How AI-Dubbing is Transforming Media Localization for Businesses

AI dubbing, also known as machine dubbing, has been around for a few years, and the technology keeps getting better. And the best part about it is that dubbing, which used to be accessible only to organizations able to afford specialized studios, is now available to you, whether you are a medium, small or large company, or even a company of one. AI has made that possible.

This means that businesses of any size, from the lone content creator to a bookkeeping company of five or a multinational emporium can now plan, not just aspire to, have their videos dubbed into many languages with high quality results (with human expert intervention to ensure that is the case).

What’s Behind the Scenes?

Several technologies play a role before a final dubbed video can be shown to the world. Let us pretend we are a producer about to plan a dubbing project and look at each of these technologies. This will help explain how they come together to create magic in minutes.

First, to dub a video its audio track must already exist. This could be a talking head, a narrated explainer or any other kind of video. When there is a script, we can skip the first step and move on to machine translation. But if our video was a spontaneous recording of an inspirational speech or a great company webinar, a technology called Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) can capture the speech and display it as text.

In AI dubbing, ASR is used as a step to automatically transcribe the original audio track. A human expert can then review the transcription to ensure it correctly matches the audio.

Once the transcription is finalized, it is ready for AI-enabled Machine Translation (MT). MT is used to translate the transcribed text from the original language into one or more target languages.

Additional steps include Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE) which is a review by a human expert to ensure that the translation is correct linguistically and culturally. This expert will also ensure that the number of characters in the target language is close enough to the original. This is done to facilitate matching the dubbed parts as closely as possible to the original narration or dialogue for a natural flow.

Next in our production tasks is Text-to-Speech (TTS) synthesis: TTS is a technology that converts written text into spoken language. In AI dubbing, TTS is used to generate new audio tracks for the dubbed video in the target language(s).

Audio tracks can also be customized to match the original actors' voice using AI prosody / voice cloning or to create new AI voices that might be more appropriate for the target audience. Prosody refers to the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech. Voice cloning is a technology that uses AI to replicate a particular person's voice based on a sample as short as 30 seconds of audio. This technology can help make the dubbed audio sound more authentic.

Lastly, AI lip-syncing technology can make our dubbed videos even better by using advanced algorithms that analyze and replicate natural lip movements. The technology looks at the sounds and visual cues of the original speech, and then generates corresponding lip movements for the dubbed audio track.

For AI lip-synching to work well, facial recognition and motion tracking are needed. Luckily, AI is capable of improving synchronization, integrating emotions and expressions for a more realistic result.

How It All Comes Together

The process described above follows a sequence called a “cascaded approach,” in which each technology builds upon the output of the previous step and prepares the stage for the next one. This particular flow has six steps/technologies: ASR, MT, TTS, AI Prosody / Voice Cloning, and AI Lip Synching.

Some users may apply a shorter cascade approach, such as AST + MT + TTS, depending on video needs. For example, a recorded university lecture may be OK with this shorter cascade to AI dubbing, plus automated subtitles and closed captions to make it accessible.

In the cascade approach, a chain-like process is created, where errors or inaccuracies can propagate. That is why human expert intervention at each stage is recommended. Plus, just like with traditional audio dubbed by voice talents, the final target language audio tracks can be improved with audio editing techniques. These are some of the most popular techniques:

• Prosody adjustment: Editing the pitch, timing, and stress patterns of the synthesized speech can make it more natural and expressive. This can be done using specialized, traditional digital audio editing apps that include tools for modifying prosodic features.

• Voice conversion/cloning: If the original voice is available, voice conversion or cloning techniques can be applied to the synthesized speech to make it sound more like the original speaker. This involves training and fine-tuning a machine learning model on the original voice data and using it to modify the synthesized audio.

• Emotional expression enhancement: Adding emotional nuances to the synthesized speech can make it more engaging and believable. This can be done by selecting a TTS model that supports emotional expression or by using emotion-aware voice conversion techniques.

While basic prosody adjustments can be made using standard audio editors, getting a high degree of emotional and expressive accuracy in other languages with AI-dubbing often requires specialized tools and techniques.

These techniques are found in editing capabilities specifically designed for refining AI-generated speech, in turn offered by full AI-dubbing platforms (i.e., those platforms that can do everything from transcript to final, publishable quality product).

These full-service AI dubbing platforms leverage machine learning models to analyze and modify the synthesized audio, making it easier to match the original speech's nuances. Additionally, experienced audio engineers can further enhance the quality of the dubbed audio, adjusting individual sounds, adding breaths and pauses, and ensuring that the overall performance aligns with the original dialogue or narration.

Where Should You Use AI Dubbing

Ensuring all types of video content are accessible for global audiences makes a lot of sense, especially because using automated dubbing will not break the bank. Of course, the use of AI-enabled technologies should follow a set of good practices and legislation, where available. Protecting intellectual property, including the voice and resemblance of real people, is a good starting point.

These are some of the types of videos that can dubbed using AI for increased engagement and a more diverse audience:

• Single speaker videos: AI dubbing can be an affordable and efficient way to translate a single speaker's video, such as a YouTube tutorial or an independent podcast.

• Multi-speaker videos: AI dubbing can be used to translate multi-speaker videos, such as panel discussions or webinars.

• Creator videos: AI dubbing enables content creators to expand their reach beyond their native language audience, increasing monetization opportunities. For example, a travel vlogger can dub their videos in various languages to attract viewers from different countries for whom the content will be relevant.

• Corporate videos: Companies can use AI dubbing to localize training videos, product demos, and internal communications. This doubles as a way to follow accessibility regulations while improving productivity, reducing miscommunications, and fostering inclusivity.

• Marketing videos: AI dubbing can help businesses expand their marketing efforts with translated promotional or informational videos and advertisements, reaching potential customers in new markets.

• Educational videos: Educational institutions and online course creators can leverage AI dubbing to make their content accessible to learners worldwide. This can lead to increased enrollment and a more diverse student body. Some subjects are universal, so the opportunities in this field with dubbed content are enormous.

• Video games: Game developers can use AI dubbing in their games for different markets, adding character affectations and overall making them more appealing and natural for local markets. Accessibility: AI dubbing can be used to create not just dubbed narration and dialogues, but also audio descriptions for visually impaired audiences, providing a more inclusive experience.

Scaling video content localization with AI brings about a few benefits, especially for those users that already have a library of videos that could work in other languages and cultures.

AI dubbing automates the video localization process in a way that significantly reduces the time and resources required (compared to traditional methods). Plus, the speed to market alone can make a big difference in a company’s growth prospects.

AI-enabled dubbing tools also offer some technical advantages. For example, they have been proven to maintain consistency in voice quality across different languages, ensuring a professional and polished final product.

Localized versions of videos embedded in websites, online learning platforms, e-commerce platforms, and social media channels cater to the preferences and cultural nuances of different audiences. This “local” approach strengthens brand engagement and builds trust with customers.

Whatever the purpose, information, education, entertainment or edutainment, AI dubbing can help increase reach, potential customer bases, and revenue streams. It’s a business opportunity not to be missed.