TED is a beacon for innovative ideas and powerful storytelling. Although the majority of TED Talks are delivered in English, most of their audience resides in countries where English is not the primary language. This linguistic gap has made it challenging for TED to engage international viewers as effectively as those in English-speaking regions. Traditional dubbing, lacking lip syncing, feels too unnatural. And while captioning has provided a partial solution, it clearly distracts from speakers' visual and emotional cues, diluting the power of their presentations.
So TED began looking for a way to localize their presentations in a way that maintained the integrity and emotionality of the original content. They wanted a solution that generated high-quality, voice-cloned audio dubs and natural looking lip synchronization across the range of speakers in their catalog, while also empowering their localization to collaborate on the precise translations.
Why TED Chose Panjaya
TED needed a partner who cared as deeply as they did about genuine emotionality and human connection. Our AI Video Adaptation Technology stood out for its ability to maintain the emotional integrity of TED Talks by generating AI dubbed audio that was in perfect harmony with the speakers’ expressions and body language and delivered natural looking lip synchronization across a range of camera angles and closeups. Our platform provided them with precise editorial control over translations and, most crucially, allowed them to keep the emotional essence of the talk intact across different languages.
Panjaya AI's Special Sauce
Adapting TED's extensive catalog presents unique challenges. The variety of speaking styles, camera angles, closeups, facial occlusions from microphones and hands, lighting changes, faces on background imagery, and live audience interactions means each talk has its own specific complexities.
Panjaya’s solution excels at addressing these issues. Our platform provides tools that allow for subtle adjustments and human oversight over every aspect of the localization process—from the translation to the dubbed audio performance to the nuances in lip-synchronization. As a result, our technology ensures that the dubbed audio matches the speaker's original style, body language, and facial expressions, creating a seamless viewing experience that feels natural and engaging, even across different camera angles and dynamic speaking scenarios.
Revolutionizing Viewership
The partnership between TED and Panjaya AI is set to revolutionize how TED’s content is consumed globally. By integrating Panjaya's technology, TED Talks will become more immersive. Viewers around the world will enjoy a more intimate connection with TED speakers, experiencing the full impact of the talk in their native language, with all the nuances of the original performance intact. This will result in a far more emotionally engaging experience than traditional captioning or dubbing provides, making each talk not just heard but felt.
For a taste of the experience, see Lera Boroditsky's "How language shapes the way we think" (And make sure to toggle between languages.)
Moving Forward
As we continue to enhance our technology and expand our language offerings, our goal remains clear: to ensure that every story, regardless of its origin, can be told with the same passion and authenticity to audiences worldwide.
For businesses interested in learning more about how Panjaya can transform your content, try our free demo.