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Subtitle localization and media translation

Subtitle Localization & Media Translation

Timed, readable, broadcast-ready. Across subtitles, metadata, and the full content lifecycle.

 

Alafranga's media team handles subtitle localization, dubbing script adaptation, voice-over translation, SDH, and content catalogue metadata for streaming platforms, broadcast networks, distributors, and corporate video production. We work in both directions: international content into Turkish, and Turkish drama out to international buyers, from the Turkish source.

Subtitle localization is not document translation with timestamps. Every line has a reading speed limit, a character constraint, and a synchronisation requirement and the translation still has to sound natural when read against moving image. A subtitle that is technically correct but reads awkwardly disrupts the viewing experience. A subtitle that flows naturally but mistimes the cut fails the brief.

 

More than a vendor. A language partner.
 
Every subtitle and dubbing project starts with the right people. We assign a lead subtitler or dubbing adapter, a subject-matter reviewer with domain knowledge in your content type, a project manager, and a technical QA specialist. For broadcast deadlines and high-volume media releases, additional specialists are brought in without compromising the review chain.


▮What We Handle

  • Timed Subtitles Subtitle files produced to broadcast and streaming specifications such as correct timing, reading speed within platform limits, character counts respected, natural-reading translation throughout. Delivered in SRT, STL, EBU-STL, TTML, WebVTT, and other formats on request.
  • Dubbing Scripts Translated scripts adapted for lip-sync dubbing where the translation must fit the mouth movement patterns of the original performance. Requires a different approach from subtitle work and a translator with specific dubbing script experience. For Turkish drama sold into Western Europe, we prepare German, French, Italian and Spanish scripts from the Turkish source.
  • Voice-Over Scripts Translated scripts for voice-over narration such as corporate video, documentary, e-learning, and instructional content. Timed to the original audio where required, or delivered as clean translated script for independent recording.
  • SDH: Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Subtitles that include speaker identification, sound descriptions, and other accessibility elements required for SDH compliance on streaming and broadcast platforms. Since 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act has required services that give access to audiovisual media to provide subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, in the language of each market. We produce SDH in Turkish and in European languages. More about SDH
  • Content Catalogue Metadata Title and synopsis localization for streaming platform content libraries for short, medium, and full synopsis variants delivered against strict platform character limits. Series, season, and episode hierarchy consistency. Cast and crew metadata formatting. Romanization decisions for international discoverability. Bidirectional: localizing incoming international content for the Turkish market, and Turkish productions for international distribution catalogues.
  • Corporate & Training Video Internal communications, training video, product demonstrations, e-learning modules, webinars, and conference recordings. Turkish and 40 languages. Fast turnaround available for time-sensitive productions.
 
Turkish series reach buyers in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and beyond, and almost every language version is built on an English template. When the template carries a mistranslation, every language built on it carries it too. We work from the Turkish source, so the error is caught at the first step.

  • English Pivot Templates Timed English subtitle templates from the Turkish original, written for reading speed and for translation into further languages: idioms explained, names and forms of address kept consistent, cultural references made clear.
  • Subtitle and AI Output Review Review of English or European-language subtitles produced elsewhere, including AI output, against the Turkish source. We correct meaning errors and return a short report of what we found.
  • Dubbing Scripts for European Markets German, French, Italian and Spanish dubbing scripts prepared from the Turkish source through our specialist network, with one glossary for character names, places and recurring terms across the whole series.
  • International Catalogue Metadata English titles, synopses and credits for Turkish productions: a decision to keep, translate or romanize each title, names with ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş and ü that work in international content systems, and synopses rewritten for viewers outside Türkiye.

▮Why a Dedicated Media Team 
The disciplines required for subtitle, dubbing, voice-over, and metadata work do not transfer from general translation. A document translator producing subtitles will write correctly but miss the reading-speed limit. A subtitler asked to write dubbing scripts will translate accurately but ignore lip movement constraints. A general translator asked to produce platform metadata will write a perfectly readable synopsis that exceeds the 220-character limit by forty characters and breaks the platform's content management import.

Each format has its own constraints, its own conventions, its own tooling, and its own quality criteria. Our media team works on these formats every day, against the platform-specific rules that govern them, with the project management infrastructure built for high-volume, deadline-driven media production. That is why we run this as a separate operation.
 
 
▮Questions We Are Asked
What is the difference between subtitle localization and document translation? Every subtitle line has a reading speed limit, a character constraint and a synchronisation requirement, and it still has to read naturally against the moving image. Our media team works on timed text every day; the work is not routed through our general translation workflow.

Do you translate Turkish drama for international distribution? Yes. We work from the Turkish source: English pivot templates, review of subtitles produced elsewhere or by AI, dubbing scripts for German, French, Italian and Spanish, and English catalogue metadata. We have written English metadata for more than 30 Turkish productions in an international streaming catalogue.

What subtitle and media formats do you deliver? Subtitles in SRT, STL, EBU-STL, TTML, WebVTT and other formats on request, to broadcast and streaming specifications. Dubbing scripts in client templates. Voice-over scripts timed to the original audio, or as clean scripts for independent recording.

Do you produce SDH for the European Accessibility Act? Yes. SDH includes speaker identification and sound descriptions. Since 28 June 2025, services that give access to audiovisual media in the EU must provide it in the language of each market. We produce SDH in Turkish and in European languages.

Which languages do you cover for media work? Turkish is our founding language, active since 2002. We cover 40 languages for media work, including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Arabic and Greek, managed by one media team under a single point of contact.

Do you localize corporate and training video? Yes: internal communications, training video, product demonstrations, e-learning modules, webinars and conference recordings, with fast turnaround for time-sensitive productions.