
TVBEurope talks to Take 1 CEO Louise Tapia about the companys work providing subtitle and localisation services to broadcasters and streaming services, as well as how it supports production companies in the creation and delivery of their content
By Jenny Priestley
Published: December 2, 2021 Updated: December 7, 2021
TVBEurope talks to Take 1 CEO Louise Tapia about the company's work providing subtitle and localisation services to broadcasters and streaming services, as well as how it supports production companies in the creation and delivery of their content
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
A recent study by captioning charity Stagetext found that 80 per cent of 18 to 25 year olds in the UK use subtitles some or all of the time. Whether that's because subtitles help viewers understand dialogue more effectively, or they help audiences concentrate on the TV show or film they're watching, it seems subtitles are an important part of content from both broadcasters and streaming services.
Launched in 1998 by Dom Bourne, Take 1 is best known for providing transcription and translation services to media and entertainment companies including Discovery Inc, ITV Studios, BBC Studios, National Geographic Channel, A&E Networks and Peacock.
In the company's early days, video was shot on tape and the only way to log or view footage after the shoot was to either book expensive playback machines by the hour or transfer footage to VHS with burnt-in-time-code.
Take 1 offered an alternative - and more effective way for production companies to prepare for edit. Instead of spending hours viewing VHS dubs of their shoot footage, producers sent these tapes to Take 1 where Bourne and his team would transcribe the time codes, dialogue and action onto paper. These transcriptions were then posted or biked back to Soho and used to prepare paper edits.
Fast-forward to the present day, Take 1 continues to provide transcription, access and localisation services to the international media and entertainment industry under the leadership of CEO, Louise Tapia. With offices in the UK and US and a global workforce, the company leverages digital technology and data-driven workflows to provide high quality, artisan services at scale.
We support production companies in the production and delivery of their content; we help broadcasters, networks and streaming platforms ensure that their content is accessible to all audiences, and we help content distributors create global content for any platform, Tapia tells TVBEurope.
Take 1 transcribes and translates shoot rushes for production teams, journalists and documentary-makers so that they can prepare storylines, find soundbites and cut down the time spent wrangling high volumes of content and multilingual stories in the edit suite. We also create as broadcast' or post production scripts which include a timecoded transcription of all dialogue, captions, credits, music cues and other information based on each project's specific requirements. We provide these to production companies at either picture-lock or final edit stages for deliverable compliance and to networks to facilitate localisation.
Louise Tapia The company's access services include video captions and audio descriptions to make content accessible to hard of hearing or visually impaired audiences. Our clients in this space include production companies, vendor partners and broadcasters, networks and streaming platforms, adds Tapia. Finally, we provide high-quality translations, subtitles, dubbing services and foreign language audio descriptions as part of our localisation services to help content producers, distributors, networks and streaming platforms reach international audiences with global content.
Take 1's workflows combine the company's multi-skilled teams alongside AI integrated technologies - some of which have been developed in-house while others are recognised and utilised across the industry.
Our proprietary metadata harvesting platform, Liberty, is integral to our data-driven approach it supports the production of XML-based post production scripts, TTML timed text for captioning, and the re-purposing of this data into the various documents, files and reports needed throughout the global content production workflow, explains Tapia.
The Take 1 cloud provides a secure-by-design web-based interface for our clients to transfer video assets to Take 1, add comments or instructions for specific projects or media files, monitor the status of work in progress and retrieve completed outputs.
The team also employs some third-party tools, including Xytech's MediaPulse to co-ordinate high volumes of content across the organisation, and products from Ooona and Starfish Technologies to support its access services. Using VoiceQ and ProTools, we can bring voice artists from home setups and partner studios anywhere in the world into one recording session for dubbing or audio description projects, she adds. These industry tools are componentised so that we can easily swap out technologies to always ensure we're using best of breed, accommodate changing requirements and work according to our customers' preferences.
Back in September, Take 1 announced plans to expand its localisation and access services departments. Recent mergers in the sector have created a gap in the market for boutique service providers with an artisan approach and an already substantial appetite for international programming was amplified in 2020 when Covid-19 restrictions reduced new content production, Tapia explains. Localisation and access service workflows are also becoming increasingly data-driven, an approach pioneered by Take 1 and underpinned by the transcription data that the company provides.
The expansion has so far included t
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...