Unlocking the world’s stories: How ZOOstudio simplifies entertainment localization

In recent years, the dynamic landscape of the worldwide entertainment industry has witnessed unprecedented growth and disruption, driven primarily by the accessibility of streamed content to global audiences. As content creators seize opportunities to expand their reach, the localization of slates of originals and extensive catalog content for diverse audiences has become an integral part of the industry.

However, this process, covering dubbing, subtitling and a range of other services and steps, is traditionally managed in silos with little visibility and control, which presented challenges for the biggest names in entertainment.

Managing localization involves intricate tasks and processes, including research, order processing, casting, contract management, script adaptation, recording, tracking, quality control, and reporting. Any challenges are multiplied by the number of languages involved, with premium content regularly localized into over 40 languages.

Content owners cannot afford the luxury of ambiguity regarding the whereabouts and security of their localization assets.

The complexity escalates further due to varied approaches among entertainment studios and localization vendors, leading to a lack of visibility into the stage of completion, with components scattered across technologies, vendors, email threads, and global territories.

The Problem: Navigating the localization blackhole

Content owners cannot afford the luxury of ambiguity regarding the whereabouts and security of their localization assets. Timings, costs, and, most importantly, quality are non-negotiable aspects. The traditional approach needed a transformative solution to make the entire ecosystem cost-effective and time-efficient, focusing on the bigger picture as well as the finer details.

The Solution: ZOOstudio’s smart globalization management

ZOOstudio: Transforming visibility and streamlining workflows

ZOO Digital recognized the need to consolidate the sporadic delivery of components within the traditional localization process into one central, cloud-based system. ZOOstudio, designed in collaboration with industry experts, content owners, localization vendors, and AWS, offers a vendor-agnostic platform for managing the localization of movies and shows across multiple language service providers.

AWS: The robust foundation for ZOO Digital ecosystem

AWS provides the underlying infrastructure for the entire ZOO Digital ecosystem, ensuring the robust and highly secure management of entertainment industry data and assets. ZOOstudio, alongside ZOOdubs and ZOOsubs, leverages AWS technology to enhance efficiency and alignment in localization workflows.

Success Story: ZOOstudio’s impact on global entertainment

Since its launch in 2019, ZOOstudio has been adopted by major Hollywood studios, encompassing a comprehensive and proven solution for delivering the volume and scale required in international, multi-language streaming. The platform seamlessly integrates within multiple globalization workflows, becoming the heart of all projects, irrespective of vendor, language, format, or region.

Recognized as an award-winning globalization management platform, ZOOstudio brings simplicity to the forefront. It unifies all services, vendors, and components into one central system, eliminating the complexities of managing multiple platforms. This all-encompassing and vendor-agnostic platform provides a single point of order and fulfillment for all localization projects.

Key industry benefits of ZOOstudio:

1. Integration: ZOOstudio’s flexibility allows quick and easy reconfiguration, integrating with existing systems and processes. Vendor-agnostic capabilities ensure accessibility and visibility of output from multiple global vendors.

2. Customization: Recognizing the varying approaches of different studios, ZOOstudio can be entirely customized. Users have the flexibility to tailor the system’s terminology, features, and structure to suit their specific localization workflows.

3. Visibility: ZOOstudio organizes assets by titles, providing a year-on-year asset library for efficient repurposing. Users can place orders for all localized components from one central system, with in-built financial modules for cost assessment and comparison. The platform offers visible pipelines, consolidated tracking, reporting, and metrics.

Unlocking the world’s most beloved stories

In the complex ecosystem of entertainment industry supply chains, ZOOstudio stands at the core, managing over 22,400 projects across 28 vendors since its inception. By offering visibility and control over the entire localization workflow, ZOOstudio empowers content owners to plan effectively, change direction as needed, and ensure audiences worldwide receive the latest shows and movies seamlessly. The industry-shaping technology unlocks the world’s most beloved stories, enriching the lives of audiences by facilitating access to shows and movies everywhere.

Expanding horizons: A future of seamless connectivity

As ZOOstudio continues to redefine globalization management, it paves the way for a future where connectivity is seamless and global storytelling is streamlined.

In a world where complexity is everywhere, ZOOstudio simplifies.

In the relentless pursuit of innovation, ZOOstudio is crafted by a dedicated research and development team, known as ZOO Digital Labs, committed to the ongoing refinement and evolution of the platform. This team stands as the driving force behind ZOOstudio’s ability to meet the dynamic needs of the ever-evolving entertainment industry. Continuously developing cutting-edge features, enhancing existing functionalities, and implementing improvements based on industry feedback, this R&D hub ensures that ZOOstudio remains at the forefront of technological advancement.

In a world where complexity is everywhere, ZOOstudio simplifies. Backed by AWS, this isn’t just a platform; it’s a commitment to making life easier for the people who entertain the world.