China’s short-form drama industry is booming, and its content is rapidly expanding across the globe. However, behind the impressive views and revenue, a "silent barrier" is quietly emerging—posing a major risk to the industry’s sustainable development.
To pursue extreme speed and save cost, many producers are cutting corners in translation and dubbing, which often leaves overseas audiences confused or embarrassed when watching short dramas. This seriously harms the reputation of the content and reduces paid conversions. So, how can Chinese short dramas truly "resonate" and successfully capture the global market?
Unlike TV dramas, short dramas are characterized by fast production and frequent releases—it’s now common to launch a new episode every week. In such a competitive environment, producers often rush to control costs and shorten production cycles to gain market advantage. As a result, many producers prioritize quantity over quality.
Specifically, there are three major "silent barriers" below.
First, excessive use of machine translation strips away cultural meaning. Many producers use general machine translation for subtitles without building professional term banks or translation memories. And few producers use post-translation editing. Some even outsource subtitling to unqualified teams or individuals to save time and money. For example, ancient-era terms like "金銮殿" (Golden Throne Hall) are translated literally without cultural context, losing their poetic charm. Likewise, web slang such as "打脸" (slap in the face, meaning self-contradiction) often often confused international audiences.
Second, low-quality AI dubbing lacks both emotional depth and technical accuracy. To maximize profits, some producers use low-quality AI voice tools that sound flat and emotionless. Imagine characters having a heated argument while the AI voice speaks in a calm, monotone delivery—without any emotional progression. Similarly, emotional scenes fail to move viewers when voiced by AI. Technically, poor dubbing also leads to issues like asynchronous audio and video or lip movements mismatched dubbing, greatly reducing viewer immersion.
Lastly, the industry still lacks professional and unified quality standards. For subtitles, elements like font-style, color, size, position and on-screen timing need consistency. For dubbing, quality, volume levels and background music must be properly balanced.
Shifting from a cost-centered mindset to a quality-focused approach is key to overcoming these challenges. Here are some practical suggestions below.
Encourage industry-wide efforts to establish clear localization standards, covering translation accuracy, dubbing expressiveness, and technical standard.
Implement a "human-led, AI-assisted" workflow in subtitling to improve efficiency without compromising quality. Adopt a "human-AI collaboration" model for dubbing: use AI that meets basic quality standards, then have professional voice actors refine the emotional delivery and technical sync.
Partner with teams or companies specialized in audiovisual localization—they understand performance, storytelling, subtitling, and dubbing, and can better meet the specific needs of short drama producers.
Leverage technology to enhance localization management. Utilizes tools to maintain terminology consistency, standardize subtitle formats, and unify audio-visual specifications. Establish user feedback mechanisms—pay close attention to all comments both positive and negative about subtitles and dubbing, analyze them systematically and use these comments to make improvements.
In today’s competitive landscape, focusing only on quantity and speed may bring short-term profits. But what truly attracts and retains audiences is quality. Producers must prioritize delivering high-quality content while maintaining efficient output.
Going global with short dramas is not just business expansion but a cultural dialogue. The key question for every industry professional is how to move beyond creating "viral hits" to building "enduring cultural influence." Only by focusing on quality can Chinese short drama industry go far and deep in the global market.
Artlangs Translation specializes in overcoming the "silent barriers" in the globalization of short dramas. Through our "AI-assisted + human refinement" model, we accurately address industry pain points such as inaccurate machine translation, emotionless dubbing, and poor lip-sync. We provide culturally adapted subtitling and emotionally resonant voice-over services, helping Chinese short dramas truly "captivate the hearts and minds" of global audiences—enabling a transition from short-term viral success to enduring cultural resonance.
