical QC and delivery
What the client received
- Subtitles in 12 target languages
- Four AI-dubbed language versions
- SRT and VTT delivery packages
- ASS files where required
- Burned-in subtitle video versions
- Terminology and character-style guidance
A repeatable handoff across the catalogue
The project record describes delivery across a four-to-six-week window, with batches of 60-120 episodes moving through overlapping workstreams. The client accepted the delivery and subsequently entered an annual framework agreement.
The 900-minute figure describes the approximate source runtime, not the sum of all translated versions. Subtitles covered twelve languages; dubbed audio was produced for the four specified languages. Keeping those scopes separate made the delivery package easier to plan and check.
- 12
- Subtitle language versions
- 4-6 weeks
- Overall delivery window
- Accepted
- By the client
Episode count and runtime refer to source content. The batch-day schedule describes parallel workstreams, not a separate serial schedule for every language.
Project questions
Did every subtitle language include dubbing?
No. Twelve languages received subtitles. English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Indonesian also received AI-dubbed versions.
Where did human review enter the workflow?
Human review covered the source transcription, translated dialogue, cultural adaptation, character voice, subtitle readability and the final language and audio checks.
