Connections

Since its inception in 2016, MESA’s Content Localisation Council has been pivotal in helping to raise the profile of audio-visual translation and dubbing across the industry.

Through council meetings, events, workshops and taking part in third party conferences such as Languages and The Media and Media For All we continue to bring this vibrant community together to share learnings and best practices.

And in line with its mission statement, the Content Localisation Council continues to set a high bar by working on initiatives which will bring benefit to the entire industry.

One such initiative which holds enormous potential is the Cloud Localization Blueprint (CLB).

Originally showcased during IBC 2022 as part of its Accelerator Programme, this project brought together supply chain software companies to create a definitive blueprint for distributing entertainment content globally.

By looking at the entire supply chain from licensing through to localization and final delivery, the blueprint seeks to build a global, cloud-based media supply chain for content localization.

The resulting proof of concept was a resounding success and proved what could be achieved when like-minded companies with a shared vision worked together.

MESA’s sister organizations EIDR and the Language Metadata Table (LMT) played a key role in the original project and their expertise will prove vital for this next chapter.

When Fabric, a major data solutions provider in the M&E industry, approached us in the summer to ask if MESA would like to become the custodians of the CLB website, we leapt at the opportunity.

Here at MESA, we recognize the need for this work to continue and we have the community that can make it a reality.

Helping drive the project alongside the Content Localisation Council is Hollie Choi, managing director of EIDR and Mary Yurkovic, director of MESA’s Smart Content Council.

Choi was pivotal in driving the first CLB and will once again bring her significant industry knowledge and experience to this next iteration, while Yurkovic, a highly regarded technology strategist, has worked with many major media companies using her in-depth understanding of technology, content, and digital workflows to implement successful solutions.

In this next project the Cloud Localization Blueprint II will engage with the industry to continue to discuss a range of challenges and suggest solutions and offer guidance on best practices. For example, the use of AI in localization will touch and integrate across all players, be they large or small.

However, if the sector is to take advantage of the benefits of AI it needs to fully embrace and prepare for greater workflow automation.

And this workflow will have to begin further upstream as localization, due to collapsing windows and global day and date across streaming platforms, moves into production.

Audio-visual translation will continue to evolve as technology innovations develop and become more pervasive and MESA’s work with the Content Localisation Council will only build and strengthen as these changes take place.

As an association we embrace all sectors of the localization industry including academia and freelance translators and we will continue to work with players large and small to ensure we engage in full and open collaboration.

So, what’s the next step? We are just getting started on this new journey and want to encourage our localization community to get behind the initiative and help us to drive it forward.

We will have a sign-up page on the website, which will enable anyone who wants to get involved to register their interest. We also have some key events coming up which will provide an opportunity to discuss ideas, enlist support and begin to plot a roadmap for the months ahead.

For more information on the Content Localisation Council or to get involved with the Cloud Localization Blueprint, please email [email protected].

* By Caroline Baines, Senior Director, Client Services, MESA *

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