What is dubbing and where does this art come from?

Dubbing consists of replacing the spoken part of an audiovisual fragment previously recorded in a certain language by the same part in another language. The image and the sound are used as a reference, as well as the original script, since there is no doubt that the art of dubbing is unequivocally linked to audiovisual works, such as movies, documentaries or corporate videos.

Brief history of dubbing

It is true that, as we have previously mentioned, the dubbing is inevitably linked to the film industry, but to find the origin of this art we have to go back many years before the creation of the first film.

The dubbing was born with a recreational purpose in theatrical performances of puppets in which the puppeteers had to give voice and emotion with intention to the dolls they were driving. them and the storytellers, who also interpreted The narrator and characters of his stories are considered the origin of the first dubbings made.

The arrival at the cinema was hand in hand with Hollywood, of course. With the film “The Jazz Singer”, in 1927, a sonorous era would begin in the cinema that lasts to this day, but was born with very rudimentary methods. The voices were individually recorded on vinyl and then joined the film when it was played.

In Spain, however, the first dubbing work dates back to 1993, in Barcelona. Just two years later there were already four more dubbing studios in our country, which shows us the speed with which the industry grew in a few years.

How is the work process in an audiovisual dubbing?

The most immediate work when you receive a film that will need to be dubbed into another language is the responsibility of the translator. A translation proposal will be made in which cultural misunderstandings, puns from the language of origin are avoided… translator ability will be decisive in the final result of this process.

Before starting to record, there is still a series of adjustments to make so that the phrases agree with the movement of the lips of the original actors. The cinematographic work is divided into several “takes” or fragments of less than a minute in order to be able to work on them and that the dubbing is as real as possible.

The next step is already in charge of the director, and is to select the actors and actresses who are going to carry out the voices of the dubbing. Dubbing time is usually not more than three intense days, since the study tries to minimize production costs, as in any industry.

It should be noted that throughout the dubbing process, the scripts undergo infinite modifications to make the intention, emotion and times that the director of the original film wants to transmit as coherent as possible.

Types of dubbing

Over the years, the profession of bender has evolved due to the demand for new sectors that have broken with force.

Until now we have talked about traditional dubbing, but we must not forget that for centuries documentary dubbings have also been made and that, although it may seem that the work is the same, the truth is that to dub them you need to have a much more slow voice and the creation of a fictional character by the actor to get hooked and excite the viewer.

The birth of the video game industry is perhaps the largest market niche found by benders to continue growing in recent years. It is a relatively new job, since the first video games used the original voices and sounds. In addition, the images do not usually arrive before the recording of the dub, so the actors have to work based on the script and the original audios, which makes the task much more complicated. Recently, the video game industry has become so powerful that renowned actors are being hired to give voice to video game characters, as is the case with Michelle Jenner playing the protagonist of “Horizon”.

The last type of dubbing that we cannot forget is the animation dubbing. The actor must imagine the way his character behaves, his laughter or his tone when he is angry since being fictitious characters he has no references about it. They are techniques that need a high level of precision and in which, of course, the best and most perfect jobs come from the hands of the Walt Disney and Warner Bros.

You already know all about where it comes from and how it works in the world of dubbing, a world that is also increasingly necessary in the business sector. Messages for commercial purposes also need this type of service if they want to be transmitted correctly and send the information and message that we want to the consumer correctly.

If you want to know more about how the Corporate Video Dubbing Services Do not hesitate in contact us And we will be happy to solve all your doubts.