Multimedia localization for eLearning initiatives at Alpha CRC

Client challenge

• New training courses needed to be localized into ten languages to cover global employee base
• Courses contained multimedia content, including audiovisual files and interactive elements
• Liaising with multiple vendors for each part of the project would place heavy costs on internal resources

Solutions through Alpha CRC

• In-house linguists working in client-specific teams worked together to share information across languages
• State-of-the-art studios provided support for all audiovisual content that needed to be localized
• End-to-end project managers were on hand to oversee all elements of the localization process

Results of the project at Alpha CRC

• Training courses were consistent and on-brand in each locale, even as they were carefully adapted for each audience
• Audiovisual specialists covered all of the client’s subtitling, transcription, and interactive needs
• Project managers were able to refine workflows and provide a singular point of contact for the client

Promoting innovative employee education programs

One of our clients is a luxury fashion house has now become one of the most famous brands in fashion, most notable for its now iconic fabrics. Since first opening its doors, the brand now counts over 400 locations worldwide, and almost 9,000 employees.

As part of an initiative to improve their employee education processes, the brand decided to implement a new multimedia training and eLearning course to be displayed in web browsers. The project was to be accessible to employees worldwide, and thus required scripts, interactions, and subtitles to be localized into ten languages. Due to the complexity of the project, the company began looking for a linguistic services provider that could cover all aspects of a localization project, from translation to desktop publishing (DTP) and voiceover recording.

Enterprise localization at Alpha CRC

Alpha CRC had already established in-house teams dedicated to this client, which meant it could quickly provide linguists with extensive knowledge of the brand’s style and tone of voice for each region. This was instrumental in winning this new project.

Early discussions between the client and the in-house team at Alpha CRC resulted in the decision to have all course files delivered for localization in batches, starting with the script. This was delivered in excel format, and required initial translation as it would be required to record the new voiceovers to be used in the course. Batch two was the course itself, a compressed folder containing the necessary html files. The third and final batch contained the mp4 video files that were integrated into the course.

Splitting course content in this way allowed for concurrent progress on various elements of the multimedia localization project, ultimately reducing time needed for project delivery.

Detailed workflows incorporating client feedback

Once the overall process had been finalized, work began on the project itself. Alpha CRC’s teams of in-house linguists translated scripts, sharing information across languages to ensure tonal consistency, even as content needed to be carefully adapted for each individual target audience. With translation complete, the files were returned to the client for feedback. Any feedback was then incorporated into the task’s style guidelines to ensure that any amendments would be carried forward throughout the project.

The client then sent the course to Alpha CRC, which was prepared for translation, producing a html file. This file was then translated and sent to the DTP team, which integrated the html file back into the course. During this time, Alpha CRC’s audiovisual teams worked to provide subtitling and transcriptions for all of the course videos. These final videos were then incorporated into the course and prepared for stringent quality assurance, in which specialized linguists with specifically designed checklists combed all course assets for any errors.

Ready to for rollout

The course was ultimately delivered to the client in both SCORM and offline formats, ready to be rolled out in all ten languages. There were some challenges along the way – including audiovisual assets being nested inside each other, and quality assurance needing to take place in a live environment meaning issues had to be tracked outside of traditional computer-assisted translation tools such as memoQ. However, Alpha CRC project managers were able to work closely with the client to continually refine workflows and implement new recording methods to ensure any quality assurance issues were reported accurately.

With all content delivered, the client was able to implement their new employee education program across all regions to great success.