Crossover Dreams

CROSSOVER

DREAMS When Captain America pulled out his to-do list in the movie “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” the items changed in the film’s various overseas versions to account for cultural differences.

WHILE AMERICAN PROGRAMming has been available to overseas viewers for decades, the sheer quantity, and opportunity, for content producers cranked up to a whole new level with the advent of streaming. From one streaming platform that was available in 2007 to over 300 worldwide today, the capability of releasing movies and TV shows to nearly every country on the planet almost simultaneously has forever changed our industry.

With that change comes the challenge of preparing content for international release. While not everyone on Earth may speak the same language, a huge number of people may like the same story. The job, then, becomes translating the story so viewers around the world understand, appreciate and enjoy it. The trick is doing it well and doing it right. The process for doing so is called localization.

Localization is a very broad and generalized term that can mean many things to different people. In this article, we are focusing on what it means for the media and entertainment industry. We’re excluding localization of websites, printed media or videos used by other industries.

Along the pipeline, movies and TV shows are shot, post-produced, finished and then localized for global distribution to consumers via any number of viewing services, including traditional broadcast, pay TV and on-demand.

Changing perceptions, on the part of global consumers as well as the production and distribution companies, have caused localization to undergo a major strategic shift.

DUBBING MADE BETTER

Historically localization involved the dubbing and or subtitling of a show into different languages. Today, the process includes several additional factors to make content culturally acceptable to different consumers and governments.

In the past, when consumers contemplated the idea of watching a dubbed foreign film they might have conjured up memories of a terribly out-of-synch and out-of-character voice coming from the screen that took them completely out of the story narrative and was almost a distraction. That’s why the localization process has changed. It now involves all the creative and artistic tools of original filmmaking.

TO REAP THE LARGEST FINANCIAL REWARDS OF GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION, U.S. PROGRAMMING MUST ADJUST TO LOCAL-COUNTRY CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC NORMS.

BY TERESA PHILLIPS & CHRIS CAREY

Because the art in dubbing is more sophisticated today, content is more attractive to a large group of consumers who may previously have never wanted to watch a foreign film before but can now do so easily and enjoyably.

A few of the major components of a high-quality dub include: ■ Script Adaptation – This ensures the translation is not just literal, but also takes into account the linguistics and context of the messages. It also involves choosing the right word to best fit the original actor’s lip movements. ■ Casting – The actor used for dubbing needs to have the voice and performance style that fits the original performer’s. ■ Directing – A director helps guide the best possible performance from the voice actors. ■ Recording and Mixing – By using state-ofthe-art acoustics and sound recording technologies, soundtracks deliver an experience equal to the original version, and allow the viewer to be fully immersed in taking the journey into the storytelling experience.

DEEPENING THE FOCUS

Production and distribution company executives no longer wait until a big opening weekend for a film in the United States, and then say, “Oh, by the way let’s see if we can make some money internationally.” Today, a fully localized global release is very much part of the day-one production planning process.

That’s because the multitude of streaming services have allowed content producers to reach global consumers much more easily, which can unlock substantial revenue. The same holds true for productions that premiere on various forms of television in the U.S.

To do so, savvy producers think about culture beyond language. Other factors directly inform and beneficially influence localization. Knowing where you were born, the religion you’re likely to practice and even the part of a country where you grew up gives companies involved in localization informed ideas about who you are or may be.

Knowing where you live also gives clues about your values, your customs, your beliefs, your history and what stories you may like. It tells companies what holidays you’re likely to honor, how you may dress and what you may eat. Culture is like a fingerprint: it helps identify you.

For example, Marvel and The Walt Disney Co. made some slight changes to its 2014 release, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” When Steve Rogers (Captain America) pulls out a to-do list of all the things he missed while frozen, the list is different from country-to-country to account for culture. For example, the U.S. audience sees “Star Trek,” while the United Kingdom audience sees “Beatles,” and the Korean audience sees “Dance Dance Revolution” (a video game series).

Culture-specific information suggests which stories may entertain certain viewers without offending them or trigger censorship by regulators. Subjects that should be avoided and ways stories should be written also become clear. Culture is what makes a story understandable and acceptable.

While localization is fixed in a specific language and geography, culture travels with the viewer wherever they go. For example, a Korean mother who lives in San Francisco may want to filter and select TV shows for her children based on her Korean values, not American values. And if her multi-generational family is living together (as is frequently the case for Asian and Indian families), her parents will most certainly want to screen content based on their native language and culture.

Here’s a parallel that makes this more understandable. The food in your favorite Chinese restaurant isn’t tasty because the owners speak Mandarin. It’s because their cooks understand how the recipe should be prepared. They use a certain combination of ingredients. It might be that “grandma’s secret ingredient” is what makes it taste better than anyone else’s. Authenticity comes from knowing how the flavors come together when it’s cooked. And needless to say, there are real differences between Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese food, too. That’s culture.

And yet, while that’s true, there are certain stories that travel across cultures. The Academy Award-winning South Korean film “Parasite” was successful and viewed by many millions of people around the world not because it was translated into multiple languages, but because the story of a family of grifters scheming to live off a wealthier family was relatable and engaging.

AVOIDING AGE LIMITATIONS

Culture is constantly overlooked as a factor when a movie or TV show applies for or utilizes an age rating. Every country or territory requires a rating regardless of distribution method (theatrical, linear, streaming or disk). The process and rules for obtaining one vary from country to country.

It’s not just the finished work that can cause problems. Artwork, packaging, placement and trailers can all raise concerns or create controversy. One example that may be more well known to U.S. readers is the “Cuties” controversy at Netflix.

Known in other countries as “Mignonnes,” the “Cuties” film focuses on the story of a “young Senegalese girl living in Paris who struggles to find her identity, torn between her family’s Muslim traditions and her peer group’s attempts to emulate the sexualized personae of women as portrayed in Western culture and on social media,” according to Yahoo.

The difference in the artwork is what triggered the controversy. The original artwork for the film depicted four girls walking up a street in Paris, while the U.S. artwork depicted the girls provocatively dancing. This led to criticism of the film in the U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who had admittedly not seen the film, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard called the film “child porn.” The film was also falsely labeled by QAnon as promoting pedophilia, feeding

KNOW THY REGULATOR

REGULATORS SEE THEMSELVES AS

defenders of their country’s culture and values, and they take their role very seriously. Ignoring them can mean the difference between a successful or unsuccessful international release.

This is serious stuff and just a few examples make the point: ■ An LGBTQ+ kiss can get a show banned in Russia. ■ Depicting a government negatively can trigger censorship in any number of countries. ■ Drug use that’s normalized or glorified is banned in Singapore. ■ Depiction of suicide that’s romanticized or detailed can draw the attention of regulators in New Zealand and the

United Kingdom. ■ In India, portraying a character with religious sensitivities could land you in deep trouble with the law. That happened with the TV series “Tandav.”

conspiracy theories that had nothing to do with the film.

The media backlash resulted in a boycott of Netflix, and many offended customers canceled their subscriptions. While the film was not banned or pulled in the U.S., Turkey’s censorship board, the RTUK (whose formal name is translated as the Radio and Television Supreme Council), ordered it removed from the service in Turkey on the grounds that the film contained images of child exploitation and abuse.

Age ratings are more important now because of streaming platforms’ explosive growth and the increasing amount of new content that’s available overseas. They are often the only indicator consumers have to determine whether content is suitable for their children or family members. Obtaining a rating that is too restrictive can have an adverse impact on box office, and not just in countries with assertive regulators.

In Germany, for example, the difference between the number of moviegoers who could attend a film deemed suitable for people aged 12 and up, and those who are 16 and up, is 3.7 million. The average German movie ticket costs $12.50, so obtaining a “16” rating rather than a “12” rating would mean the loss of a potential $46.7 million in additional box office revenue. Once content moves online, adversely rated or banned titles may not be discovered by consumers due to platform search engines or parental preferences that exclude them. Again, this can have a significant impact on revenue.

There’s a familiar maxim in business about “knowing your customer,” that even in the old days meant you had to understand their interests and learn their wants and needs. That’s what culture is all about. It is as true for the media and entertainment sector as it is for any other business.

Without understanding a market’s culture

and incorporating that understanding into the content creation process – from writing to production to post-production through distribution – localization is an incomplete process. And it may not contribute to box office, or streaming, success. Language translations Age ratings are more alone may not provide significant economic payback.important now because While some content producers have expeof streaming platforms’ explosive growth and rience in localizing their titles, many more do not. The trick is doing it well and doing it right. The financial benefits for taking the increasing amount the time to do both can be significant and of new content. well worth the investment. Plus, it affirms the value of local cultures in an increasingly connected global society. The good news is that expertise exists and is readily available to anyone seeking to release content internationally and willing to take advantage of it. Those that do will be glad they did.

Teresa Phillips is CEO and co-founder at data and technology company Sphere. Chris Carey is EVP marketing and corporate development at Iyuno-SDI. They can be reached at teresa.phillips@spherex.com and chris.carey@iyunomg.com, respectively.

FIND GAME CHANGING MEDIA TALENT

STREAMLINE YOUR NEXT JOB SEARCH FOR EXPERIENCED AND TECH-SAVVY MEDIA PROFESSIONALS WITH A HIGHLY VISIBLE JOB POST ON TVNEWSCHECK. Visit MediaJobCenter.com

From NewsCheckMedia