Alconost is animated video production company for businesses since 2012. Our portfolio includes 1000+ videos that our customers have ordered to promote their products and services, boost brand awareness, and introduce users to the features of their app, software, or service.
Get the gist of what we’ve been doing for years in just 30 seconds. Hit “Play” to watch the demo reel below.
In this guide we’ll share our experience in animated video production, reveal some tricks of the trade, and inspire you to have an awesome video made for your product.
Let’s get this show on the road!
When you set about creating promotional materials or running an advertising campaign, video production is something you can hardly avoid. The good news is… it’s simply terrific! Video production is a fun, creative, absorbing process that, if approached mindfully, results in an eye-catching, easy-to-understand, appealing video that promotes your product, services, or brand.
Video production means creating an audiovisual product that consists of motion picture, voiceover, and music sequences. Business video production usually refers to the process of creating advertising, presentational, branding, or tutorial videos for a company. Although the specific details of the video production process vary depending on whether the video is animated or live-action, certain stages are always present, such as script writing and storyboarding, and a team of niche specialists is involved in the video production.
There are different approaches to video production, especially when a video is needed for business purposes. Some people believe that a custom animated video is best, simply because animation as a method lets you convey ideas in a vivid, recognizable, and versatile format. Another plus is that in most cases the production process for animated videos is simpler than for shooting a live-action video.
Others think that live footage is worth all the production challenges, since it lets you show real people interacting with the product and expressing real emotions.
There are also those who find custom animated videos attractive, but are afraid of their product being presented too “cartoonishly,” so they look for a more substantial approach. Here a video with animated 3-D models can be a good compromise, especially if the aim is to promote a tangible product or device. With 3-D model animation a product can look truly realistic.
And of course, these approaches can be mixed and matched. Sometimes you’ll see animated videos with snippets of live footage. Or a 2-D (flat) animation video with specific objects showcased in 3-D. This can be done with no loss of consistency in terms of visual style.
The fact is, all these are just methods, and none of them guarantees success by default. What matters even more than the production technique, you ask? As we said at the beginning, it’s a mindful approach — at least, that’s our conviction. This means that your video, whether animated or not, should have a message that presents and develops its ideas as clearly as possible, inspires confidence, and stands out for its perfect execution—no matter what the technique.
Usually a video production team consists of professionals with a specific set of skills and experience. These experts need to really know their stuff: the scriptwriter has to be able to convey ideas concisely and descriptively, while the storyboard artist, motion designer, and sound engineer have to be skilled in using highly specialized software.
When it comes to live-action production, the team of specialists is usually bigger than for making an animated video. Live-action film production involves not only actors and actresses, but also a casting director, a makeup artist, a lighting technician, camera operators… The list goes on. Depending on the complexity of the project, the team can increase in size dramatically: just recall all the different industry jobs listed in the end credits of any movie!
As our key service is animated video production, let us tell you about the team members we have involved in this particular process.
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Your point of contact is the video project manager. At Alconost, this person does more than just handle communication with the customer and put together the project team. They also get to know the product the video will be about, since it is the video project manager who writes the script. This approach, which combines the roles of manager and scriptwriter, helps achieve consistency and minimize loss of meaning. As the scriptwriter, the video project manager makes sure that their ideas are embodied just as intended at each subsequent production stage.
Once the script is approved by the customer, an illustrator joins the project. This specialist develops the visual style for the video (the styleframe), and later the storyboard. The storyboard is the set of static images that depict the content of the future video in a specific order, just as they will appear in the video. The storyboard is where the ideas from the script are visualized. It may include pictograms, UI elements, characters, written texts, the product logo, calls to action, and other important elements that will later be animated.
The illustrator also works with the graphics supplied by the customer, if any. The illustrator creates visual context in which the product logo and other materials provided by the customer look attractive and consistent.
While the visual assets for the video are being produced, the video project manager selects the background music for the video, and a voiceover artist records the narration text according to the script. Alconost only works with VO artists who are native-speaking professionals, so that all videos are accent-free in any language.
Usually you as the customer are presented not with a single voice-over demo but with a selection of voice samples. That way you can choose the VO talent that strikes your fancy and meets your expectations in terms of voice tone, manner of speaking, etc. In the playlist below you can listen to some of the voice-over talent with whom we usually record voice-over for videos.
When the storyboard and voiceover track are ready and the music has been selected, the video project manager passes the materials on to an animator, or motion designer. At the animation stage, all the assets are combined together. The animator ensures the smooth movement and transformation of objects, creates seamless transitions, and makes the video sequence easy to follow by controlling the viewer’s attention. That’s why a good video will include zooming, camera movement, and even an animated pointer. On top of that, the animator synchronizes the actions in the frame with the voiceover, so that when the voice says something like “Click ‘Continue,’” the pointer in the frame clicks on that particular button.
When the animation is ready, it’s time for the sound engineer to make their contribution. They polish the voice-over track, cut the music track, and add sound effects.
The previous section may have given you a clue as to our workflow and the main stages of video production. But let’s have a look at the entire process.
We and DME explainer video company think it's best when the customer provides us with introductory information about their product, the purpose of the video, requirements, and preferences. Before jumping into the video production process, we make sure the information in the brief is exhaustive. If necessary, we request additional information, such as access to the product, the brand style guide if any, etc.
In the picture below you can see how one of the most important sections in the brief, “Must-haves,” should be filled out.
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This step plays a pivotal role in making the video truly comprehensible and engaging, because the script is the DNA of the video. To ensure that the subsequent video production workflow goes without a hitch, the script needs to be well thought-out and have no internal contradictions.
To organize the narrative, we follow a specific structure which helps make the script comprehensive, so that both video and audio sequences complement each other logically.
Have a look at the table below — it illustrates how this approach works in practice.
| # | Scene function | Action in frame | Voiceover text |
|
2 |
Gameplay |
Gameplay captures: fight at the “Green Forest” location; more intense fight at the “Red Snow” location; fight against Boss #12 at the “Dark Cave” location. A banner that says “Immerse yourself in the battle” is shown at the bottom of the screen. |
Show what you’re made of and do your best in every corner of the kingdom! |
|
3 |
Equipment upgrade |
Scene change. A store tab is opened. Camera zooms in slightly on the most expensive helmet, armor, sword, and shield in a virtual showcase on the left. Then the camera zooms out and moves to the character’s avatar on the right. A banner that says “Upgrade your armor” is now shown at the bottom of the screen. |
Acquire powerful gear and get ready for more and more fierce battles! |
If the video will be in a foreign language, we have voiceover lines and in-frame callouts translated by a native speaker of the target language.
The styleframe and storyboard, voiceover track, and background music are all assets we take care of before moving on to the animation stage. One secret here that really simplifies the video production workflow is that we record the voiceover in advance and use it as the backbone of the video timing. That way the voice always has a perfectly natural tempo, and all the actions in the frame take place at that exact second they are supposed to.
For storyboard preparation, the nuts and bolts are in the picture below.
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What we’re looking to achieve at this video production stage is meaningful animation. We see the animation itself not as an embellishment but as a method of conveying ideas. In addition to what’s already been said about the finer points of animation, at this stage the motion designer synchronizes animated actions, such as scene changes, clicks, character introduction, etc., with the beat of the music. This little tip can make the animation literally dance to the rhythm of the track.
Check out the picture below to get an idea of how this looks.
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Although the video seems nearly completed, there’s still one step left before the video production process is finished, and it’s all about sound. A sound engineer cuts the track to the duration of the final video, mixes the music with the voiceover, and adds sound effects that make the viewing experience even more enjoyable.
When all the stages of video production are completed, your brand new video is ready to be shown to the world!
Want to see some examples of videos created using the approach described? There are dozens of them in the playlist below!
Animation is a means of framing content, and there are lots of different approaches to custom animation production. Let’s focus on two of the most common types of animation: 2-D and 3-D.
2-D animation is quite common even in corporate videos. Using this method doesn’t mean that you’ll end up with a cartoon instead of a professional-looking business video. Absolutely not! Depending on the graphic approach, 2-D animation can be perfectly suitable for your corporate needs.
Have a look below at a few 2-D animation videos for IT products and services. Perfectly suitable for business, aren’t they?
Alconost and Austin Visuals, Medical 3D Animation Company, believe that 3-D animation is worth considering if you are going to promote a non-digital, tangible product. What you need in this case is a 3-D model of the product to be showcased in the video. This type of model can be created during the video production process according to your drawings. If the model already exists, all we need is to fine-tune or adjust it to make it suitable for 3-D animation in the video.
Check out some examples of business videos with 3-D animation.
Of course, there are many other types of animation: stop motion, motion capture, clay animation, just to name a few. For business video production, however, these methods are not the first that come to mind.
We and MotionGility, an animated video production company, think the categorization of animated videos varies, and that’s no surprise: different producers have different perspectives. Allow us to share our take on it. Here’s a list of the animated video types most frequently ordered by our customers.
This particular type can go one of several directions depending on the intended placement. Ask yourself: will the video ad production be published on your website, or used for promotion via advertising platforms or social media, or added to the product’s page in a mobile app store?
Website placement doesn’t usually impose any limitations on how a commercial video should look or on its duration. But when making a promo video for advertising networks or an app store, both must be considered. Some advertising platforms may have restrictions on video duration, as well as other requirements, such as a specific aspect ratio. And it’s worth noting that the App Store even has recommendations for video content.
Here’s an example of what an advertising video for a website looks like.
And here’s an example of an app video preview compatible with App Store guidelines.
Rather different videos, aren’t they?
With all this in mind, it’s best to know the requirements and restrictions before you get the ball rolling. Once you decide “I need a promotional video,” take a moment to consider the exact marketing channels of your video’s subsequent placement.
An animated explainer video is a popular type of animated clip for IT, especially for software products. Videos of this kind usually follow a “problem—solution” structure. The first part of the explainer introduces the context where the product might be needed, and the second part shows viewers why this particular product is ideally suited to resolving this exact problem.
Usually explainer videos contain animated graphics in the first part and product screenshots, such as main windows or tabs, in the second part. The screenshots may be slightly simplified if it helps the audience to focus on the main features and not be distracted by secondary options. Explainers normally don’t go too deep into settings or advanced features. Consider Alconost as your animated explainer video company!
Have a look at this short explainer video for reference.
Of course, sometimes it’s essential to show specific features of the product, or to guide the viewer through the settings comprehensively. This is where “tutorials,” or educational videos, come in. Animated tutorial videos mostly consist of real screenshots without significant alterations. Why, you ask? Because it’s much easier for users to repeat the same actions in the app or service if its interface looks similar in both the tutorial video and the product itself.
This is what a canonical tutorial video looks like.
It’s not too difficult to tell an explainer video from a tutorial. In a nutshell, if a video clarifies what the product is for, it’s an explainer. If a clip teaches you how to set up the product or perform a specific operation in its UI, it’s a tutorial video. It’s that easy!
To some extent, explainers and tutorials are corporate videos, too. But usually, corporate videos are a bit broader in scope than simply showing a specific product and how to use it. A corporate video could present information at a higher level, giving viewers an overview of the service or company, or even elaborating on what drove the developers when they were designing the product. See the animated corporate video presentation below for an example.
Corporate videos can be used for marketing, branding, PR, and even HR. Common examples of corporate videos are presentations and animated infographics, although logo animation falls into this category as well. An example of the latter is found below.
For a corporate video to work, it should be produced with a specific goal and target audience in mind. For instance, if a company is looking for partnership or investment, a video presentation based on hard facts & numbers should be considered. But if the goal is to conduct a successful hiring campaign to increase the number of talented staff who want to share the brand values, a corporate video with refined storytelling that appeals to the emotions could be just the ticket and perform better than dry stats.
Ultimately, the messages corporate videos convey depend on the audience and the goals you as the customer want to achieve.
Videos for games are what help developers attract potential players to their games worldwide. Today game trailers are a must, no matter the genre, style, or platform of the game being released.
Game trailer videos usually consist of gameplay footage, either raw or polished, and animated graphics that immerse viewers into the game world atmosphere.
A key element of a game video is suitable music and captions animated to its tempo, such as we employed in the Infinitode 2 game trailer below.
Another approach to game videos is to set the scenes for the video in a game development environment. Check out the video we made this way for the game Broken Veil.
Apart from game trailers, there’s another genre of game videos called game teaser trailers. Videos of this kind are usually used for advertising purposes. Sometimes game teasers don’t even show any actual gameplay at all.
What makes an advertising game video perform well is not just the plot or the execution: targeting is what really matters. When running a game promo campaign, different audiences may be targeted, and a game video should resonate with each segment. That’s why developers tend to order a series of game videos for marketing purposes, each with its own message and story. Check out the Spin Voyage game promotional video series as an example.
To get an idea of the variety of approaches and techniques that can be used when creating game videos, have a look at this demo reel covering game trailers and teasers.
Videos of this type are usually intended for placement on the product’s website and in stores, such as Google Play and the App Store.
In this instance, the more informative the mobile app video is, the better. Picture a user who’s looking for an app to solve their problem or to simplify their daily routine. They peruse app pages and websites one by one, and if your app video clearly and convincingly shows what your application is for and how easy it is to use, chances are that the potential user will convert to a real one.
When ordering a mobile application video, consider the specific store’s restrictions. For example, app videos in the App Store not only have to be 15-30 seconds in length, but also comply with numerous other App Store recommendations. This means the app video should reflect real app features and stay focused on the app’s functionality, not storytelling.
For a better understanding of how different app videos can look, don’t miss this demo reel focused specifically on clips of this type, in all their diversity.
Whether a corporate presentation from a big company or a game trailer from a small development studio, it’s a good idea to align your video with other materials you use for marketing. The design of the logo and website, the way you show off the product on social networks — when all the marketing elements echo each other it keeps the perception of your business consistent, and helps users to distinguish your product from others.
What should a video have to support your marketing in terms of visual style? Four components to begin with are color palette, font, logo, and characters. For example, you can pick the colors from your corporate palette when designing caption areas for a video, use the corporate font for taglines, and create a visual environment for the closing scene where your logo will look both noticeable and appropriate. If your product or business has a mascot, or your game has recognizable characters, animating these assets for your corporate video is definitely an idea worth considering.
Have a brand book? Even better! Even if there are no guidelines specifically for corporate videos, it’s still a perfect reference for illustrators and motion designers.
No corporate style at all? No worries! During the video production process you might find that a specific font strikes your fancy, or a specific color scheme reflects the mood and tone you want to communicate to your users. Why not embrace these discoveries and implement them into further branding?
Additionally, if a character is created exclusively for your video and you find you’d like to keep using them in other marketing materials, you can approach the video production studio about using the character outside the context of the video.
Let’s look at a brief overview of video file formats. The formats we usually deal with in corporate video production are MP4, MOV, and AVI.
All formats are essentially a kind of container — boxes into which a moving picture is compressed and encoded using a specific codec. One of the most popular video compression standards today is H.264. For high-definition video, such as 4K or 8K, one codec that gives a high-quality picture is Apple ProRes 422.
How to select the right format for your corporate video? First off, check out the video requirements on the exact platform to which you want to upload the video. Some platforms may require a specific format; others may accept a variety of formats but set a limit on the video’s file size.
When the weight of the video file is important, meaning when you need the video to occupy as little storage space as possible, or to consume minimal traffic when uploaded or downloaded, consider the MP4 format — one of the most popular formats for streaming video.
With MP4, you’ll save megabytes, the upload process will be faster, and the video will conserve the resources of the device on which it’s being watched. But remember that the less a video weighs, the greater its compression, and, consequently, the worse its picture quality. To avoid severe pixelation and quality losses when dealing with a video in MP4 format, refrain from going overboard with compression and avoid overly low bitrates. 
If you are going to upload a video preview of your app to the AppStore, MOV format is a safe bet. MP4 and even M4V formats are also an option for the App Store, but to use them your video needs to be encoded using the H.264 codec, not ProRes 422. If ProRes 422 (HQ) is used, the video should be in the MOV format only.
If you are planning to launch the video on or from a local computer running Windows, and file size isn’t a critical factor but picture quality is, consider using the AVI format. Thanks to its decreased compression, it has less loss of quality. But bear in mind that to run the video file on Apple devices without third-party software you’ll have to convert it to either MOV or MP4.
All that being said, MP4 seems to be the most universal format. In fact, the majority of videos you see on a daily basis, like clips on YouTube, Vimeo, etc., are most likely compressed using the H.264 codec and packed in the MP4 container.
The good news is that encoding and formatting are just the packaging, and are selected at the rendering stage. And since video production companies usually keep the source file for your video, they can deliver the final file in any format you like. If you ordered a video in, let’s say, MP4 format, but later decide the AVI version would also be a good thing to have, just get in touch with your video production studio, and they’ll make it happen.
Creating an animated video for business isn't rocket science, but neither is it a piece of cake. Can you produce a video on your own? In theory, sure. In practice, if you’ve never dealt with video production before, the time and effort required may turn out to be a bit unsustainable. Apart from having artistic skills, you’ll face the necessity of using specific video production tools, which are not necessarily as simple to use as they may seem.
The thing is that the video production is a complex audiovisual process that, although it seems holistic, consists of multiple components. Creating each of these components, such as script, storyboard, voiceover, and animation, requires different skills and specific know-how.
If you want to create an animated video by yourself, be ready to be a Jack of all trades. But remember that a natural-born scriptwriter may not be as good at drawing storyboards as a natural-born graphic designer.
Given that you already have a product you want to promote with a video, you may have already found yourself professionally. Is the need to produce an animated video sufficient reason to learn several new professions at once? For those looking to branch out and master new skills, the answer may be yes. For those who simply need to make an animated video for their business, this approach to the issue seems way too involved.
When animated videos for business are being created by a professional video production studio, multiple specialists come into play. A scriptwriter develops the story; an illustrator prepares static graphics that will embody the script ideas; a voiceover artist records the narration; an animator puts it all together and creates the motion picture; and to top it off, a sound designer cuts the background music track and adds sound effects. A project manager handles the video production process, setting the assignments and deadlines for everyone on the team. The manager also makes sure that intermediate results convey the initial ideas, complement each other logically, and simply look — and sound! — great.
Ergo, to make a professional animated video you need a team of skilled, talented professionals.
If ordering a video for business seems like a pricey proposition, try this trick: estimate the working hours you and your team would spend creating a video in-house.
Suppose, for example, video production by your internal staff would take 100 man-hours. Then translate that time into money, and take into account that the other processes you initially hired your employees for will be slightly delayed because the team is occupied working on your video project. Then consider whether ordering a video from a professional video production studio still seems pricey.
What should an animated video production company be like to deserve your trust? We came up with our own list of criteria to help you select a video production services provider. Feel free to refer to it when the time comes, but note that the list isn’t exhaustive.
Are there enough video production examples? Does the quality of the videos appear consistent, or are there undeniable masterpieces mixed with mediocre fillers? How long has the portfolio been online: did the video production agency upload a bunch of clips months ago, or have they been adding lots of new ones on a regular basis?
Is there any feedback left by the video production studio’s real customers? Do the testimonials look trustworthy? Are there a variety of reviews with different features of the projects highlighted, or do all the comments look relatively similar? If there are less than ideal reviews, what drawbacks were pointed out, and how crucial are those exact nuances for you? Here are examples of how reviews for video production services may look.
Have a look at the company’s official profiles on social networks: what do they post about, and how often? And how about the company’s presence in the media: do they maintain blogs? Have employees of the video production company ever given interviews, or participated in professional conferences or podcasts? Are there any collaborations with well-known people or entities from the industry?
Send a pre-order with a brief description of your project and evaluate how fast the reply from the video production studio arrives, how informative it is, and whether you are sincerely treated as a valued customer. If the company’s representative wants to get to know you — proposes a call, asks more questions about your specific project, etc. — it’s a good sign.
Ask your questions in response and see whether each of them is answered, and whether the answers are comprehensive enough for you to make a decision based on the information given.
When you want to figure out the pricing of the different studios on your short list, ask each of them the same question — something like, “How much would a 30-second video with 2-D animation cost?” — and attach a clip with content that is relatively similar to what you’d like to get. Then evaluate the proposals. This will help you understand the average market price of video production.
Animated video cost is something you usually don’t know before you get into the details of the specific project. But here is what factors in when calculating a video production budget:
How many scenes do you want the video to consist of?
Will your video have 2-D or 3-D animation? If 3-D, are the models ready or will they need to be produced?
Will your video include animated characters? If so, do you have your own characters, or they need to be either purchased or custom-drawn for your video?
How about detailing? Will there be just a general outline of the background environment, characters, key objects, etc., or will they be as detailed or even realistic as possible?
You may be wondering why the anticipated duration of the animated video isn’t listed as a factor in the price. And indeed, some video production companies take the duration of the clip into account when estimating the animated video cost. But what actually determines the price is the number of scenes—the very first question in the list above.
Picture a generic game trailer. There should be an eye-catching intro, a description of key features (for example, the variety of locations, fight modes, and equipment such as armor or vehicles), core gameplay (maybe a few video captures), and a powerful closing scene to motivate the viewer to give this game a try. How long could a trailer like this be? Either 30 seconds or 60, depending on the motion design style and speed of the actions. The deciding factor here is the quantity of ideas that need to be visualized, and, therefore, the quantity of scenes. Consequently, video animation pricing requires an understanding of the exact scope of work.
One solution is the so-called “price-per-scene” approach. This is exactly what it sounds like: the price depends on the number of scenes. Sometimes to elaborate on a specific feature or tell a specific story, you may need several scenes devoted to it, rather than just one. But again, each idea could be presented as a set of scenes, even if the transitions between them are seamless or nearly unnoticeable. The price-per-scene approach gives a realistic idea of the amount of work, the assets that need to be either created or prepared for animation, and, consequently, a realistic animated video cost.
We listed the selection between 2-D or 3-D as the second factor in the video animation price. Here’s why: even when the models themselves are ready, animating 3-D objects is a rather complex process. The object itself has a kind of a skeleton which gives the object its form; then textures are employed to make the object look like real metal, wood, plastic, or even skin. Next is lighting, which gives the object shades and realistic positioning in a given environment. And that’s not all, because you most likely want the object to move, or even transform, or be shown from different angles. In short, it will take significantly longer to render animation of this complexity than for 2-D videos: the routine rendering process can take hours, or even days.
All these details have to be considered in order to estimate the animated video budget; the exact price differs from one project to the next. But here are some ballpark figures to give you a sense of how pricing is set by one video production company that employs the price-per-scene approach.
A video that has about 10 scenes, with animated graphics in 2-D, custom animated characters, and even a one-of-a-kind live insert, would cost you around $3000-4000.
For comparison, the video animation price for an 8-scene clip with animated pictograms, simpler art, and even including some gameplay captures would be a bit less — in the neighborhood of $2500.
Note that although the videos just mentioned have a similar number of scenes, their duration is different: roughly, 2 minutes vs 1 minute. The price differs not because of the length but because of the difference in scene complexity.
Of course, there are cheaper options. An animated video could cost as little as $1000-$1500 if it has only 2-3 scenes with graphics, with the remaining 2-3 scenes consisting of real gameplay cuts with little to no embellishment.
If you’re looking for the cheapest option possible, consider pre-rolls. Pricing for this type of short advertising video starts at $600 each if the environment is the same and the art is simple. On top of that, when ordering multiple pre-rolls with minor visual differences for A/B-testing, the price decreases with each additional variation.
Naturally, the video animation price will be different if the graphics are in 3-D. The more detailed, complex, and realistic the models are, the higher the price. It’s not unusual for a 30-second video with realistic 3-D animation to cost thousands of dollars, while if it involves a detailed 3-D environment it can run into the tens of thousands. Conversely, 2-D animation is significantly cheaper.
It should be no surprise that video production companies are usually aware of the challenges IT companies typically face when expanding their customer base. This means that video production studios can help with more than just the animation. Let’s have a look at a few typical cases of this kind.
Imagine a situation where an animated video already exists, but it’s needed in another language, or even in several.
The most comprehensive solution for a task like this is complete video localization, where not only the voiceover is translated and recorded with a native speaker, but in-frame written content such as taglines and calls to action is translated as well. As an example, have a look at a video presentation in English and its localization into Russian.
To localize a video properly, access to the video’s source project is a must. The source project is an editable video file: when available, it provides flexibility in adjusting the video. For example, if the video is 2-D animation, it’ll be easy to slightly modify a specific scene in order to change its duration if the voiceover in a foreign language differs in length from the original one.
If the source project isn’t available, or the budget or time is tight, consider dubbing or subtitling.
With dubbing, only the voiceover is translated, then re-recorded with a native speaker and imposed over the original video, while the video sequence remains intact.
With subtitling, neither the video nor the audio sequences are edited. Here only an extra layer of text strings is superimposed on the frame, duplicating the voiceover text in the target language.
You may have already guessed that the more complex the changes are, the higher the price. Complete localization may cost as much as 50% of the initial animated video production price or even more. Subtitling is the cheapest option.
This is for when stand-alone voiceover is needed, whether voice messages for an IVR system or audio content for an app or service.
The subject of voiceover production really deserves an ultimate guide of its own. There are dozens of intricacies, from selecting the right talent to adjusting the text for further recording to make it fit the timing of the original audio. And that’s just the beginning!
Although there are studios that focus on audio projects only, for some needs even the video production company you’ve been working with can lend a hand. If the company works with a large pool of native-speaking voiceover talent across different languages, they will most likely be able to help you with narration recording.
Sometimes a short, attractive animated video that supports the brand's communication is what’s needed: not a presentation but a kind of logo animation or image video.
Some consider logo animation a separate genre of visual art. Others think that logo animation shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. Personally, we think both opinions are correct.
When you need logo animation or another type of image video, it may be unnecessary to search for a studio that focuses solely on this kind of video. Even if the video production company you’ve been working with on a trailer or presentation has only long videos in their portfolio, it doesn’t mean that they will turn up their noses at such a small task as a logo animation. Just drop them a line and you’ll see that we’re right!
If you want to learn more about the intricacies of video production, no matter how complex, nitpicky, or ludicrous your question seems to you, just contact us at video@alconost.com and get helpful, comprehensive answers to everything you want to know about animated video production!
In 2021, we at Alconost published data on the most popular languages for product localization. This year, we're continuing the tradition and publishing the latest stats on the demand for languages to enter foreign markets. Read on and get the broad strokes right now.
Highlights: 12 Consistently Popular Localization Languages
Top 5 Languages: The Classic Four + Brazilian Portuguese
Companies that localize into the most popular languages
Japanese, Korean and Chinese are shoulder to shoulder
Places 9-12 and below: What other local markets are popular for localizations
A treat for number geeks: A closer look at the Top 10 localization languages
But localization isn't everything. So, what else is there?
Editing and localization QA: When you need them
Remember: Every product is different
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An abridged version of this article was first published on the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA)'s website. We thank the association for the opportunity to publish it and for its interest in our content!
In this review, we look at orders made by Alconost Localization Department customers with English as the source language.
People turn to Alconost when launching a product — most often software, an application, or a game — so they can enter foreign markets. The company provides translation and localization services into 100+ languages, video production and multilingual marketing services. Our clients include both indie developers and such large companies as JetBrains, Microsoft, Kaspersky, and Bitrix, to name a few.
The 12 most popular target languages for orders that had English as their source language remained the same as last year. French (France), Italian, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain), Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, Turkish, Polish, Russian are languages that are consistently in demand.
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Figure 1. The most popular target languages in projects with English as the source language in 2021. The share of orders for the top 12 languages accounts for 63.6% of the total volume of orders.
However, the positions of some languages have changed within the most popular ones compared to last year. Korean, German, and Brazilian ranked higher in the top 12, while Spanish, Dutch, and Turkish ranked lower.
The main surprise in the top 5 is Brazilian Portuguese's rise to 4th place and Spanish dropping out of the top four languages.
There is a group of the four most popular languages for localization — not including English, of course — with the acronym FIGS: French, Italian, German, and Spanish. Just like last year, these languages are among our top 5 languages for localization from English.
When localizing software, apps, and games into the "classic four" languages, developers are able to do more than just enter the markets of four countries. Italian, for example, is the official language in three other countries besides Italy, and German is the official language in five countries outside of Germany. Not to mention the prevalence of Spanish, French, and their variants in dozens of countries on both sides of the Atlantic!
"The availability of a product, not just in English, but in FIGS languages, too, is, in a way, an integral part of software, games, or apps that strive to be global. But we can't forget that translating a product into a particular language and localizing a product for a particular country's market are not the same thing. For example, localization for Spain will not fully meet the expectations of users in Argentina or Mexico. The Spanish language in Latin America has its specifics. You need to adapt the product to the local version of the language in a particular country," says Stas Kharevich, Localization Team Lead at Alconost.
While Spanish's move to fifth place in popularity is a noticeable change in the ranking, it doesn't indicate a global decline in interest in the Spanish language. After all, if we combine the order statistics for all varieties of Spanish (in 2021, we also worked with Spanish for Mexico, the US, Argentina, and Colombia), they would have taken the top spot in our ranking with a share of 8.45%.
If we talk about French, which leads our ranking for the second year in a row now, we mean only the French spoken in France. Note that, for example, Canada, one of the most attractive Francophone countries in terms of marketing, has its own variety of French, and orders for "Canadian French" in our statistics aren't included in the number of French orders for France.
Learn more about the nuances of localization into Canadian French in our review.
Brazilian Portuguese deserves special attention in the top languages. In 2020, it was the "fifth element" in the ranking, on the heels of the classic four. And in 2021, it moved into fourth place and changed the traditional balance of power.
The following factors, we believe, have influenced the growing popularity of Brazilian Portuguese for localization:
Brazil has the ninth-largest economy in the world.
The country has a high purchasing power.
Smartphone and console games are very popular among Brazilians.
The country has one of the highest download rates in Google Play and the App Store.
Indeed, the Brazilian market looks like a tasty tidbit for developers. Considering that Brazil is a growing market for mobile apps and games, we predict that Brazilian Portuguese has a good chance to settle in the top 5 and to be in demand for localization as much as the most popular European languages.
Here's a review of the Brazilian mobile games market and helpful information for those planning to scale their product to Brazil.
Among the companies localizing their products into the top languages from our ranking are JetBrains, TransferWise, Avangate, Movavi, and Vizor Games. Bear in mind that these Alconost clients' activities aren't limited to the top 5 languages. As they expand into foreign markets and develop their products, they need to localize into additional languages, and their list is even wider than our top 10.
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Just as it was a year ago, Japanese remains the sixth-most-popular language in projects with English as the source language. Although its share among the total number of orders increased by 0.7%, it failed to make it into the top five.
Follow the link for tips on localizing games for the Japanese market.
Please note: The statistics we analyze in this article reflect only "English to Japanese" orders. However, there's another side of this moon: translations from Japanese to English and Asian and European languages.
Ilya Spiridonov, Chief Commercial Officer at Alconost, sheds more light on this:
"For the last year, we've been actively working with clients from Japan. Among the exciting companies from Japan that we started working with in 2021, I would like to mention the game developers Characterbank and Zxima, as well as the tech company RICOH. We expect that we will help more IT and tech companies gain new clients and users from the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world in 2022. This March, Alconost was ISO 9001:2015 certified and received two more industry-specific ISO certificates relating directly to translation services. The documented quality of processes will simplify the company's work with corporate clients."
Yoshiyuki Suginome, Regional Director of Alconost Japan and Asia-Pacific, talks about what languages Japanese companies are interested in as target languages and what matters when choosing languages for localization:
"According to our observations, many app developers, from startups to mid-size companies, evaluate the possible impact of localization on ROI efficiency. This potential impact seems to be one of the key factors for specific target languages' selection. As for English, Chinese, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese, I guess they're amongst the most popular target languages for Japanese app development companies because of the number of speakers. Apart from that, the cultural and geographical proximity to Japan can factor in. As far as I can tell, this is one of the reasons why Korean, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, and Vietnamese are also in demand."
Korean is a popular language for localization, and not just among Japanese customers. It ranks seventh in overall popularity among target languages for orders with English as a source. Over the past year, Korean has jumped three lines up in our ranking: in 2020, its share of 4% earned it tenth place, while in 2021, with a share of 5%, it moved straight to seventh place.
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It doesn't come as a surprise if you know the situation in the Korean gaming market. The users from this country are among the most willing to pay in the world, and in 2018, one out of every two(!) citizens of South Korea could be considered a gamer. Given the growing worldwide interest in Korean mass culture, the localization of a product into Korean can no longer be considered something exotic.
Read about the preferences of South Korean users and the specifics of game localization for this market in this review.
Of course, developers aren't ignoring China's audience of more than a billion people. Like last year, between translations into Simplified and Traditional Chinese, developers are more likely to choose the former. Simplified Chinese is eighth in our ranking, just as it was last year.
By the way, if we combined all the varieties of Chinese that we translated from English in 2021 — Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and the Hong Kong dialect — their share would be 7.3% in total. In this case, translations from English into all varieties of Chinese would be second on our list after French.
Read this article about the issues Chinese developers face when localizing games for users in Western countries.
Oddly enough, the 2021 statistics show that the languages of three Asian countries — Japan, Korea, and China — are ranked next to each other. A year earlier, Dutch stood between Japanese and Simplified Chinese. Now, it's moved from 7th to 9th place.
The year before, Turkish was ninth, wedged between Simplified Chinese and Korean. This year, Turkish is tenth, but note that this language has been one of the stable areas for localization from English for several years now. Developers' interest in it can be explained by the fact that the Turkish game market is considered the most developed among Middle Eastern and North African countries. The presence of localization significantly increases the chances of a product's acceptance among users from Turkey.
Turkey is interesting as both a target market and a source one. Their game development industry is booming. Read about the outcomes of Turkish game localizations into popular languages in this case study.
Places 11 and 12, as in 2020, are reserved for Polish and Russian, respectively. The gap between them slightly narrowed over the year. The share of Polish decreased by 0.1%, and the percentage of Russian increased by 0.2%.
Places 13 through 17, in decreasing order of share, are occupied by European Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, Arabic, Mexican Spanish, and Thai. The shares of orders for these languages range from 2.3% to 2%.
Read the review of the Middle East market for localization into Arabic here.
Among the languages gaining popularity specifically for game localization, we'd like to mention Hindi. In 2021, the English-Hindi language pair accounted for 1.3% of orders. We'll see how the situation changes a year from now.
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You can compare the recent data with last year's data.
Alconost states that it provides localization into 100 languages and that they work only with native-speaking professional translators. It sounds great, but how do you do it? For example, if you need to localize an interface from English to Burmese, Hindi, Odia, Lao or Dzongkha, where do you find the right people, how do you check the quality of their work, and how do you retain them for regular collaboration?
We spoke to Anastasiya Yazepenka, who is responsible for finding and testing translators at Alconost, about the unique aspects of hiring rare language translators. This is mainly required for localizing apps, games and online services, technical documentation and marketing materials for IT companies.
1. What are rare languages in localization?
2. The process of finding a translator: 6 steps
3. How to find rare language translators
4. How much does a rare language translation cost and what affects the price
5. How to communicate with translators
6. Four ways to avoid selecting the wrong candidate
7. Testing translators
8. Interactive onboarding
9. Why all this isn't a secret
Anastasiya, let's first clarify which languages are considered 'rare' in our context.
Yes, let's clarify this from the start. Of course, classifying a language as rare depends on certain things. In one way or another, all the languages that we work with are living languages, which are widely used in a particular region, with relatively large communities using them on a daily basis. For example, Kannada is the native language of over 40 million people in South-West India, but we classify it as a rare language.
In terms of localization, we consider a language rare if it is not in constant demand on the market, both among our clients and overall. The lack of consistent demand means the supply, i.e. the number of translators working in this language, is also limited. When there is demand for this language, the suppliers, i.e. the translators, are in a more favorable position than the customers. Consequently, clients are more likely to compete with each other for a good rare language translator than translators compete for a client.
There is no shortage of translators who are native speakers of Spanish, German, French, Chinese or Japanese. Nevertheless, even in these popular languages, it may be hard to find a language specialist to translate highly specialized projects, such as medical equipment software. It may be hard to find suppliers who are experienced and responsible, and available for collaboration, even in the popular language pairs. In any case, when translators are competing with each other for a client, it creates a certain balance of power. Translators understand that the client will choose them based on their competitiveness: ability to keep to a deadline, readiness to negotiate the price, and the ability to translate accurately. Of course, if a translator is experienced in using specialized computer-assisted translation tools (CAT tools or platforms), is easy to talk to and discuss the project details, that is also a big plus.
When clients compete for suppliers, it creates a different power balance. If we receive only a few replies, or even none, to our advertisement or we see very few available translators, it means that this target language is in less demand, so we can call it a rare language for localization purposes.
I'd like to ask then how quickly you find rare language translators? It can obviously vary…
Yes, it's always very individual. From what I can remember, the shortest amount of time was five working days, and the longest was more than three months (however, in that instance, we needed a pool of several suppliers, who were competent in a certain field). Ignoring the extremes, I would say that we can find an exotic language translator in about three weeks on average.
Want to learn more about how quickly we are able to
find a rare language translator for your project?
Book a free call with our team!
By the way, when we're talking about "finding a translator", we mean selecting appropriate candidates by sifting through applications and studying their resumes, right?
Oh, not only that! Studying the resume is just the start, the real work comes next. Let me describe all the stages included in "finding a translator" at Alconost, step by step.
Step 1. Manually searching for potential suppliers: using selection criteria and examining relevant profiles. As an option, we may publish an advertisement on specialized platforms and study the profiles of translators who respond.
Step 2. Contact: inviting a translator to collaborate via a private message or email.
Step 3. Negotiation: requesting additional information from a candidate about their qualifications, discussing rates and payment methods.
Step 4. Test task: providing a test task and reviewing the results after a couple of days.
Step 5. Validation: examining any errors the candidate made when completing the test. This is the most interesting, although time-consuming step, where every comma can affect the outcome. This stage has three possible outcomes. If the test is an obvious fail, we inform the supplier of this but do not go any further. If the test is an obvious pass, we move on to the onboarding. The most interesting are borderline passes, for example, when the result is technically a fail, but the reviewer believes the translator did a good job. The decision is made on a case-by-case basis in these instances, based on how serious the errors were and ways of minimizing these errors in the future.
Step 6. Onboarding: this is probably the most predictable stage for us, but the most unusual stage for the supplier, who is not yet familiar with Alconost's processes, standards and corporate culture. During this stage, we introduce the translator to our workflow and deal with administrative tasks, such as adding the translator to our contractor database, and signing an agreement that includes the NDA. We are not big fans of bureaucratic procedures ourselves, but we know how sensitive clients can be to these nuances, so we deal with them from the start.
Only after all six steps have been completed, can we say that we have found a rare language translator. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that it takes an average of three weeks not to search for a translator, but to find one: it's a subtle but important difference in this case.
True, looking at profiles is only the tip of the iceberg. What is the trigger that launches this entire process?
The trigger is always a request from the client for a particular language pair. The language pair is what we call the source and target languages. This is how it works: when localization managers receive a request from a client for translation into a language we haven't worked with before, they create a task in our internal system. The task to find translators is created using a template that we have refined over the years of recruiting. The template contains only 11 questions but they're all important ones.
Answers to these questions give us an overall idea of the task that the translator will need to complete and suggest certain requirements that the translator needs to meet. Basically, answers to these questions form the work specifications for the vendor managers.
So you look for rare language translators only upon the client's request?
When we're going through the database, we might notice that we don't have enough active translators for a particular language pair, while we have plenty of specialists in another language pair but no one working in a particular high-demand niche. But these observations don't trigger a search. It doesn't make sense to collect translators just to add them to the database, since inactive contacts fade over time. If you don't provide translators with regular work, they tend to forget your standards and criteria, but remember the long-winded process (emails, test translation, onboarding) which, ultimately, led nowhere. Therefore, only a specific task triggers a search for translators.
Do you find translators for any volume of work here at Alconost? Or does it have to be a large project to start looking?
If the potential project is over 1,000 words, we start looking. Which isn't to say that small projects don't stand a chance. If we're talking about a constant stream of small projects, that's even better for us than a large, but once-off translation project. As I've said before, we're interested in regular collaboration with the translator. It's important not to let the company and translator relationship fall dormant. So, if the client needs translation into a rare language and the volume is quite small but these jobs are recurrent, we're on board!
By the way, it's not a problem for us if the client views us as an additional or secondary vendor. For example, if the client already localizes their product into most languages themselves or with the help of another vendor, and contacts us only for a particular need. We're happy to help with translating only rare languages, for example, or with quality assurance of already existing language versions of a product, and we can embed ourselves into a client's existing localization set-up.
How do you and your colleagues usually find translators?
There are a number of online platforms that we use in our search. Unfortunately, I can't mention them by name, but I can say that there isn't a single resource out there to cover all our needs for qualified translators.
All platforms where we find suppliers have their own pros and cons. Some platforms, for example, have a lot of rare language translators in particular, but not everyone lists their contact details, which complicates communication. Other platforms may have many excellent specialists, but only in one language pair or for only one particular topic. For example, only translators into Japanese or only translators with software development experience.
A translator with software development experience? Sounds like a rare combination!
Of course, not all developers have a linguistic background. But there are projects where knowledge of niche terminology, localization experience in a highly specialized topic, and familiarity with the topic overall, are more important than a translation degree. Here we have another problem: rates that would motivate a programmer with experience in localization to work in localization rather than programming.
What about platforms like LinkedIn? Do you find translators there?
Sometimes, but we have to look through a lot of profiles that might not be complete, and in some cases, there are significant delays in potential suppliers responding to our queries. LinkedIn is good but it isn't our main source of suppliers.
Can you remember the most unusual source of an excellent translator?
The most unusual case in my practice was when a potential translator into Canadian French recommended their colleague as he himself was working on urgent projects. We contacted the specialist recommended to us, he was interested in the job, successfully completed the test task and onboarding, and is now part of the Alconost translator team.
So, what about pricing? Is there a correlation between "the more popular the language, the cheaper the localization"?
That statement is only partially true. If we're talking about translation into popular localization languages, the price is mainly influenced by the living standards of countries where the native speakers live. For example, translations from English to Hebrew, Norwegian, Dutch or Japanese will cost more than, for example, localization from English to Turkish, Hindi or Indonesian.
Of course, a shortage of qualified translators in a particular language pair will significantly affect the price. For example, the cost of translation from English to Khmer (which is spoken in Cambodia) or Burmese (spoken in Myanmar) will be about the same as translating to Swedish or even Norwegian. All because these translators know that they are in high demand, so they avoid reducing their rates or negotiating prices in general.
Another factor is the translator's competence in a specialized topic. Such as translators with experience in development, as I've mentioned before. The problem is that these suppliers will expect translation rates that are close to the prices charged by programmers. But programming rates are higher than the average translation rates. It's the same situation with other topics in which only a handful of translators specialize.
So, even if the language itself is popular and relatively cheap to translate into on the whole, the rates may skyrocket for high-quality work in a very specialized field. A translation of the same size and into the same language may cost very differently, depending on whether it is an article on consumer behavior or instructions for a woodworking machine.
Want to learn more about rare language localization pricing? Book a free call with our team!
Let's talk about establishing contact and how you communicate with candidates. What do you normally write to the translators and what do you pay attention to in their responses? Any specific advice about communication?
If I was the one who found the candidate, I usually briefly describe the company and project for which I need a translator, in the first email.
If the candidate responded to my ad, I study their profile and CV, and then write a short email to discuss conditions if I'm happy with what I've seen. I often ask clarifying questions regarding experience, specializations and their role in specific translation projects.
Do you communicate with translators over email or in messengers?
Here at Alconost, we prefer email. This ensures colleagues can see everything, there is a record of the correspondence, which is easy to search through. Some translators would prefer to communicate using messengers. I've noticed that translators of African languages prefer WhatsApp, while speakers of Asian languages prefer Skype. But we leave messengers only for extreme cases and emergencies. For example, if our emails aren't reaching the translator, we find out the reason via messenger and then return to email.
When we study a resume, we always take note of how many languages, dialects and fields a translator works in. Let's take two fictional resumes as an example. First resume: a niche specialist, who works with one language and a maximum of two dialects, and specializes in certain fields. Second resume: a 'universal' translator, who claims to know several languages and dialects at the native level and states that they're competent in a dozen fields, from translating poetry to software localization for heavy industry. The owner of the first resume definitely has a higher chance of reaching the next stage in Alconost's recruitment process than the owner of the second.
Mentioning world-renowned brands as clients can also backfire. This can mean that it's the resume of a scammer: for example, this article even lists famous companies used by unscrupulous people to try and pass themselves off as in-demand, qualified professionals.
Less obvious red flags in a resume are online language courses. Of course, we won't automatically reject a specialist who includes them in their resume, but we'll check the candidate more thoroughly. I'll explain why. Online language courses often provide lots of useful information that can show a translator which areas to focus on, which resources and tools to use. But these courses can't compare to the fundamental linguistic training provided by good old universities, and certainly not to many years of real-world experience. Perhaps other recruiters think differently, but here at Alconost, we're not very impressed by certificates from online language schools.
The most concerning thing is when a candidate provides contradictory information about themselves. For example, one candidate claimed to be a freelancer but then used "we" when writing about himself. As it later turned out, this candidate wasn't a translator, but a representative of a translation agency. The problem here wasn't that he was an agency employee, but that he tried to hide this fact and was being disingenuous.
Do you test all potential translators or are there exceptions?
Everyone who reaches the testing stage.
What do you use to test the real translating ability?
We check translating qualifications using a fragment of the project for which we need the translator. We negotiate with the client which fragment of the project can be used for testing. It is usually 250-300 words long. This amount won't take too much of the translator's time but it is long enough for the candidate to show their skills. What's important is that a translation of this fragment not be already available anywhere online. Since this is only the test translation and the translator hasn't yet completed the onboarding, which includes signing the NDA, we try to choose a text fragment that doesn't make it obvious which product it's referring to.
Which criteria do you use for assessment and who checks the test task?
We check the test translation using a specialized quality assurance system. If we already have a translator for this rare language, whom we're currently working with (this happens if we work with this language, but we need to expand the translator pool), then our regular translator checks the quality of the candidate's work. If we don't have a regular translator, candidates check each other, while another candidate can serve as the arbitrator in case of disagreements.
Translation quality is measured as a percentage in the QA system, so perfect quality is 100%. The candidate is considered to have passed the test if the test quality is 98% or higher. The quality index is calculated automatically, based on how serious the errors are. Error severity is decided by the reviewer, but we make sure that they don't over- or underpenalize.
We also often ask the reviewer to provide their overall impression of the test translation. In my practice, I remember one instance when the candidate made several critical, but repetitive errors, which were related to the specific terminology in this project. The reviewer was already working on the project and knew the terminology, while the candidate hadn't and didn't know the terms, but the reviewer couldn't approve a test containing errors. But it was obvious that if the translator learned the right terms, they could provide an excellent result. Which is what ended up happening.
Plus, a quality score of 98%, which we consider the pass level, is a pretty high requirement. As far as I know, some translation agencies accept tests with a score of 95%.
What if a candidate disagrees with the reviewer?
We always ask candidates, even those who successfully passed the test, to carefully study the test results, note the errors, and reply to the reviewer's comments. It is a constructive process when searching for translators into popular languages, but less so with rare languages. There can be emotional and prolonged arguments, and we have to soothe participants and ask them not to take the reviewer's comments personally. Vendor managers have to act as mediators to preserve a constructive atmosphere between candidates and help them listen to each other.
Want to learn more about localization quality assurance at Alconost? Book a free call with our team!
You've spoken about all stages of the search except the last one — onboarding. Is it a topic that can be discussed publicly? There's probably corporate know-how involved…
My colleagues and I try to ensure that the onboarding process doesn't turn into a stream of boring instructions. Right now, onboarding is a series of tutorials set out on Google forms and Trello cards, and a few instructional emails, which are sent to the translator at certain onboarding stages. We believe that thanks to the portioned provision of information, the translator develops a better understanding of our processes.
More specifically, we provide more information about our translation quality standards and communication during onboarding, as well as presenting our attitude to the work processes and deadlines. While the translator tells us more about themselves. For example, which translation tools they can use, which platforms they usually work in, the operating systems on their PC and smartphone. The last question may sound odd, but we have a reason for it. It can be important if the client requests localization quality testing (LQT) and the translator has to launch the application or game on their device.
The purpose of onboarding is to prepare the translator for working on a real project, so that they understand what is expected of them and what they need to do in a particular situation.
The process of onboarding only takes a few days, so it can't really change an already formed specialist or make a person acquire some hard skills. But we can suggest some simple things that the translator might not have paid attention to before. We highlight these during onboarding: yes, these are minor details but they are important for us, please keep them in mind.
Returning to the topic of rare languages. Can you list which rare languages Alconost actively works with at present?
Yes, I checked right before our chat. We've already spoken about some of these languages, while others may not be familiar to a large audience, but here is a list of rare languages that we can translate into from English at any moment.
|
Amharic |
Gujarati |
Odia |
|
Basque |
Icelandic |
Sinhala |
|
Bengali |
Kannada |
Somali |
|
Bislama |
Kinyarwanda |
Swahili |
|
Burmese |
Lao |
Tagalog |
|
Catalan |
Malayalam |
Welsh |
|
Cebuano |
Marathi |
|
|
Dzongkha |
Nepali |
I can imagine how much work had to be done behind the scenes to make this possible!
Thank you. This may sound obvious, based on our conversation, but I'd like to stress one thing. Finding translators is a system in Alconost: it's a process rather than an ad hoc scenario. We understand that it is a long game, and that a translator for whom we have no work today could become a vital member of our translator team tomorrow. That's why, even if the amount of work for a translator drops, we try to keep in touch with them, to maintain regular contact.
Rare language translators require particular care. After all, if we have a need for this language again, a new search might take even longer if an existing contact remembers us as an agency that wastes time with questions but doesn't provide work.
Maintaining a good relationship is also useful when the search for translators hits a dead end. Then we can ask the translator for a recommendation. It may be that they've worked on another project with a colleague who speaks the very rare language that we're looking for. A localization company must have established ties in the translation community.
Through our conversation, we've learned a lot of details that not all language service providers would be willing to share, I think. Are you afraid that clients who localize products in-house will copy your processes and turn to your agency less often?
I'm not so sure that our system can be easily copied. Let's take the OKR methodology or Objectives and Key Results. It is described in detail in John Doerr's book, Measure What Matters, there is plenty of information about OKR, and there are special instruments for the practical application of OKR in companies. But not everyone who wishes to implement OKR is successful. It's not just about information access, but about how it is used, as well as whether a company is at a stage where it has a critical need for these changes.
I can't deny that a development company with in-house localization might consider borrowing a page from Alconost. Indeed, why not: Alconost has developed real-world methods of expanding the translator pool, our quality management system is ISO 9001:2015 certified, and we have a lot of positive client feedback. Why not create a similar system? I see two reasons.
First, a development company will most likely have their own process for expanding the translator pool, so it's difficult to start again from scratch. The company will probably integrate our process into their existing one, which will lead to a hybrid system that certainly won't be the same as ours.
Second, as a localization company that provides services to many different clients, we can provide translators with a variety of work and quite regularly. This strengthens translator loyalty and increases the chance that a translator will agree to accept an urgent project, do a good job, and finish by the deadline. Even a very large development company may not have the translation volumes to provide translators into certain languages with regular work.
I've already explained why we don't look for new translators 'just in case'. For the same reason, a development company is unlikely to spend time and money on searching for, testing and onboarding suppliers who will ultimately just hang around.
So, it's less about how difficult it would be to copy our system, but rather about whether it would make sense to copy it.
Want to learn more about localization into rare languages? Book a free call with our team!
Thank you for such an honest and in-depth conversation!
I was glad to share my experience and the company's experience. I'll leave our email address: info@alconost.com. If a rare language translator is reading this article, please know that we're always happy to hear from you.
Image created by alconost.com
When companies enter new markets and decide to promote their product or service in new regions, they are faced with localizing not only the product itself, but also its marketing. Below we'll discuss marketing localization and share our experience on how to make localizing different types of marketing content as easy as possible.
Why not leave everything in English?
The short answer is: personalization.
The more relevant the information is to its recipient, the more likely it is to result in the desired action. And presenting information in a person's native language is the first step in personalization. To win over users, companies strive to speak their language — to sound like "their people." That's why they choose localization.
Let's be quite clear: we're talking about localization here, not about local marketing.
Local marketing is where a marketing strategy is developed almost from scratch when introducing a product or service to a new market. Local marketing includes market research, studying local users and competitors, and developing and testing a local strategy. Sometimes you have to make changes to the product/service. Typically, these projects involve product owners, developers, and marketers. When you need to develop a local marketing strategy in another language, you can employ multilingual marketing services.
Now back to marketing localization.
Marketing localization is the translation and adaptation of all marketing content for a product or service for the desired locale. What marketing content needs to be localized? Any materials that help promote the service or product.
The goal of marketing localization is to convey the content in a way relevant for the target region.
Localized content must remain:
Translation is only part of marketing localization. For a brand's key message to work equally well in all regions, translation alone isn't enough. For a high-quality localization, sometimes the source information has to be drastically reworked. Copywriting, rewriting, and transcreation are all used.
Take a marketing campaign slogan, for example. Slogans are short, spot-on phrases that often use puns or idioms. To adequately convey the slogan's meaning in the target language, the translator has to be a skilled professional and understand the context.
Transcreation can be helpful in translating slogans.
Transcreation is the process of creatively reproducing content in other languages — in a word, creative translation.
People who do this have to be well versed in the product or service, and also be able to think locally, understanding regional linguistic and cultural particularities.
For example, take the translation of the slogan for Haribo gummy bears. In the original German it runs as follows: "Haribo macht Kinder froh, und Erwachsene ebenso."
Haribo commercial, Youtube.com
This is not just a brand slogan, but also an important element of communication and a rhyming advertising jingle. If it were simply translated into English, it would be: “Haribo makes children happy, and grownups too.” The rhythm is lost; the slogan is no longer catchy.
But with a translator's creative approach, the phrase in English goes like this: “Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo.” The translation isn't literal, but the idea and values of the brand are conveyed, and the rhyme is also preserved.
Another example, this time regarding the importance of cultural particularities. Localization specialists need to know how people customarily communicate in the target region, because this determines the approach to translation and the tone of the message.
For example, Booking.com took different approaches to the localization of email texts for customers in Israel and Japan.
Hebrew text with reverse translation into English:
Hi {client_name}, We'd love to look into it. Customer service will contact you by phone or email to make sure everything is handled as it should be. Thanks!
Japanese text with reverse translation into English:
Hello {client_name}, Thank you for your inquiry. After looking into the situation, our customer service will contact you by phone or email. Thank you for your understanding.
Due to cultural differences, the Japanese version of the letter is more formal, thanking the recipient twice, while the Israeli version has a friendlier tone.
Let's take a look at our experience with localizing emails and other marketing content.
We've compiled the most frequent marketing translation and localization tasks that customers request at Alconost. These are landing pages, app store pages, advertising, infographics, online banners, reviews, and email marketing.
Having a landing page in your visitors' native language is more likely to convert them into the targeted action.
A marketing page often needs to be translated into not just one, but multiple languages at once. Even more challenging are frequently updated pages — for example, product pages in online stores. Here continuous localization can be useful, and on platforms like Crowdin these translation projects can be automated. Here's how it works: the marketer adds files for translation, then the manager obtains access and distributes the tasks to translators. The finished translations can be exported manually or automatically via the API. Crowdin offers quick notifications that save time and simplify project coordination, and also has a glossary for translators.
Localizing pages in app stores boosts the number of app downloads. There are several stages in the process, including localization of keywords, titles, descriptions, screenshots, and videos.
Often developers with lots of apps need to quickly update app store descriptions for several products at once, and they use different translation APIs. For these purposes it's not always efficient to have your own team of translators. It also presents administrative challenges: the translation tasks are small, and there are many different languages, translators, and updates.
This is often the headache that brings clients to our translation service Nitro. Here Nitro's advantages are fast translation by native speakers, the ability to automate via the API, and a convenient self-service format. There's no correspondence with a manager and no waiting: customers independently place orders from their Nitro dashboard any time of night or day.
Localized ads deliver the message to the user more effectively and produce more app downloads. Many user acquisition managers translate ads using machine translation, often via APIs, then have to test the translated content and choose the text with the best metrics.
Texts produced by machine translation are not always of acceptable quality. Often this depends on the language pair and the topic. On the other hand, employing professional native-speaking marketers for every advertising campaign is an expensive proposition.
For cases like this, Nitro is ideal. The Nitro API for ad localization is unique in that the translation process is automated but translation itself is performed by human professional linguists with knowledge of the given topic. Furthermore, it offers a fast turnaround time for translations — 24 hours or less. This is important when launching ads, which are often run only briefly or are frequently updated.
For high volumes of advertising campaigns, to make scaling more convenient you can obtain ready-made translations via the API. This lets you automate translation of advertising campaigns into as many languages as you need, without sacrificing quality and without a team of local marketers. This swift bulk translation tool proved a good solution for one of our game development clients localizing Google Ads campaigns.
Case Study: One of the major Nitro API clients uses the platform to translate Search Text Ads into 28 languages at once.
Marketing content often contains visuals in the form of illustrations, screenshots, and infographics, which need to be localized. Here it's important to remember that text within graphics and screenshots shouldn’t be hardcoded: it must be retrievable, since otherwise the content will remain untranslated.
When preparing visual content for new regions, bear in mind the difference in color perception and character preferences. Consider that localizing this kind of content sometimes requires not only translating the text, but also adapting the visuals.
Localization of a babycare app for Europe, South Korea, Japan, and Brazil
Our clients often need to send marketing emails to partners who speak other languages. Sometimes one email sequence needs to be translated into 10 or more languages, with these sequences going out several times a week. The texts are needed immediately in all the languages and in very short order. Our client chose Nitro for this task, since the service is specifically designed for fast translation of small texts into multiple languages at once.
It is important to note here that translation quality for marketing texts often depends on having sufficient context (information about the target audience, tone of voice, explanations of terms, etc.). In Nitro, the client can add this information in the comments for the translator.
Banners are a simple and effective tool that marketers use to drive visitors to a website and boost brand awareness. Usually banners contain a little text, which also has to be localized.
For these tasks our clients most frequently use Nitro. One important detail: when localizing banner text, it's a good idea to remember about possible character limitations. An advertising phrase in some languages takes up more space when translated, because the words are longer - in German for example.
Incidentally, this is also relevant for advertising with Google Ads: the title and description of the ad must not exceed the possible number of characters.
For mass creation of online banners for different locales, a convenient option is the Nitro + Pikaban bundle. Pikaban is a creative banner generator in which marketers can make animated HTML banners without the aid of a designer. On the dashboard they can upload images; enter the desired text; select a size suitable for Google Ads and other platforms; apply effects; and have the resulting set of banners sent directly to their email. If there are multiple languages, the texts can first be quickly run through Nitro, and then the templates with different languages can be saved in your account.
User reviews are also part of marketing. They are needed to increase customer confidence or to provide more information about something. When customers choose a vacation home, they read the reviews of those who have already booked it. Many major lodging search services (such as Airbnb) use machine translation to translate large numbers of reviews. But machine translation is not always a good option, because it can't reliably convey human emotions with accuracy — an important factor for reviews.
Reviews can be translated by human translators in Nitro. Review texts are not typically all that large, and orders like this can literally be completed in just a few hours.
In a nutshell, it turns out that when localizing different types of marketing content, speed, personalization, and creativity are always important, and cultural particularities and limitations (for example, the number of characters) must also be considered.
Now let's talk about what stages marketing localization consists of and how to prepare your project for it.
Localization of marketing consists of several stages.
The first stage is preparation. We've already mentioned the importance of context and of understanding the product and market particularities for quality marketing localization. Often the product owner already has research data for the region, possesses knowledge of the target audience, and has formed a brand image. This information should also be applied to marketing localization.
This means it's a good idea for the client to prepare a localization kit, which includes information about the brand (the product or service) and their ideas about how the brand should “sound” to the user.
This includes the following materials:
The next step is to request a quote. Here you need to specify the amount of content to be localized, what industry the order is for, the desired time frame, and the file format for the finished translations. The localization partner assesses the task and provides information on the cost. Once the client has approved the cost, time frame, and other nuances, they transfer the actual content to be localized, as well as the localization kit materials. If the client has comments, they can contact the translator and discuss revisions. All this means some time and efforts.
When working via Nitro, the marketing localization process is faster. It looks something like this: the client submits the text for translation, selects the languages, attaches all additional materials, and within 24 hours receives a finished translation via email or the API.
Localization of marketing helps to personalize content for local users. In order for the content to remain creative, generate interest, and convert into action, localization must be professional and unobtrusive. This gives the user the sense of personalization that the product or service was created just for them. Striking the proper key, respect for cultural particularities, compliance with all technical restrictions — there are absolute musts.
For marketing localization, Alconost can be of assistance. Our service Nitro is a great option when you need to regularly translate marketing and other texts into multiple languages at once. The materials will be translated by native translators, taking context into account — quickly and without unnecessary correspondence.
Instructional video production is a task every IT company faces sooner or later. There’s no better way to ensure using your product is simple and intuitive than making a video to teach users the ins and outs.
If you’re tired of long-winded guides on how to come up with a decent tutorial video, Alconost is here to help. This article will explain the basics of producing a training video, share advice that you can implement in practice, and highlight key pitfalls to avoid.
Our focus here is on educational videos about digital products, such as software, apps, and online platforms. So if that is what your company develops, read on for some helpful insight!
Who wrote this article, and why should you trust them? The author is a video production manager with five years of experience under her belt. She gained this experience working for Alconost, an animated video production studio. Before switching to marketing writing, Natalia personally managed the production of dozens of instructional videos for IT products, from script writing to the final approval of finished videos by clients. In this article, she summarizes her own and her colleagues’ experience.
Now let’s move to the three key secrets to an effective video tutorial, some practical and applicable recommendations and insights straight from the Alconost Video Production backstage.
Alternatively, you can go back to the production facade.
Ideally, an instructional clip shows scenarios of successful interaction with the software. To enable your video tutorial to work this way, sketch out an impeccable logical foundation for your script before you even start writing it. To do this, create a table with three columns and approximately 10 rows. Each row is intended for a specific scene, and, naturally, you can add or subtract rows as needed. But let’s talk about the columns.
Use the first column to specify the gist of every scene, for example, ‘login window,’ ‘order placement,’ ‘payment process,’ etc. This will help you stay on topic, as any step away is a potential rabbit hole that can trap your user, making them lose focus.
The second column will serve as a log of actual steps with matter-of-fact descriptions of where to click to breeze through each phase successfully. These descriptions need to be detailed; imagine that you are writing a technical manual for a how-to video. Keep it as straightforward as possible, avoiding subplots.
The third column is for the voiceover content. An off-screen voice will comment on the actions the user is supposed to take. The narration will be closely linked to the actions in the second column, and one of your tasks will be to harmonize the actions with the spoken text.
This three-column structure helps you keep a holistic vision of your step-by-step video and build a clear logical path for navigating your software.
Need an example of a well-balanced walkthrough video? Watch this video for the Unight app and pay attention to how well the off-screen text corresponds to the actions in the frame.
We know it’s very tempting to opt for screen recording when you’re planning a learning video for your software. In fairness, screen recording really is a widespread method for creating amateur DIY video. It also comes in handy when you make game trailers.
But if you’re wondering how to make an instructional video with screen recording, we should tell you that in our experience, this method isn’t the best choice for a professional tutorial video. Here are the drawbacks:
Videos with screen recording are famous for sloppy screens and shaky cursors.
Once you start recording, you can do very little to smarten up your product’s UI.
Editing your videos will be a grueling and unrewarding job that never brings you satisfaction.
If you need a retake, any patches will most likely be noticeable, so your video won’t be seamless.
To end up with a flawless screencast that is easy to follow and pleasing to the eye, we recommend using static screenshots as source material. Capture screenshots of every action (remember that you described these actions in detail in the second column of your script) and animate them afterwards.
To anticipate the question of well-versed training managers, we’ll say that using simplified, stylized UI instead of the real interface is what we sometimes recommend for an explainer video or other kinds of marketing video content. But the best solution for tutorial videos, from our point of view, is an animated screencast.
Do you find it hard to believe that this method pays for itself, given how laborious it might be? Watch a demo video we created at Alconost about the HelpDesk for Jira plugin. It’s not a screen recording; it’s a painstaking animation of meticulously captured screenshots.
You can watch the full case study on how we made a software tutorial video for Jira Helpdesk. It reveals all the details, starting with the client's requirements and a description of how we made the screenshots come to life. It finishes with the spectacular results of this instructional video usage.
Apart from the screencast, this video features animated elements such as callouts, a cursor, click effects, and some animated graphics. Together, these touches help manage viewers’ attention, revitalize the video sequence, and give the educational clip a finished look.
As the HelpDesk for Jira plugin developers reported, they played this informative video at their booth at Atlassian Summit, an annual in-person event. In addition to a lot of positive feedback from their potentials and even from the other event sponsors, they noticed a 26% increase in booth attendance. It’s quite a compelling argument in favor of taking demo video production seriously, isn’t it?
When capturing screenshots, always use the same resolution and scale; for example, 1920x1080, 100%. Remember that to zoom in on a specific area, you might need a bigger initial resolution than standard FullHD. Otherwise a zoomed area will look messy because of the pixelization effect. For example, all screenshots for the HelpDesk for Jira video (above) were captured in the proportion of 2543x1439 pixels. This is what gave us ‘freedom to zoom!’
Do not ignore barely noticeable changes in the UI such as buttons being on or off, shading in an active string, etc. Capture these stages of interaction with your product too! They are only unnoticeable at first glance.
Track consistency: if you start your demonstration video with, let’s say, $100 in the top right tab of your account, the amount should change only as a result of the actions shown in the video, not at random.
If you showcase elements like contact lists or database entries, replace real personal or financial information with fictional data. If the product your lesson video is about is accessible via browser, you can do this via page source code editing.
This is a two-in-one secret.
First, record the off-screen narration before you start assembling the screencast for your instructional film. The narration is what determines how long your video will last. Then, at the screencast assembly stage, synchronize the animated actions with the voiceover, instead of doing it the other way around. This is the key to making a dynamic, balanced video with no lags.
By the way, it’s a good idea to review the voiceover text after you finish taking screenshots. The reason is simple: Chances are that while taking screenshots, you had to slightly adjust your initial script. This is fine, as theory is often at odds with practice. But if the actions changed even slightly, that most likely means the narrative part needs a slight revision, too, for a better match with the visual part.
Second, before you assign the narration task to a native-speaking voiceover talent, double check the volume of text they’re supposed to narrate.
The most common mistake at the amateur level of instructional video production is an imbalance between the video and audio. For example, the script might contain too much action for a video with a bare-bones voiceover. Or the opposite might happen: there are too many words in the voiceover part for only a handful of actions. This leads to the awkward situation when we’re still doing something in the software, but the voice isn’t making any comments, or the actions are completed, but the narrator is still talking.
To avoid this mistake in a guidance video, do tests to determine how many seconds each in-frame action will take, and adjust the voiceover text accordingly. In practice, most often this means shortening the voiceover text.
Need an example? Sure! Watch the informative video on how to automate invoice generation in the Febooti software. Notice how well-synchronized the voice is with the actions!
Want to know more? Check out one more article about software training videos.
Instructional videos show users how to interact with a product and give a quick overview of its features, even for people who are just browsing. They also provide quick help for customers who are experiencing issues with your product. Yes, when the user of your software, app or service runs into trouble or gets confused, it just might be your instructional video that can help them out… and snatch their loyalty back!
A good tutorial video can salvage the user experience and increase customer satisfaction. Learn about 5 reasons to order instructional videos at Alconost, or request a free quote for your own tutorial video project!
When sending a request, please briefly describe your product and give a link to it. Thank you!
What is audio localization in video games? Picture this: players enter your game and hear characters’ dialogues and all other spoken narratives in their native language. Yes, that’s what it is, and it’s that simple!
In this article, we’d like to speak about the benefits voice-over localization for video games can bring. We’ll also provide examples of professional video game dubbing, and help developers and publishers fix typical problems of audio translation for games by sharing our practice-based knowledge in simple words.
Game audio localization is a part of the game development process that enables game developers and publishers to increase the market potential of their game, create a more immersive gaming experience for players, and get more positive reviews from satisfied users.
Need more pros to video game dubbing? There are a few! Let’s elaborate.
Immersion: Without localized voiceover, the user experience would be lacking, even if the story itself is designed to be riveting. Translating game dialogue sets in the written form isn’t enough if the same text is being read out loud in the original language; localize the voiceover too!
Retention: With localized voice-overs, it should be easier for players to feel at home in the game universe and develop an emotional attachment to the game. With a comprehensive game language localization that includes voiceover, you can motivate the audience to actually keep playing, which can turn into a higher LTV and increased revenue. Sounds like a win-win, doesn’t it?
Better Reviews: Let's face it, players are more likely to leave positive reviews if they can understand the game's audio. If players are struggling to understand what's going on in the game because of language barriers, they might not enjoy the experience as much. Game audio localization can help ensure that players understand and enjoy your game, leading to better reviews, more installs, and higher sales.
Competitive Advantage: Offering multilingual game audio can help you attract players who are looking for games in their native language. Although subtitling for video games technically fills this gap, the necessity to constantly read endless lines of narrative might feel exhausting to some players and annoying to others, leading to player dissatisfaction and, subsequently, making them want to jump ship to games that are easier to deal with.
Look & sound native to your audience from the first marketing touch: localize your game trailer too when going global!
Cultural Appropriateness: Sometimes games feature characters of, for example, different ethnic origins, and this fact affects the way they speak. In a case like this, audio localization can help developers present the specifics of those characters in a way that players from another culture would be able to appreciate. Does that sound a bit too complicated? Read a little story below!
Life is Feudal: Your Own (LiF:YO) is a sandbox game with a realistic medieval atmosphere. The game character gives vocalized battle commands, screams in fear, moans when injured, recites prayers, etc. We recorded voice-overs for the character in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese; more details here.
Each line had to be recorded in four versions, with different accents that correspond to the player’s choice at the beginning of the game: a hero from the East, a hero from the North, a peasant hero, and a noble hero.
Listen to the examples below to see how Alconost succeeded in making the voice-overs sound genuinely authentic.
And there’s more. The character uses several rude exclamations to taunt enemies. Those phrases are intended to be offensive! But what feels offensive for a Spanish-speaking person might not be understood by a Brazilian Portuguese-speaking player the same way. As crazy as it sounds, the professional audio localization for this video game helped keep the rudest parts of the voiceover equally eloquent in both languages!
All this means that game audio localization can bring numerous benefits to game developers and publishers. It's not just about making the game accessible to more players, but also about creating a more immersive gaming experience that can lead to better reviews and a competitive advantage.
The gender of the character does not necessarily have to match the gender of the narrator. Professional voice actors are versatile and can successfully impersonate literally any creature.
Need to record a voiceover for a child or teenage character? Work with adult voice over talents! Need one of the weirdest reasons to do so? Well, children grow fast, and several years from now, it will be difficult to record add-ons to your game audio localization with the same voice! And yes, the childish effect is better achieved during the recording itself, not at the game audio engineering stage.
There’s no such rule as ‘one character—one artist.’ To reduce voiceover localization costs, consider limiting the quantity of voice talents involved. For example, for the English voiceover of the game ‘Camelot: Wrath of the Green Knight,’ 5 versatile artists lent their voices to over 20 characters!
For sure, the main responsibility for providing quality audio localization for a video game lies with the localization company. But there are several things game development studios and game publishers can do on their end in order to give their game voiceover localization project every possible advantage from the start.
Although you can find substantive tips on localizing audio here, below we give the most practical recommendations that can save you time, money, and sanity.
Write up with a document that describes each character in detail. Specify their name, gender, and age, and describe their look, role in the game's plot, attitude towards other characters, etc. Add a screenshot of each character or, better, a video showing them in action. Assets like this are extremely valuable for proper audio localization in video games. This will help you breeze through the casting stage and minimize the risk of unsuccessful takes on the recording stage.
To simplify game audio implementation, specify whether the voiceover lines should fit a specific timing, and do this before the project starts. Why, you ask? Meeting timing requirements is a job that starts as early as at the translation stage, long before the voiceover artists switch on their mics!
For the sake of simpler implementation, consider ordering the audio recording with file slicing and naming included. That means cutting a long narration into pieces and giving each piece an easily recognizable name that fits the internal logic of file organization in your game.
Specify your requirements for game audio post-production. Do certain voiceover files need a special touch (an added echo, robotic delivery, etc.)? Prepare references, if any, or simply provide your audio localization company with a textual description of the desired sound.
For one of the VR games developed by Avatarico (details here), we recorded voiceovers in English, German, Spanish, and Catalan. To enhance the effect and charge the atmosphere, the majority of audio files produced were post-processed.
Compare, for example, how the funny Robot Assitant sounded in Spanish before and after audio post-processing! For a better understanding of how powerful a game audio post-production can be, listen to the lines spoken by the Pyramid in German in both the raw and processed versions.
Alconost is here to help game developers and publishers who are looking to enhance the audio experience of their games. Below you can find several reasons game & app developers entrust Alconost with their product’s audio localization.
1. Extensive Game Localization Experience: Alconost has been providing game localization services for over 18 years. Now it’s an ISO-certified company that is familiar with the nuances of the multimedia localization industry… And has a never-ending passion for games!
2. Native-speaking Translators and Voiceover Artists: Alconost has a vast network of native-speaking translators and voiceover artists well-versed in game localization. They provide high-quality translations and voiceovers, accurately convey the meaning and tone of the original content, and implement their creativity and eloquence in exactly the way the customer needs.
‘Alconost gets the most out of their voice actors. Whatever you're looking for, they make it happen. :) It's nice that the company is ready to fulfill complex, unusual orders.’ — CEO at Avatarico, a VR quest developer
3. Custom Casting: Alconost offers custom voiceover selection free of charge. This helps game developers and publishers find the perfect voice actors for their characters. We at Alconost have a wide range of voice actors for a wide range of roles, and we have vast experience proposing the right actors for specific characters. Listen to the character voiceover samples in different languages below!
4. Good Feedback From Existing Customers: Alconost has been receiving positive feedback from many existing customers who have used our game audio localization services. We have helped game developers and publishers to enhance the audio experience of their games, and we’re committed to delivering high-quality work.
‘By partnering with Alconost, we were able to get quality voiceovers for our game project. Alconost's specialists were more than a match for the task. I would rate them five out of five.’ — COO at BitBox Ltd, a game development studio
5. Both Artistic and Budget-Friendly: Even if your budget is limited, subtitling for video games might not be the only option you can afford. We at Alconost help customers spend their game localization budget wisely, avoiding superfluous expenses without skimping on quality.
‘Voiceover costs are nothing that would startle developers who know the price of programmers' labor.’ — Chief Product Officer at Happymagenta, a development studio that commissioned voiceovers in 10 languages for their app from Alconost
Game audio localization is a must for game developers and publishers aiming for success in international markets. It requires a combination of technical expertise and creative talent. With Alconost's expertise in video game sound localization, you can rest assured that your game is in good hands. We are committed to providing game developers and publishers with the best possible audio localization services to help them create immersive, engaging games no matter the language.
Get your game ready for a global launch with Alconost. Our passionate and experienced localization professionals will have you covered!
Learn More On Audio Localization
A well-made trailer about your game can generate interest, build hype, and drive your game's sales. However, creating an effective video game trailer is not as easy as it may seem. It requires careful planning, a deep understanding of your target audience, and the right production team. The final cost of a game trailer video depends on various factors, such as length and the complexity of graphics and animation. Here at Alconost, we have produced over 150 game videos, including trailers and teaser trailers, and have a piece of advice on how to make a good video game trailer and what budget to plan for it.
In a demo reel below, you can see some highlights from various game trailers and teasers produced at Alconost.
When dealing with game trailers, we at Alconost always consider three main factors determining game trailer price. Among them are:
Similar to explainer videos, the number of scenes in a video game trailer is the factor that affects the price most. Rather than basing the pricing solely on the length of the trailer, we count the number of scenes. Each scene lasts 5—15 seconds on average.
As soon as a game trailer aims to showcase the game's features and captivate the viewer's attention, we recommend focusing on selected features rather than stuffing the trailer with too much content. A mindful approach to scriptwriting can really help here. For example, while working on the Infinitode 2 game trailer, we followed ‘one game feature, one scene’ principle that made the game trailer easy to follow.
The complexity of the animation also affects the game trailer cost. Depending on the game's genre and style, the trailer may require sophisticated graphics development from scratch or 3D animation. The production cost will be higher in such cases due to the labor-intensive design work and time-consuming rendering process. On the contrary, the simpler the animation, the lower the total price.
Good news is that even if you decide to stick to 2D animation, it doesn’t necessarily mean your video will be boring. Check out, for example, the Altar: War of Gods Trailer we made by means of 2D animation.
As an example of a game trailer with 3D animation, watch the Backgammon 3D Trailer below.
Adding extra assets to the trailer can also affect its pricing. For instance, writing an original music track or developing detailed graphics may increase the production cost. it To decide whether you need these extras or not, think of whether they enhance the trailer's overall quality and appeal to the target audience. Based on our experience, including superfluous assets may not always be necessary.
The cost of a game trailer is determined by several factors, such as the number and type of scenes included in the video. This may range from 2D or 3D animated graphics, gameplay footage, or a combination of both. Additionally, the source files provided, such as artwork that may or may not be animation-ready, and gameplay recordings, can also impact the final cost.
Furthermore, the need for different versions of the video can also increase the pricing. For example, in addition to the standard FullHD edition for YouTube, developers sometimes need shortened versions of their game trailer for advertising platforms, or versions with alternative aspect ratios. It's essential to consider these factors when determining the cost of a game trailer to ensure it meets both the developer's needs and the project's budget.
In the table below you’ll find rough estimates of production costs at Alconost for game trailers. The prices listed below include creating a script and translating it into the required language; recording the narration; purchasing a background track; storyboarding; animation; gameplay recordings cut; and audio design.
| Game Trailer Pricing | Budget | Price Range, US dollars |
| Low-budget trailer | 1,000 - 2,000 | |
| Mid-budget trailer | 2,000 - 3,000 | |
| High-budget trailer | 3,000 + |
Here you can find more specific details of video production and see how the game video cost may vary for the different types of trailers.
The cost of creating a video for a game promo can vary depending on its complexity and the number of scenes involved. While a ballpark figure of $1000 to $3000 is generally provided, this is not always the case as production costs may go beyond that. The labor intensity required for production is the key factor that affects the price. If a video consists mainly of gameplay footage and the footage is recorded in-house, the production requires fewer resources and will be on the lower end of the budget spectrum.
However, if the video includes animated graphics, the pricing will depend on whether the art is ready for animation or if it has to be developed from scratch. Typically, 2-D animation is less expensive than 3-D. If you require multiple versions of a game promo video, make sure to include these in the budget. At Alconost, we understand that ballpark figures can sometimes be confusing, so we provide tailored price estimates for each project.
We can also localize your video to any language for 50 to 80% of the original cost. Localization is complex and involves translating all on-screen text, recording new screencasts, translating and recording the voice-over for video games with a native speaker, and adjusting the animation to fit the new timing.
Working with Alconost to create a video game trailer is a smart choice for game developers and CEOs. , With years of expertise under our belt and over 150 game videos produced, Alconost is willing to help you create a video trailer that effectively showcases your game and generates interest in it. Boost your game marketing and promotion: try Alconost as your game trailer production company!
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