Multimedia project for the snappy, multilingual news channel EuroparlTV

All the European Parliament news in 24 languages

Executive summary

Our client for this multimedia project is EuroparlTV, the online video service of the European Parliament, a leading source of information in the institutional sector. This television channel aims to publicise the work of the Parliament by creating short videos, of around 1 minute, which are subtitled in the 24 languages of the EU and shared online and via social networks. The videos fall into one of two categories: news videos about what is currently happening in Parliament, which are for immediate broadcast; or informative, report-style videos, which are broadcast over a longer period. This service was previously awarded through a tender process to a single news agency, which provided a comprehensive service that included recording, creating, and translating all the videos. The process followed by this supplier required the translators to be on site at the European Parliament premises to carry out their work. This constraint restricted the choice of translators to those who were available, regardless of the quality of their work. A remote system, however, would have allowed the most suitable translators to have been selected every time.

Following an internal review process, the institution itself decided to modify the structure of the process for awarding the contract, and divided it into parts: news agencies, a production company offering the latest technological developments, and a language services provider. Each successful bidder would therefore be responsible for their own specialist area.  In the light of this change to the system, CPSL decided to submit a bid, which was successful. The other winning bidders were two news agencies and the production company that developed the digital platform technology.

At CPSL we believe that the multimedia format is a field full of possibilities. We have experience in both the institutional and private sectors, providing quality to content localization in multiple languages and optimal time frames

The challenge

• Immediacy: The main challenges that face us are immediate delivery of the translation, as well as the unpredictability of events and news associated with the current events dealt with in the videos. EuroparlTV requires news subtitles within 2 hours for the 5 most widely-spoken languages in the EU:French, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish, and 6 hours for the remaining languages.
• Versatility: The next challenge is to obtain the best possible team of versatile translators: those with knowledge of institutional parlance, basic knowledge of subtitling, ample schedule flexibility and technical skills to work with an online platform, as well as availability compatible with the customer’s delivery deadline requirements
• Unpredictability: As the subject matter of the videos is intertwined with current events, frequent changes to delivery deadlines take place and must be managed appropriately. Most of the videos are launched after 4 in the afternoon, the most frequent time span being between 5 and 7 in the afternoon.
• Coordination: Lastly, a project like this, which is awarded to several specialized providers, demands exceptional coordination and communication between all the parties involved.

How CPSL helped?

As a language services provider, which has been collaborating with European institutions for more than 30 years, at CPSL we have extensive experience in implementing institutional projects, allowing us to quickly identify and strengthen those aspects in which we can add value to this project:

1. Tried and tested processes and workflows, which assure quality control and guarantee that delivery deadlines are met, as well as a risk analysis for each project;

2. Technologies for management;

3. Technologies for translation, subtitling, and voice-over;

4. High degree of availability and flexibility thanks to the global presence of our project management teams and linguists;

5. Scalable, with an extensive network of professional translators worldwide covering multiple languages;

6. Integrated video production process thanks to the implementation of a more sophisticated platform for the translation of subtitles, which has streamlined the process to make both the broadcasting and the implementation of updates and corrections to the original content as well as the translations more efficient.

Below, we describe the process that CPSL has developed to ensure an optimal service for the project and guarantee that the client will have their video, ready for broadcast, on the day and at the time requested.

The news agency responsible for creating the video (France Presse or ESN) uploads the video to a technical platform (WorkSpace) developed specifically for this project. Once the video has been uploaded, the same platform generates a job for each language (i.e. 46 jobs per video), which is allocated to an expert linguist, either a translator or a reviewer, chosen specifically in each case, to work on the relevant video. The technical platform also provides a direct link to the video, so that the linguist can view it and obtain the context necessary for performing their translation or revision task. Furthermore, translators have to bear in mind that the time codes are the same for all languages, so the translations need to be of a similar length to the original.This technical platform, along with its functionalities, is one of the keys to the success of this process, because it simplifies and streamlines the work of everyone involved. As well as uploading the video to the platform, the news agency also uploads a file containing all of the associated metadata (title, description, etc.) and fills out a form detailing what is to be translated, into which languages, and when it is to be broadcast. The platform uses this form, and the files uploaded by the agency, to generate all the material for CPSL to work on. Once the subtitles and metadata are translated, the same technical platform combines the data to generate 23 resulting videos, which are automatically broadcast at the scheduled time by the client.

For each video, there are 46 linguists (23 translators and 23 reviewers) to be coordinated, bearing in mind that schedule changes and unexpected incidents arise constantly. Any such change or incident must be communicated to everyone involved in the project, so they can incorporate them into each stage of the process they are working on. For example, if an error is detected in the original video, this is communicated to the news agency that created the video, to all of the linguists involved, and to the Quality Assurance (QA) team.

Results & ROI

This collaborative process has been in place for more than a year now and the project has been, and still is, highly successful, despite the constant challenges it poses to all those involved, including the client, who has benefited from our:

1. Excellent coordination of all those involved in the project.

2. Fully remote project management thanks to the technologies used, with integrated tools that facilitate this kind of workflow.

3. Capacity to translate into 24 languages within very tight deadlines due to the urgency of broadcasting the content (25% of tasks must be delivered within between 2 and 6 hours, 60% within 12 hours, and the remaining 15% must be delivered within 72 hours).

4. Large pool of translators with 46 professionals involved in each video: 23 translators and 23 reviewers, who are carefully coordinated to meet the deadlines.

5. Ability to respond quickly to changes and unforeseen circumstances, always in less than two hours.

6. Since the start of the project (November 2016), around 200 videos have been delivered, which equates to between 400 and 500 minutes of translated subtitles.

Furthermore, the workflow we have implemented has allowed the client to optimise time, costs and resources.  And the results are evidence of the high quality of our service, which we are able to offer thanks to our remote, off-site way of working.  At CPSL, we feel especially satisfied due to all of the above. We believe that our solution is a perfect example, which can be adapted to suit any client, whether institutional or public, who wants to use the advantages of the multimedia format to benefit its business strategies or to communicate official corporate messages.

Do you need to create an efficient, easy-to-use, audiovisual training program from scratch? CPSL is partnering up with a renowned immersive and interactive technologies provider to offer comprehensive multilingual digital solutions. Contact us to explore the possibilities!