Dubbing. It’s something that almost every voice-over talent I speak to wants to get into. If you’ve wondered what skills you need for this very fun, challenging, and possibly lucrative area of the VO industry, this blog is for you.
The first thing I want to point out is the difference between dubbing and ADR, because dubbing may be a form of ADR, but not all ADR is dubbing. Confused? No problem. The explanation is easy.
With ADR, which stands for Automatic Dialogue Replacement, the purpose is to replace the original dialogue with new dialogue. This can be done by the actor who did the role in the film, or someone else. The reason for replacement of dialogue is usually because they need to change the lines after filming. And there could be many reasons for that. Maybe there was loud wind, rain, or traffic in the background. Maybe they needed to improve the actor’s diction, or even put another voice in for the actor we are watching on screen.
A famous example of ADR is Marnie Nixon replacing all of the singing for Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady”, or Andie McDowell’s voice being replaced by Glenn Close in “Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan.” Other reasons for ADR could be to replace content for legal purposes, or to remove foul language when a film is aired on TV.
Recording in progress.
So, that’s ADR – and all of that is technically dubbing. But, when we refer to the dubbing industry, we’re referring to recreating film or television dialogue into a completely different language than was in the original version. For example, a film or television series might have been done in Turkish, and will be dubbed into French, Spanish, English, and Portuguese. If you are fluent in more than one language, that means more dubbing opportunities for you.
The languages chosen for the dubbing are usually determined by the distributor. There are companies that provide the service and that’s where we – the voice actors – come into play. If you’re interested in how we’re paid, it’s usually always an hourly rate or a per loop rate that is set by the dubbing company.
This work used to only be done at the location of the dubbing company, and the talent had to be near the studio. The pandemic was a major factor in opening up this work to remote talent, because, for a very long period of time the talent, engineers, directors, and everyone involved were not able to come physically to work.
Now, even though a lot of the work is still done physically in the studio, many of these companies still use remote talent. That’s great news for us! I worked as a talent for a very large dubbing company that was located near where I lived. I had solid work each week. When I moved to a different state, I can tell you I sure missed that income. But when the pandemic rolled in, I was back in, working remotely, and I still am to this day. I have also worked as a dialogue writer (also known as script adapter) for them for several years.
So, what skills do you need – and what is the experience like?
Number one on the list is acting, because that’s basically what we’re doing. We are just doing it in a different language than the original on-screen actor. In general, there is almost always a non-disclosure agreement to sign, and we don’t usually see the scripts before we are rolling through on the fly.
If you’re working in your home studio, you are usually sent a connection link (like Source Connect or something similar) from the studio. You speak into your microphone, and it rolls into their studio. You are usually working with an engineer, who’s doing the technical work. However, I have worked with a few studios where they direct you as you record into your own set up. You would then send them the raw unedited files. There’s also usually a director present, who is there to make sure that the dialogue is being delivered in the way that it needs to be. You will need to match the emotion, cadence, tone, and style of the actor on screen.
If you’re interested in dubbing, but have no acting background, definitely invest in some acting lessons. You’ll be moving on the fly, without a lot of time to think, so the experience is key for thinking on your feet.
It’s important to know that the clients usually want a similar sound to the talent on-screen, but your sound is only part of it. The acting is essential.
You’ll also need good reading skills. You’re basically sight-reading or seeing the script for the first time as you go. Most studios will show you the scene first to let you watch before you dive in, but I have worked with some, depending on their schedule, that just want to roll through the script.
Reading out loud is the best thing you can do to hone those skills. In your headphones, you will hear the original actor as you are reading, which will help you to match the tempo and style. You will be able to see the video with a timecode on it, as well as on your script, by each line. The timecode will let you know where your character starts to speak, letting you know when to deliver your line. This is where reading skills are important, because you’re juggling a few things.
The role of the dialogue writer or adapter is to take the translated script and rewrite everything so that the words you say match the “lip flaps” of the on-screen actor. It can take a full day to adapt an hour-long script. They will also note pauses, and reactions (like nasal inhale, cough, or sob) as you will need to match the on-screen actor. If you see a poorly dubbed film where nothing matches, odds are they didn’t have a script adapter and it was done with the translation only.
Usually, a studio will have you do a studio sound test to make sure your noise floor, microphone, and absorption are what they need. Then you will do an audition, that may or may not be for an actual job – it’s mainly to see what you can do and how you take direction. Depending on how you do, you might start with a smaller role. As you work into principal or leading roles, you will be booked for longer sessions, as there will be more lines. Yay! It’s exciting to get a principal role in a long running series. Telenovelas can have over a hundred episodes. I usually voice the villains, so I never make it all the way to the end. Almost, but not quite.
Next is to have good equipment and a quiet set up with no distractions. If you’re booked for two hours, you’ll need to get everything they need done in that time.
Finally, I think a very important thing to know is that after the introductions and polite chat when you start your session, make sure to just focus on the work without veering into stories of what you did last night at the fair, or how hot it is, because you’ll want to focus and get all of the work in that’s scheduled for your time slot.
There’s so much to tell you about this amazing area of voice-over, but I hope what I’ve crammed into this short time helps.
Hone your acting skills, practice reading out loud at different tempos, make sure your equipment and set-up will pass, and be professional in live sessions. One last thing that will help: get familiar with the patterns of other languages, maybe by watching a few foreign films. This will help you to match the cadence or rhythm. If dubbing is something you’re interested in, give it a try. You’ll never know otherwise. So, get out there, and break a lip!
Robin Brooke is a voice-over actor, theatre producer, and inspirational coach based in Virginia. Connect via Instagram @babblingbrookevo
