Forced narrative on pack shots

Translate the claim, the legal, and any line a same-language viewer still cannot read. Leave the trademarked SKU name on the pack. That leftover — plus any foreign sign the plot needs — is forced narrative. It is not a full subtitle file and it is not SDH. Burning a whole English caption track onto a German UGC pack shot is not localisation. It is an English master with a confusing filename.

This is the pack-shot FN procedure for UGC ads. It is not the three-file streamer delivery essay.

See what is actually on the pack

Forced narrative is the text a viewer still needs with full subtitles off: a foreign line, a plot-critical sign, on-screen type in a language that is not the audio. Amazon Video Central’s definition (spoken dialogue and on-screen text in a different language from the primary audio, when creative intent requires understanding) is the same idea. On a UGC ad the “sign” is often the label you already filmed.

Procedure on the locked pack plate:

Pause on every frame the SKU is readable. List strings: brand wordmark, product name, flavour, net weight, claims on the label, a QR, a URL, a starburst you added in the edit.
Split the list into trademark / SKU identity versus claim / legal / instructional.
Trademark / SKU identity stays in the original lettering if that is how the product is sold in the new market (same wordmark worldwide, or the local SKU still uses that Latin name). You do not “translate” a registered product name into a cousin on the bottle.
Claim / legal / instructional that lives in your overlays (not in the photographed label) will be rewritten in the target language.
Claim copy that is photographed on the label is a pack problem, not a caption problem. If that English claim cannot ship in Germany, you need a local still or a crop that does not letter the illegal line. FN will not reprint a bottle.
Audio language versus label language: if the VO is already German and the bottle is English, German viewers may still need FN for a claim that is only on the pack — or you crop. If the VO is German and the bottle’s readable string is only the global SKU name, you often owe no FN. Empty FN is correct.

Write the list down. This is the editorial pass AI captioning will not do. Auto-transcribe defaults to full dialogue. It will not decide which lines are forced.

Translate the claim; keep the trademark

FN is a small file. Most beats have no cue. That is the point.

Procedure for a 9:16 pack UGC:

Lock picture on the local-language version you will actually ship (German VO or German TTS already laid). Caption that audio as a full same-language burn if people speak. That is captions, not FN.
From your pack list, mark the strings a German viewer still cannot read that they must read: an English starburst you burned (“NEW”), a “shake before use” overlay, a legal qualifier that is still in English.
Author those as short overlays in German. That overlay file is the FN. Burn it, because plot-or-offer depends on it and mute autoplay will not enable a sidecar.
Do not also burn a translation of the wordmark. If the bottle says the SKU name, leave it. A second, translated product name on top of the label is a counterfeit look and a trademark mess.
Price, unit, and promo: these are not FN leftovers. They are offer copy. They must match the market. Overlay them in the target language. Do not leave “$14” on a euro ad because “numbers are universal.” Currency is a claim.
If you have a long-form master that needs a real FN sidecar plus a full subtitle sidecar, keep them as separate files. Netflix-style guidance has long told you not to combine an FN cue with dialogue in the same subtitle. For UGC burn-in, keep FN overlays off the speech-caption row so they do not look like dialogue.

Checkable tests:

Sound off, target-market viewer: they get the offer and the legal. They are not asked to read a translated fake label over the real one.
Sound on: VO language matches speech captions. Pack wordmark is the real SKU.
A lawyer in that market: the photographed English claim is either out of frame or actually allowed.

Add captions to video for the spoken German. Text overlay for the FN/offer lines nobody said. Different tools.

Legal and price are not “leave in English”

Teams treat FN as “anything we were too tired to translate.” That is the defect.

Must translate (usually overlay, not ASR):

The spoken claim, via dub/TTS then captions in that language.
Promo and price in the local system.
Mandatory disclosures you already owed in English — you still owe them in this market, in this language, placed as overlay. Auto-captions will not invent them.
UI you added (“Shop now,” “Link in bio”) unless the platform localises the chrome itself — your burn is not chrome.

Must not pretend to translate:

The trademarked SKU as lettered on the physical pack, when that is the SKU in that market.
Ingredients panels you cannot legally rewrite in pixels. Crop or reshoot.
A founder’s name.

Article 50 marks, platform AI labels, and paid-partnership text follow their own rules in this market. They are not FN. They are not “the English disclaimer is probably fine.”

If the only English left on screen is the wordmark, you may have zero FN cues. Ship. Do not add a German subtitle of the wordmark to look thorough.

If the pack is covered in English benefit lines and you cannot crop, you do not have a localisable plate. Generate or film a still for that market. Image-to-video from the local still. FN is a few lines, not a new label printer.

Burn FN on the pack, sidecar the rest only if you have a long master

UGC ads: burn. Feeds will not play a sidecar.

Procedure:

Speech captions on the dubbed/TTS file, language code matching the audio (de-DE, not a vibe). BASIC 1× is the default on a pack-heavy ad so type stays calm over the label.
FN/offer overlays in the target language, off the speech row, off the wordmark, in the safe area.
QC on a phone against the real pack still at 100%. If overlay collides with the photographed name, move overlay, not the trademark.
Do not run DYNAMIC karaoke on photographed label text. There is no word clock on a bottle.
Archive: source still, local still if any, translated overlay list, spoken script, burned child.

Long-form (YouTube explainer with a pack insert): you may sidecar full subs and keep FN as its own small file or as burns on the inserts only. Do not fold FN into the full subtitle track and hope a player sorts it. Short-form does not get that luxury; burn the few lines.

The AI caption generator will transcribe whatever you spoke. It will not protect a trademark. Your list from section one is the gate.

Leave the SKU, translate the claim, burn the few forced lines in Versely. Bring a pack still and a target language. Do not bring a full English SRT to stamp on the bottle.

FAQ

Should I translate the product name on the bottle?

Not if that is the trademarked SKU as sold. Translate the claim and the legal. Leave the wordmark. If the market uses a different SKU name, you need that market’s still, not a caption.

Is a full German subtitle file of an English pack VO forced narrative?

No. That is full subtitles. FN is only the bits a German audio version still cannot read.

Can auto-captions build the FN file?

No. They transcribe speech. FN is an editorial list of on-screen exceptions.