How to say whether you want subtitles or a dub
Tell Vizard Agent whether you want the spoken audio replaced or the original voice kept with text added. Those are two separate pieces of work with different costs and different results, and "translate this video" describes both. So the wrong one gets built, delivered and then thrown away.
What do you type into Vizard Agent?
Use the words "replace the speech" or "add subtitles" when you brief Vizard Agent. Either phrase is unambiguous, while "translate this video" on its own produces the wrong deliverable about half the time. For a dub, also say you want no subtitles, and mention any text burnt into the picture, because a dub has to remove it.
Prompt
What does Vizard Agent actually do?
Subtitling keeps the original performance and adds a reading task on top. Dubbing replaces the performance with somebody else's. A dub also changes nothing you see, so burnt-in subtitles stay on screen in the original language, saying something the audio no longer says. In the session behind this article it:
- Transcribed the speech with exact timings and found where the existing burnt-in subtitles sat in the frame.
- Built a translated subtitle track, fixed its line breaks and overlap, covered the original burnt-in text and verified the sync. The six subtitle steps were careful work, and not what the user wanted.
- Switched to the dub that had actually been wanted: checked how the spoken audio could be replaced and generated the dub in the target language.
- Stripped every text track and burnt-in caption from the dubbed version.
- Checked the speech itself in the final file, not just the picture, because the frames can pass while the audio has not changed.
When does this not work well?
Each choice carries its own cost. A dub loses the speaker's own voice and will drift from the lip movements, which matters most when people came for a recognisable speaker. Subtitles ask the viewer to read, outrun comfortable reading in fast dialogue, and fail on anybody scrolling with the sound off. Several speakers need a voice each, and heavy burnt-in text makes removal most of the work.
Common questions
Which should I choose? Vizard Agent can build either: a dub for viewers who will not read, subtitles to keep the speaker's own voice.
Can I have both? Yes, but say so. Otherwise Vizard Agent gives you one or the other.
Does a dub remove the old subtitles? It should, and Vizard Agent treats that as part of the job.