In addition, you’re invited to an API Technical Writing Workshop that I’m running in conjunction with the STC on Friday, October 23rd. It’s open to students as well as people already in the tech writing field. See the details here.

So, that’s 2 tech comm events in one week – an opportunity not to be missed. :)

Quick registration links:

• Register for the speed networking event: http://bit.ly/HCDE-STC
• Register for the workshop: http://goo.gl/FYqCzf

Here’s the poster the STC shared with me, for the speed networking event:

Random remarks from me:

• I like the spelling of “alumnae”. At first I thought, “Gah, typo!” Then I realised it’s a thing.
• The purple colour is awesome. It matches my Ubuntu background!

I hope to meet many students and other Seattle tech comm folks at the networking event and at the workshop!

The challenges of translation aren’t new to content strategists, but the hard work of translating video, film, games, and other multimedia content are. As product and marketing teams produce more video, how will content strategists make sure such content is useful for customers where they are and in their own language?

To answer this question, a team of content strategists and designers met at The Voice Company in Burbank, Calif. on Sept. 23, 2015 to see how a working Hollywood voiceover production studio prepares video for international audiences. The event was organized by Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, and Content Strategy Southern California, a meetup group for content and design professionals in and around Los Angeles.

Todd Resnick, Managing Director of The Voice Company, led the tour through the studio and shared success stories and information about work his team has been doing for Amazon, HBO, Mattel, and other clients who create motion pictures, television, Internet video, and games. Resnick’s studio provides multilingual voiceover services to firms in Hollywood and throughout the world in a multitude of languages.

“When we begin,” Resnick explained, “we transcribe everything we hear [in the video] — all the dialogue, all the cues, all the special effects.” Content strategists would call this a content audit. This comprehensive transcription then goes to a translator for work.

“The translation process is the initial framework of the show,” Resnick said, “but that’s not enough — it’s the start.” To assist with casting, Resnick’s team then creates character sheets, a cast list that helps them determine how many voiceover actors will be needed for production. Numerous other detailed steps happen before performers set foot in the studio.

In the studio, what happens often goes beyond translation to become transcreation. Content strategists might call this a form of localization: The process of adapting a message from one language to another, while maintaining its intent, style, tone and context. For instance, Resnick explained that, in translating some of the jokes in Amazon’s Transparent into German, translators had to recreate humor about Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades for an audience that might not be familiar with the neighborhood’s wealth and other idiosyncrasies.

Content strategists and translators share a careful attention to content documentation, structure, and storytelling. Attendees of the tour took home a number of lessons that apply to content strategy work.

Stay focused on the customer.
Jim Rochford, a customer engagement manager at Reprints Desk, attended the event and was impressed by The Voice Company’s focus on customers, not just the content creators but also the viewers who consume the content. “To me the biggest takeaway was speak to the customer the way they would want to be spoken to,” Rochford said. “And make sure you keep a relentless focus on the customer.” Rochford noted that video content with translated voiceovers might not seem to be perfectly synchronized, “but customers see that the brand made the effort and was thinking of them.”

Deliver the right content at the right time.
To synchronize translations as much as possible, The Voice Company documents every audio cue in a video they’re translating. Voiceover performers then use this guidance to match the video — when a character is speaking and when she is not. “The visual presentation matters,” Resnick explained, and noted the importance of matching the characters’ actions and voice with a precise lip synch. This entire process is key to delivering dialogue at the right time. In certain digital flows and products, content strategists similarly balance when to deliver content. Timing is everything.

Pay attention to what you say and how you say it.
Recreating the dialogue in a film or television show requires the work of skilled voiceover performers. These actors deliver dialogue in the appropriate voice and tone for the work being translated. Similarly, content creators need to focus on crafting messaging and other content in the appropriate voice and tone for their audience and experience.

Collaborate with the right people.
Amanda Ahn, an information developer at IBM Enterprise Content Management, also attended the studio tour and was impressed by the team that comes together to work on a translation. “One thing that struck me was that a lot of their translators are local” to the Los Angeles region. This enables the team to achieve an effective synergy, united around a clear plan. “They are able to get everyone in the same room, and this helps them get work done fast.” Achieving these working relationships remains a challenge for most enterprise content strategists.

Plan.
Another attendee, Kerstin Ide, an enterprise content strategist and operations professional currently working at Intuit, noticed how fundamental content strategy principles apply to translation. “Content strategy doesn’t stop with some types of content,” she said. The processes and steps we apply to create and manage content “apply to any form of content, including production for video and film.” Planning is certainly one of the most important steps.

Rochford praised The Voice Company’s planning. Even before the voiceover actors get to the studio, their characters, cues, and dialogue are carefully documented. “By the time they get to the studio,” he said, “they just need to execute what they planned to do.”

Ide praised The Voice Company for their methodical approach to translation and noticed that their efforts smartly plan for the future. The “globalization perspective” they bring to their clients helps them be effective now and prepare for future market growth beyond English-only borders.

Perhaps most importantly, the thoughtful, thorough planning enables the creative work to occur in the studio. “That’s where the transcreation happens,” Resnick said. That’s where the work of the translator, sound engineer, director, actor, and others come together to create a new work — a fresh, localized version of the original. “At the end of the day,” Resnick said, “it is subjective — it is art.”

Live streaming schedule – Oct 1, 2015

As a business or technology stakeholder, if you are considering investment in your content and experience management platform, this webinar will leave you with invaluable insights on key content and technology best practices.

This Tuesday, October 6, 2015, join Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, and Ted Schadler, Vice President and Principal Analyst for Forrester, for a free, one-hour webinar during which you’ll learn about the latest trends, data and perspectives that turn content and experiences into revenue. The presenter will help you understand the fundamental content and technology principles that will differentiate your brand today and for years to come. You’ll leave inspired and equipped with specific actions you can take from the world’s leading authority on content and experience delivery.

Register today!

This webinar is brought to you in cooperation with Forrester, Kanban Solutions, Hippo CMS, and The Content Wrangler.

bookkeeping

Anyone interested in learning about API technical writing is welcome to attend – you don’t need to be a member of the STC.

Quick links: Register to attend, and learn more on the STC Puget Sound site.

What is API technical writing?

API stands for Application Programming Interface. Developers use APIs to make apps that communicate with other apps and software/hardware components. API technical writers create documentation and other content that helps developers hook their apps up to someone else’s API.

For a tech writer, it’s an exciting, challenging and rewarding field. I love it!

This workshop gives you hands-on experience with APIs and API documentation, insight into the demands of the role, and plenty of information for your own follow-up study.

Workshop details

Date: Friday, October 23rd, 2015
Time: 9am to 4pm – breakfast and setup are at 9am, for a start at 9:30 sharp
Instructor: Sarah Maddox  – that’s me ;)
Cost: None. The workshop is given free of charge.
Location: Google Offices, 601 N 34th Street, Seattle, WA 98103. (Link on Google Maps.)

This is a practical course on API technical writing, consisting of lectures interspersed with hands-on sessions where you’ll apply what you’ve learned. The focus is on APIs themselves as well as on documentation, since we need to be able to understand and use a product before we can document it.

The workshop includes the following sessions:

• Lecture: Introduction to APIs, including a demo of some REST and JavaScript APIs.
• Hands-on: Play with a REST API.
• Lecture: JavaScript essentials.
• Hands-on: Play with a JavaScript API.
• Lecture: The components of API documentation and other developer aids.
• Hands-on: Generate reference documentation using Javadoc.
• Lecture: Beyond Javadoc – other doc generation tools.
• Lecture: Working with an engineering team

Preparation for the workshop

Please take a look at the prerequisites and setup to see what you need to install on your laptop before the workshop. Doing the recommended installations will save you a lot of time at the workshop so that you can avoid missing crucial bits when you’re there.

Meet Google tech writers

There’ll be some Google tech writers at the workshop, assisting with any difficulties during the hands-on sessions. I’m hoping a couple of them will present some of the lectures too.

Hope to see you there!

Here’s that signup link on Eventbrite. I hope to see you there!

Slide from lecture – working with an engineering team:

Tech Comm on a Map puts technical communication titbits onto an interactive map, together with the data and functionality provided by Google Maps. It’s already out there on the Web. See it in action on the Tech Comm on a Map website, and read more on this page.

And now the Android app

The code for the Android app is already on GitHub.  A group of us got together during a hackathon and created the initial version of the app. I’ve added to the app since then, and intend to continue improving it. Eventually I’d like to add it to the Google Play store. There’s a bit to do before that. :)

Friendly disclaimer: Although I work at Google, this app is not a Google product. It’s a personal project by me and the other contributors.

The Tech Comm on a Map app for Android is developed with Java and the Android SDK. It uses the following APIs:

• Google Maps Android API
• Google Places API for Android (Autocomplete and Place Picker)
• Google Play services Fused Location Provider (Get Current Location)
• Google Apps Script
• Realm.io (a mobile database)
• AndroidSlidingUpPanel (a draggable sliding-up panel)
• Android Saripaar (a validation library):

If you’re interested in developments, follow the Tech Comm on a Map app for Android on GitHub. You can build it from the source and load it onto your Android device to try it out. It works. :)