Images are treacherous communicators, especially when they are used cross-culturally. Despite this, Bible-video images can also facilitate how people understand biblical texts and allow them to discover who Jesus is and what he did for them in ways that a text can’t. The purpose of Bible-videos is to help communicate the Word of God well and to provide images that enhance texts visually by making them more concrete and accessible. How do we assure that this happens in a good way?
This document discusses both theoretically and practically how you can evaluate Bible-videos before they are adapted and dubbed into a different language. Doing so is a crucial step towards assuring that the video communicates accurately and well to various specific audiences within specific cultural settings.
The document discusses some principles of image creation and how we interpret pictures. A basic understanding of how images work is important for developing the skills needed to watch videos critically and evaluate them. Culture plays a crucial role at every level, from image creation to interpretation and evaluation. The document seeks to give general practical steps that you can follow so that you can evaluate cultural factors that shape how Bible-videos communicate. These steps are essential for deciding whether specific Bible-videos are suitable for specific audiences and cultural settings. It may also give you hints about communicational difficulties that you may need to address as you work towards adapting and dubbing videos in order to maximize their communicational efficiency.
Read this article on the Video Dubbing page of the SIL International Media Services website. Look for the link How to evaluate a video for use in another culture.
