A localization checklist for product videos

A product video that works in one language rarely survives a translation untouched. The translated words can be perfect and the video can still miss, because the things around the words were made for one market: the price, the unit of measurement, the offer, the text printed on the packaging, the page the viewer lands on. This checklist walks through those things in the order you meet them. It is written with Clipelle's translate and lipsync flow in mind, but most of it applies however you translate.

Before you upload

Rights

Confirm two things before anything else: you own the video, and the person speaking has given you permission to use their voice and face in other languages. Clipelle asks you to tick this before any translation starts, and the server refuses the job without it. Treat it as a real question, not a formality. A video made by a freelancer or a creator often comes with a license for one use, and a translated version is a new use.

The source file

• Length and size: Clipelle accepts videos up to 32 MB and 3 minutes. If your video is longer, cut it to the part that matters before you upload.
• One speaker at a time. The translation keeps the speaker's own voice and matches the lips to the new language, which works best when speech is clear and not fighting background noise.
• Spoken language: pick it or let the service detect it. If the video mixes two languages, pick the one that carries the message.
• Silence at the start and end is trimmed automatically. A long intro with no speech is not, so cut it yourself if you do not want it.

Text baked into the picture

This is the point people miss most often. The translation changes the speech and the captions. It does not change text that is part of the footage: a title card, a label on the packaging, a price on a sticker, a sign in the background. If your source video has a lot of on-screen text, decide now whether you can live with it staying in the original language. For new videos you plan to translate later, keep the text in the picture to a minimum and let the speaker say it instead.

Words that must not change

The brand glossary

Write down every term that should come through untouched: brand name, product name, model numbers, ingredient names, feature names you use consistently, and anything trademarked. Clipelle has a glossary field for exactly this: terms to keep. Fill it in before the first language, and reuse the list for every language that follows.

Decide once whether your product name is translated. In most cases it is not. If your product is called "Nightfall Serum" in English, it is probably still "Nightfall Serum" in German.

Numbers and units

A translation keeps the number that was spoken. It does not convert inches to centimeters, dollars to euros, or Fahrenheit to Celsius. Go through the script and list every number:

• Prices and currencies. Is the price the same in the target market? If not, the spoken line is wrong there, no matter how good the translation.
• Sizes, weights and temperatures. Does the market use the same units?
• Quantities and durations. "Lasts thirty days" is fine everywhere. "Ships in two days" probably is not.

If a number has to differ per market, you have two options: keep the source video market-neutral ("fits most backpacks" instead of "fits a 15-inch laptop"), or record a version of the source with the right number for that market. There is no translation setting that changes a number for you, and you would not want one that silently did.

Offers, claims and dates

"Free shipping", "this week only", "clinically tested", "best seller": each of these can be true at home and false, or even not allowed, in the target market. Check the offer against what you can honor there and check the claims against what you are allowed to say there. When in doubt, cut the line from the source before you translate.

During: the automatic quality check

When Clipelle translates, each translated line is compared with the original before the paid render: missing or added words, meaning, numbers, names and natural phrasing. Lines that fall short are corrected within the timing, and the changes and warnings are shown on the project page per language. Read them. A corrected line tells you the first draft of that line was off. A warning tells you something you should look at yourself, often a number or a name that the glossary did not cover.

The check is a good safety net, not a replacement for a native speaker in the market you care most about. For your biggest new market, have one person who lives there watch the finished video once. For the rest, the check plus your own review is usually enough. Read one video, ten languages, no reshoot for how that scales.

Speed or Precision

Clipelle offers two modes. Speed is the standard lipsync. Precision redraws the mouth for the new language, takes longer and costs more. The choice depends on how large the face is in the frame:

• A close-up talking head where the mouth fills a good part of the screen: Precision earns its cost.
• A demo where the speaker is small, half turned away or only in frame some of the time: Speed is usually fine.

The form shows the estimate for both before you start, so you can compare per video.

Captions and format

• Captions are burned in. Pick low or middle. Low is the natural reading position; middle keeps captions clear of app interfaces that cover the bottom of the screen. If you do not know where the video will be posted, middle is the safer choice.
• Languages differ in length. A sentence that fits comfortably in English can be noticeably longer in German or Finnish, so watch the captions once at normal speed and check that you can read them.
• Format: 9:16 or the original size. Pick 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts; keep the original when the video goes on a product page or in an email.
• Picture enhancement is optional. Use it when the source is soft; skip it when the source is already sharp.

After the render: one pass per language

Run this short review for every language version. Several languages render in parallel, so you will usually review them in one sitting.

1. Watch once with sound off. Do the captions read naturally? Are names and numbers right?
2. Watch once with sound on. Does the voice still sound like the speaker? Does the mouth match on the lines that are closest to the camera?
3. Check every number against the price list and the shipping terms for that market.
4. Check the call to action. Does the page it points to exist in that language, and does it show the same offer?
5. Look at the text in the picture. Is anything in the original language a problem for this market?
6. Look at the first frame. It is what people see before they press play.

Where the video lands

A localized video that leads to a page in the wrong language loses most of what you gained. Before you publish, confirm that the product page, the checkout and your customer support are ready for that language, or at least that the viewer is not surprised. If they are not ready, hold the video until they are. Choosing where to start is its own question; which languages to localize first covers it.

The one-page version

• Rights confirmed for voice and face.
• Source under 32 MB and 3 minutes, one clear speaker.
• Text in the picture reviewed; acceptable or removed.
• Glossary filled in: brand, product, model numbers, feature names.
• Every spoken number checked for the target market.
• Offers and claims checked for the target market.
• Speed or Precision chosen per video.
• Caption position and format chosen for where it will be posted.
• Quality check corrections and warnings read.
• One review pass per language, sound off and sound on.
• Landing page ready in that language.