10 Online Video Production Tips For a Global Audience

1. Voiceovers

If you’re interested in producing videos for different countries and languages, voiceovers may be an essential tool for telling your story. But remember, different languages may require varying lengths of time. For instance, if a script in English requires 20 video shots, a French version may require longer shots. Why? Because speaking a sentence in French takes longer than saying the same sentence in English. This is true for many other languages, too, such as Spanish, Italian, German, and Arabic. So, be prepared to add length to each shot to ensure that there’s adequate footage for covering the voiceover in the other language.

2. Text Graphics

When you are framing a shot and you know that supers will be there, be sure to go a tad closer or wider to accommodate them. Supers include titles or text graphics that will appear over the video picture and thus will either completely or partially hide the areas they’re covering.

3. Dubbing

In some cases in online video production, you may have to use a process called dubbing — replacing the video’s original speech with the translated version of what was said. This can be helpful since it is easier for your audience to listen to what is being said than to read subtitles. Plus, if you feel that subtitles would distract from your visuals, dubbing is an excellent alternative. A quality online video production professional will be able to match the translated audio’s length with the original audio as closely as possible.

4. Closed Captioning

This is another important consideration when you’re producing videos for other countries. When you’re shooting a video in English and you’ll need to create another version featuring closed captioning in a different language, don’t forget to include pauses between your video’s sequences. This will be helpful if the language that is being read needs more text compared with the English text. Obviously, language will be your biggest barrier when you’re trying to reach an audience in a different country. But that’s why closed captioning — when done properly — is so invaluable. It makes your content easily accessible to people around the world along with those who are hearing impaired. Just be sure to add a message to your video letting your audience know about the closed captions so that viewers can turn them on if they are not activated already.

5. Visible Language Check

A common mistake when it comes to global online video production is allowing other non-target languages to show up in the video scenes. To prevent this, be sure to watch out for clothing featuring words in a language that is different from that of your target audience, for example.

6. Think Like the Rest of the World

One of the most important things you can do when trying to reach a global audience is to produce content that is appealing on a worldwide level. So, stay away from topics or trends that are interesting to those in the United States but may not necessarily be intriguing to those in another nation. Instead, stick with themes or subjects that have a cross-cultural appeal — for instance, animals, dance, and animation. Also, try to focus on a trend that is popular in your target region.

7. Don’t Forget Your Metadata

So, your video has been produced for a German-speaking audience. But what about the metadata for your video? Be sure that your video’s title, tags, and description are also written in German, not English. After all, your target online viewers are conducting searches in German, so writing in English would be counterintuitive. Your videos likely won’t be found.

8. Production Value

Take pride in the product you’re generating by keeping in mind video production factors such as lighting and sound. After all, it’s a reflection of your brand. Make sure that your video’s viewers can hear everything that is being said and can see the actors clearly. Also, is the ambient sound consistent between video takes? Your audience may not necessarily expect the kind of quality you’d see in Steven Spielberg’s work. But they want something respectable. Quality online video production will make your video stand out among the masses, which may ultimately benefit your bottom line.

9. Know Your Audience’s Locations

Do you know which countries you should ideally target as part of your video production efforts? If you have videos on YouTube already, check your demographic report to see which countries generate the most traffic for you. Then, look at Google Trends for exploring topics that are trending in these countries. Once you’ve found viable topics, you can generate evergreen content that will draw consumers to these countries.

10. Keep Your Eye on Other Companies’ Videos

It may be helpful to look at what your competitors are doing in the online video space before you get started on your own videos. Are they targeting the same regions you are in? And if so, what works in their videos, and what doesn’t? Finally, take a glance at the videos of companies from other industries that are trying to reach your target market, too. Knowing what currently exists on the Web can help you to avoid duplicating what’s already out there. And that’s a wrap.

How We Can Help with Online Video Production

We offer top-of-the-line video production services that will likely leave you gasping or crying happy tears when you see your final product. And your potential clients may share these emotions right along with you. Contact us to find out more about how our online video production experts can help you to expand your reach around the world in 2018.