Storyline Translation Project Variables
Note: This blog is being written while listening to The Bill Evans Trio’s classic jazz album Waltz for Debby.
Articulate Storyline translation projects typically vary significantly in their complexity. In our experience virtually no two Storyline translation projects are the same in scope or in project skill requirements.
Exporting the text from Storyline and determining the word count of the course’s basic slide text is straightforward. Frequently however, Storyline translation projects have more to consider. A few things we’ve learned to check for are listed below.
- Embedded graphics text. Sometimes graphical elements have text associated with them that the Storyline export doesn’t include. Graphics text that’s appropriate for translation must be identified separately and considered as part of the project.
- Audio narration. Narration or other spoken audio content is another candidate for translation (via a transcript) and then producing a professional voiceover in the target language(s). Complexity here is added as a result of the need to produce a new voiceover. Sometimes clients have an existing script for spoken audio content. When they don’t then the audio content needs to be transcribed (listened to and written down as it’s spoken prior to translation). The new audio must also be integrated into the final Storyline project.
- Videos with spoken audio. Videos are sometimes part of a course. If there’s spoken audio in the videos then translation/localization can occur through either adding subtitles in the target language or dubbing new voiceovers. We generally price both options for clients and let them decide. Clients on occasion might also decide to leave videos untranslated.
