Dubbing markets and subtitling markets
Audience habits were set by decades of television. Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Spain dub most foreign-language film and TV, so dubbed ads feel natural there and subtitles can feel like the cheaper version. Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Flanders and Portugal subtitle most imported programmes, so audiences read comfortably and often prefer original voices, although children's content is dubbed even there. Poland has its own tradition of a single lector voice read over the original. For advertising, follow the local habit by default, then test: a subtitled English film may work in Stockholm and fall flat in Madrid.
Lip-sync, voice-over and timing
Choose the sync level shot by shot. Off-screen narration is the easiest to localise, because only timing matters. Interviews and documentaries can use voice-over, with the original audible underneath. Faces speaking to camera need lip-sync, either by adapting the translation to the length of each line and the visible mouth shapes, which dubbing writers call isochrony and lip-sync, or by regenerating the mouth to fit the new language. Translations usually run longer than English, so adapt the script to the time available rather than speeding up the voice. Re-animating a real person's mouth is manipulated video: it needs their consent and, in the EU, may need disclosure.
Replace on-screen text, do not cover it
Supers, lower thirds, product screens, packaging, signage and end cards all carry language. Covering them with a translated strip looks cheap and hides the picture. Replace them at source, which means keeping text on separate layers in the master or rebuilding it in the edit. Legal lines are market-specific: in France, the Toubon law of 1994 requires advertising to be in French, with any foreign-language wording accompanied by a French translation that is as legible, audible or intelligible. Dates, prices, units and phone numbers need local formats, and a translated super must still fit its safe area.
Native review per market
Machine output can be fluent and still wrong: a pun that dies, a formal register where the brand speaks casually, a product name that sounds like something rude, a gesture that means something else locally. Budget a native reviewer for every language, briefed on the brand's tone and terminology, and give them the picture, not just the script. Synthetic White dubs voice-over into 30 languages with timing preserved, localises on-screen copy with terminology and approved claims enforced, and routes each version through approvals with roles and sign-off, so the in-market reviewer's approval is on record.
Updated 25 September 2026