Voice Dubbing Actor

Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sound to create the finished soundtrack.

The process usually takes place on a dub stage. After sound editors edit and prepare all the necessary tracks—dialogue, automated dialogue replacement (ADR), effects, Foley, and music—the dubbing mixers proceed to balance all of the elements and record the finished soundtrack. Dubbing is sometimes confused with ADR, also known as "additional dialogue replacement", "automated dialogue recording" and "looping", in which the original actors re-record and synchronize audio segments.

Outside the film industry, the term "dubbing" commonly refers to the replacement of the actor's voices with those of different performers speaking another language, which is called "revoicing" in the film industry. The term "dubbing" is only used when talking about replacing a previous voice, usually in another language. When a voice is created from scratch for animations, the term "original voice" is always used because, in some cases, this media is partially finished before the voice is implemented. The voice work would still be part of the creation process, thus being considered the official voice.

Origins

Films, videos, and sometimes video games are often dubbed into the local language of a foreign market. In foreign distribution, dubbing is common in theatrically released films, television films, television series, cartoons, and anime.

In many countries dubbing was adopted, at least in part, for political reasons. In authoritarian states such as Fascist Italy and Francoist Spain, dubbing could be used to enforce particular ideological agendas, excising negative references to the nation and its leaders and promoting standardised national languages at the expense of local dialects and minority languages. In post-Nazi Germany, dubbing was used to downplay events in the country's recent past, as in the case of the dub of Alfred Hitchcock's ''Notorious'', where the Nazi organisation upon which the film's plot centres was changed to a drug smuggling enterprise. First post-WWII movie dub was Konstantin Zaslonov (1949) dubbed from Russian to the Czech language. In Western Europe after World War II, dubbing was attractive to many film producers as it helped to enable co-production between companies in different countries, in turn allowing them to pool resources and benefit from financial support from multiple governments. Use of dubbing meant that multi-national casts could be assembled and were able to use their preferred language for their performances, with appropriate post-production dubs being carried out before distributing versions of the film in the appropriate language for each territory.

Methods

ADR/post-sync

Automated dialogue replacement (ADR) is the process of re-recording dialogue by the original actor (or a replacement actor) after the filming process to improve audio quality or make changes to the originally scripted dialog. In the early days of talkies, a loop of film would be cut and spliced together for each of the scenes that needed to be rerecorded, then one-by-one the loops would be loaded onto a projector. For each scene the loop would be played over and over while the voice actor performed the lines trying to synchronize them to the filmed performance. This was known as "looping" or a "looping session". Loading and reloading the film loops while the talent and recording crew stood by was a tedious process. Later, video tape and then digital technology replaced the film loops and the process became known as automated dialogue replacement (ADR).

In conventional film production, a production sound mixer records dialogue during filming. During post-production, a supervising sound editor, or ADR supervisor, reviews all of the dialogue in the film and decides which lines must be re-recorded. ADR is recorded during an ADR session, which takes place in a specialized sound studio. Multiple takes are recorded and the most suitable take becomes the final version, or portions of multiple takes may be edited together. The ADR process does not always take place in a post-production studio. The process may be recorded on location, with mobile equipment. ADR can also be recorded without showing the actor the image they must match, but by having them listen to the performance, since some actors believe that watching themselves act can degrade subsequent performances. The director may be present during ADR, or alternatively, they may leave it up to a trusted sound editor, an ADR specialist, and the performers.

the automated process includes sophisticated techniques including automatically displaying lines on-screen for the talent, automated cues, shifting the audio track for accurate synchronization, and time-fitting algorithms for stretching or compressing portions of a spoken line. There is even software that can sort out spoken words from ambient sounds in the original filmed soundtrack and detect the peaks of the dialog and automatically time-fit the new dubbed performance to the original to create perfect synchronization.

Sometimes, an actor other than the original actor is used during ADR. One famous example is the ''Star Wars'' character Darth Vader, portrayed by David Prowse; in post-production, James Earl Jones dubbed the voice of Vader.
In India, the process is simply known as "dubbing", while in the UK, it is also called "post-synchronization" or "post-sync". The insertion of voice actor performances for animation, such as computer generated imagery or animated cartoons, is often referred to as ADR although it generally does not replace existing dialogue.

The ADR process may be used to:

:*remove extraneous sounds such as production equipment noise, traffic, wind, or other undesirable sounds from the environment
:*change the original lines recorded on set to clarify context
:*improve diction or modify an accent
:*improve comedic timing or dramatic timing
:*correct technical issues with synchronization
:*use a studio-quality singing performance or provide a voice-double for actors who are poor vocalists
:*add or remove content for legal purposes (such as removing an unauthorized trademarked name)
:*add or remove a product placement
:*correct a misspoken line not caught during filming.
:*replace "foul language" for TV broadcasts of the media or if the scene in question has a young actor involved.

Other examples include:
*Jean Hagen provided Debbie Reynolds' voice in two scenes of ''Singin' in the Rain'' (1952). Ironically, the film's story has Reynolds' character, Kathy Seldon, dubbing the voice for ''Hagen's'' character, Lina Lamont, due to Lina's grating voice and strong New York accent. Hagen used her own normal melodious voice to portray Kathy dubbing for Lina. The film, which takes place in Hollywood as talking pictures are taking over from silent films, also portrays another character, Cosmo Brown, played by Donald O'Connor, as inventing the idea of using one actor to provide the voice for another.
*Marni Nixon provided the singing voice for the character Eliza Doolittle, otherwise played by Audrey Hepburn, in the 1964 musical film ''My Fair Lady''. Nixon was also the singing voices for Deborah Kerr in ''The King and I'' and Natalie Wood in ''West Side Story'', among many others.
*Ray Park, who acted as Darth Maul from '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' had his voice dubbed over by Peter Serafinowicz
*Frenchmen Philippe Noiret and Jacques Perrin, who were dubbed into Italian for ''Cinema Paradiso''
*Austrian bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, dubbed for ''Hercules in New York''
*Argentine boxer Carlos Monzón, dubbed by a professional actor for the lead in the drama ''La Mary''
*Gert Fröbe, who played Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film Goldfinger, dubbed by Michael Collins
*George Lazenby's James Bond in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', dubbed for a portion of the film by George Baker, since Bond was undercover and impersonating Baker's own character.
*Andie MacDowell's Jane, in '' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes'', who was dubbed by Glenn Close
* Tom Hardy, who portrayed Bane in ''The Dark Knight Rises'', re-dubbed half of his own lines for ease of viewer comprehension
*Harvey Keitel was dubbed by Roy Dotrice in post production for ''Saturn 3''
*Dave Coulier dubbed replacement of swear words for Richard Pryor in multiple TV versions of his movies
* Doug Jones was dubbed by Laurence Fishburne in post production for '' Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer''

Rythmo band

An alternative method to dubbing, called "rythmo band" (or "lip-sync band"), has historically been used in Canada and France. It provides a more precise guide for the actors, directors, and technicians, and can be used to complement the traditional ADR method. The "band" is actually a clear 35 mm film leader on which the dialogue is hand-written in India ink, together with numerous additional indications for the actor—including laughs, cries, length of syllables, mouth sounds, breaths, and mouth openings and closings. The rythmo band is projected in the studio and scrolls in perfect synchronization with the picture.

Studio time is used more efficiently, since with the aid of scrolling text, picture, and audio cues, actors can read more lines per hour than with ADR alone (only picture and audio). With ADR, actors can average 10–12 lines per hour, while rythmo band can facilitate the reading of 35-50 lines per hour.

However, the preparation of a rythmo band is a time-consuming process involving a series of specialists organized in a production line. This has prevented the technique from being more widely adopted, but software emulations of rythmo band technology overcome the disadvantages of the traditional rythmo band process and significantly reduce the time needed to prepare a dubbing session.

Translation process

For dubs into a language other than the original language, the dubbing process includes the following tasks:
# Translation
# Dialog writing:
## Take segmentation
## Insertion of dubbing symbols
## Dialogue writing and the emulation of natural discourse
## Lip-sync

Sometimes the translator performs all five tasks. In other cases, the translator just submits a rough translation and a dialogue writer does the rest. However, the language expertise of translator and dialog writing is different; translators must be proficient in the source language, while dialog writers must be proficient the target language.

Dialog writing

The dialogue writer's role is to make the translation sound natural in the target language, and to make the translation sound like a credible dialogue instead of merely a translated text.

Another task of dialogue writers is to check whether a translation matches an on-screen character's mouth movements or not, by reading aloud simultaneously with the character. The dialogue writer often stays in the recording setting with the actors or the voice talents, to ensure that the dialogue is being spoken in the way that it was written to be, and to avoid any ambiguity in the way the dialogue is to be read (focusing on emphasis, intonation, pronunciation, articulation, pronouncing foreign words correctly, etc.). The overall goal is to make sure the script creates the illusion of authenticity of the spoken language. A successful localization product is one that feels like the original character is speaking the target language. Therefore, in the localization process, the position of the dialogue writing or song writing is extremely important.

Global use

Localization

Localization is the practice of adapting a film or television series from one region of the world for another. In contrast to pure translation, localization encompasses adapting the content to suit the target audience. For example, culture-specific references may be replaced and footage may be removed or added.

Dub localization is a contentious issue in cinephilia amongst aficionados of foreign filmmaking and television programs, particularly anime fans. While some localization is virtually inevitable in translation, the controversy surrounding how much localization is "too much" is often discussed in such communities, especially when the final dub product is significantly different from the original. Some fans frown on any extensive localization, while others expect it, and to varying degrees, appreciate it.

The new voice track is usually spoken by a voice actor. In many countries, actors who regularly perform this duty remain little-known, with the exception of particular circles (such as anime fandom) or when their voices have become synonymous with roles or actors whose voices they usually dub. In the United States, many of these voice artists may employ pseudonyms or go uncredited due to Screen Actors Guild regulations or the desire to dissociate themselves from the role.

Africa

North Africa, Western Asia

In Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, most foreign movies (especially Hollywood productions) are shown dubbed in French. These movies are usually imported directly from French film distributors. The choice of movies dubbed into French can be explained by the widespread use of the French language. Another important factor is that local theaters and private media companies do not dub in local languages in order to avoid high costs, but also because of the lack of both expertise and demand.

Beginning in the 1980s, dubbed series and movies for children in Modern Standard Arabic became a popular choice among most TV channels, cinemas and VHS/DVD stores. However, dubbed films are still imported, and dubbing is performed in the Levant countries with a strong tradition of dubbing (mainly Syria, Lebanon and Jordan). Egypt was the first Arabian country in charge of dubbing Disney movies in 1975 and used to do it exclusively in Egyptian Arabic rather than Modern Standard Arabic until 2011, and since then many other companies started dubbing their productions in this dialect. Beginning with ''Encanto'', Disney movies are now dubbed in both dialects.

In the Arabic-speaking countries, children shows (mainly cartoons & kids sitcoms) are dubbed in Arabic, otherwise Arabic subtitles are used. The only exception was telenovelas dubbed in Standard Arabic, or dialects, but also Turkish series, most notably Gümüş, in Syrian Arabic.

An example of Arabic voice actors that dub for certain performers is Safi Mohammed for Elijah Wood.

In Tunisia, the Tunisia National Television (TNT), the public broadcaster of Tunisia, is not allowed to show any content in any language other than Arabic, which forces it to broadcast only dubbed content (this restriction was recently removed for commercials). During the 1970s and 1980s, TNT (known as ERTT at the time) started dubbing famous cartoons in Tunisian and Standard Arabic. However, in the private sector, television channels are not subject to the language rule.

South Africa

In South Africa, many television programs were dubbed in Afrikaans, with the original soundtrack (usually in English, but sometimes Dutch or German) "simulcast" in FM stereo on Radio 2000. These included US series such as ''The Six Million Dollar Man'', ''(Steve Austin: Die Man van Staal)'' ''Miami Vice'' ''(Misdaad in Miami)'', ''Beverly Hills 90210'', and the German detective series ''Derrick''.

As a result of the boycott by the British actors' union Equity, which banned the sale of most British television programs, the puppet series ''The Adventures of Rupert Bear'' was dubbed into South African English, as the original voices had been recorded by Equity voice artists.

This practice has declined as a result of the reduction of airtime for the language on SABC TV, and the increase of locally produced material in Afrikaans on other channels like KykNet. Similarly, many programs, such as ''The Jeffersons'', were dubbed into Zulu, but this has also declined as local drama production has increased. However, some animated films, such as ''Maya the Bee'', have been dubbed in both Afrikaans and Zulu by local artists. In 2018, eExtra began showing the Turkish drama series '' Paramparça'' dubbed in Afrikaans as ''Gebroke Harte'' or "Broken Hearts", the first foreign drama to be dubbed in the language for twenty years. On extra they have many Turkish series. Kara Sevda which is Bittersoet. They also have Istanbullu Gelin which is Deur dik en deun. They have Yasak Elma which is Doodsondes. They also have '' Elif''.

Uganda

Uganda's own film industry is fairly small, and foreign movies are commonly watched. The English sound track is often accompanied by the Luganda translation and comments, provided by an Ugandan "video jockey" (VJ). VJ's interpreting and narration may be available in a recorded form or live.

Asia

Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, dubbing is rare, as most Azerbaijani channels such as ARB Günəş air voice-overs or Azerbaijan originals.

China

China has a long tradition of dubbing foreign films into Mandarin Chinese, starting in the 1930s. While during the Republic of China era Western motion pictures may have been imported and dubbed into Chinese, since 1950 Soviet movies, dubbed primarily in Shanghai, became the main import. Beginning in the late 1970s, in addition to films, popular TV series from the United States, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico were also dubbed. The Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio has been the most well-known studio in the film dubbing industry in China. In order to generate high-quality products, they divide each film into short segments, each one lasting only a few minutes, and then work on the segments one-by-one. In addition to the correct meaning in translation, they make tremendous effort to match the lips of the actors to the dialogue. As a result, the dubbing in these films generally is not readily detected. The cast of dubbers is acknowledged at the end of a dubbed film. Several dubbing actors and actresses of the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio have become well-known celebrities, such as Qiu Yuefeng, Bi Ke, Li Zi, and Liu Guangning. In recent years, however, especially in the larger cities on the east and south coasts, it has become increasingly common for movie theaters to show subtitled versions with the original soundtracks intact.

Motion pictures are also dubbed into the languages of some of China's autonomous regions. Notably, the Translation Department of the Tibetan Autonomous Region Movie Company (西藏自治区电影公司译制科)Confucius the Movie: China Flop Dubbed at the State's Expense for Tibetan Movie-goers
, 22 November 2013 has been dubbing movies into the Tibetan language since the 1960s. In the early decades, it would dub 25 to 30 movies each year, the number rising to 60-75 by the early 2010s.
Motion pictures are dubbed for China's Mongol- and Uyghur-speaking markets as well.

Chinese television dramas are often dubbed to Standard Mandarin by professional voice actors for a number of reasons.

=Hong Kong

=
In Hong Kong, foreign television programs, except for English-language and Mandarin television programs, are dubbed in Cantonese. English-language and Mandarin programs are generally shown in their original with subtitles. Foreign films, such as most live-action and animated films (such as anime and Disney), are usually dubbed in Cantonese. However most cinemas also offer subtitled versions of English-language films.

For the most part, foreign films and TV programs, both live-action and animated, are generally dubbed in both Mandarin and Cantonese. For example, in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, Elijah Wood's character Frodo Baggins was dubbed into Mandarin by Jiang Guangtao for China and Taiwan. For the Cantonese localization, there were actually two dubs for Hong Kong and Macau. In the first Cantonese dub, he was voiced by Leung Wai Tak, while in the second Cantonese dub, he was voiced by Bosco Tang.

=Taiwan

=
Taiwan dubs some foreign films and TV series in Mandarin Chinese. Until the mid-1990s, the major national terrestrial channels both dubbed and subtitled all foreign programs and films and, for some popular programs, the original voices were offered in second audio program. Gradually, however, both terrestrial and cable channels stopped dubbing for prime time U.S. shows and films, while subtitling continued.

In the 2000s, the dubbing practice has differed depending on the nature and origin of the program. Animations, children's shows and some educational programs on PTS are mostly dubbed. English live-action movies and shows are not dubbed in theaters or on television. Japanese TV dramas are no longer dubbed, while Korean dramas, Hong Kong dramas and dramas from other Asian countries are still often dubbed. Korean variety shows are not dubbed. Japanese and Korean films on Asian movie channels are still dubbed. In theaters, most foreign films are not dubbed, while animated films and some films meant for children offer a dubbed version. Hong Kong live-action films have a long tradition of being dubbed into Mandarin, while more famous films offer a Cantonese version.

A list for Mandarin and Cantonese voice artists that dub for actors are shown here.

Georgia

In Georgia, original soundtracks are kept in films and TV series, but with voice-over translation. There are exceptions, such as some children's cartoons.

India

In India, where "foreign films" are synonymous with "Hollywood films", dubbing is done mostly in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Dubbing is rarely done with the other major Indian languages, namely Malayalam and Bengali, due to lack of significant market size. Despite this, some Kannada and Malayalam dubs of children television programs can be seen on the Sun TV channel. The dubbed versions are released into the towns and lower tier settlements of the respective states (where English penetration is low), often with the English-language originals released in the metropolitan areas. In all other states, the English originals are released along with the dubbed versions, where often the dubbed version collections are more outstanding than the originals. ''Spider-Man 3'' was also done in the Bhojpuri language, a language popular in eastern India in addition to Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. ''A Good Day to Die Hard'', the most recent installment in the ''Die Hard'' franchise, was the first ever Hollywood film to receive a Punjabi language dub as well.

Most TV channels mention neither the Indian-language dubbing credits, nor its staff, at the end of the original ending credits, since changing the credits casting for the original actors or voice actors involves a huge budget for modifying, making it somewhat difficult to find information for the dubbed versions. The same situation is encountered for films. Sometimes foreign programs and films receive more than one dub, such as for example, Jumanji, Dragonheart and Van Helsing having two Hindi dubs. Information for the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu voice actors who have done the voices for specific actors and for their roles on foreign films and television programs are published in local Indian data magazines, for those that are involved in the dubbing industry in India. But on a few occasions, there are some foreign productions that do credit the dubbing cast, such as animated films like the ''Barbie'' films, and some Disney films. Disney Channel original series released on DVD with their Hindi dubs show a list of the artists in the Hindi dub credits, after the original ending credits. Theatrical releases and VCD releases of foreign films do not credit the dubbing cast or staff. The DVD releases, however, do have credits for the dubbing staff, if they are released multilingual. As of recently, information for the dubbing staff of foreign productions have been expanding due to high demands of people wanting to know the voice actors behind characters in foreign works. Large dubbing studios in India include Sound & Vision India, Main Frame Software Communications, Visual Reality, ZamZam Productions, Treasure Tower International, Blue Whale Entertainment, Jai Hand Entertainment, Sugar Mediaz, Rudra Sound Solutionz and voxcom.

Indonesia

Unlike movie theaters in most Asian countries, those in Indonesia show foreign movies with subtitles. Then a few months or years later, those movies appear on TV either dubbed in Indonesian or subtitled. Kids shows are mostly dubbed, though even in cartoon series, songs typically aren't dubbed, but in big movies such as Disney movies, both speaking and singing voice are cast for the Indonesian dub. Adult films are mostly subtitled but sometimes they can be dubbed as well, and because there aren't many Indonesian voice actors, multiple characters might have the exact same voice.

Reality shows are not dubbed in Indonesian, because those are not in a planned interaction like with movies and TV shows, so if they appear in TV, they will appear with subtitles. All Malay language TV shows, including animated ones (such as ''Upin & Ipin''), are also subtitled instead, likely due to the language's mutual intelligibility with Indonesian.

Iran

In Iran, International foreign films and television programs are dubbed in Persian. Dubbing began in 1946 with the advent of movies and cinemas in the country. Since then, foreign movies have always been dubbed for the cinema and TV foreign films and television programs are subtitled in Persian. Using various voice actors and adding local hints and witticisms to the original contents, dubbing played a major role in attracting people to the cinemas and developing an interest in other cultures. The dubbing art in Iran reached its apex during the 1960s and 1970s with the inflow of American, European and Hindi movies.

The most famous musicals of the time, such as ''My Fair Lady'' and ''The Sound of Music'', were translated, adjusted and performed in Persian by the voice artists. Since the 1990s, for political reasons and under pressure from the state, the dubbing industry has declined, with movies dubbed only for the state TV channels. During recent years, DVDs with Persian subtitles have found a market among viewers for the same reason, but most people still prefer the Persian-speaking dubbed versions. Recently, privately operated companies started dubbing TV series by hiring famous dubbers. However, the dubs which these companies make are often unauthorized and vary greatly in terms of quality.

A list of Persian voice actors that associate with their actor counterparts are listed here.

Israel

In Israel, only children's movies and TV programming are dubbed in Hebrew. In programs aimed at teenagers and adults, dubbing is never considered for translation, not only because of its high costs, but also because the audience is mainly multi-lingual. Most viewers in Israel speak at least one European language in addition to Hebrew, and a large part of the audience also speaks Arabic. Therefore, most viewers prefer to hear the original soundtrack, aided by Hebrew subtitles. Another problem is that dubbing does not allow for translation into two different languages simultaneously, as is often the case of Israeli television channels that use subtitles in Hebrew and another language (like Russian) simultaneously.

Japan

In Japan, many television programs appear on Japanese television subtitled or dubbed if they are intended for children. When the American film ''Morocco'' was released in Japan in 1931, subtitles became the mainstream method of translating TV programs and films in Japan. Later, around the 1950s, foreign television programs and films began to be shown dubbed in Japanese on television. The first ones to be dubbed into Japanese were the 1940s Superman cartoons in 1955.

Due to the lack of video software for domestic television, video software was imported from abroad. When the television program was shown on television, it was mostly dubbed. There was a character limit for a small TV screen at a lower resolution, and this method was not suitable for the poor elderly and illiterate eye, as was audio dubbing. Presently, TV shows and movies (both those aimed at all ages and adults-only) are shown dubbed with the original language and Japanese subtitles, while providing the original language option when the same film is released on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray. Laserdisc releases of Hollywood films were almost always subtitled, films alike Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Adult cartoons such as ''South Park'' and ''The Simpsons'' are shown dubbed in Japanese on the WOWOW TV channel. '' South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut'' was dubbed in Japanese by different actors instead of the same Japanese dubbing-actors from the cartoon because it was handled by a different Japanese dubbing studio, and it was marketed for the Kansai market. In Japanese theaters, foreign-language movies, except those intended for children, are usually shown in their original version with Japanese subtitles. Foreign films usually contain multiple Japanese-dubbing versions, but with several different original Japanese-dubbing voice actors, depending upon which TV station they are aired. NHK, Nippon TV, Fuji TV, TV Asahi, and TBS usually follow this practice, as do software releases on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-ray. As for recent foreign films being released, there are now some film theaters in Japan that show both dubbed and subtitled editions.

On 22 June 2009, 20th Century Fox's Japanese division has opened up a Blu-ray lineup known as "Emperor of Dubbing", dedicated at having multiple Japanese dubs of popular English-language films (mostly Hollywood films) as well as retaining the original scripts, releasing them altogether in special Blu-ray releases. These also feature a new dub created exclusively for that release as a director's cut, or a new dub made with a better surround sound mix to match that of the original English mix (as most older Japanese dubbings were made on mono mixes to be aired on TV). Other companies have followed practice, like Universal Pictures's Japanese division NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan opening up "Reprint of Memories", along with Warner Bros Japan having "Power of Dubbing", which act in a similar way by re-packaging all the multiple Japanese dubs of popular films and putting them out as Special Blu-ray releases.

"Japanese dub-over artists" provide the voices for certain performers, such as those listed in the following table:

Pakistan

In Pakistan "foreign films", and cartoons are not normally dubbed locally. Instead, foreign films, anime and cartoons, such as those shown on Nickelodeon Pakistan and Cartoon Network Pakistan, are dubbed in Hindi in India, as Hindi and Urdu