Voice-Over and Dubbing Services

As global economies continue to develop rapidly in all corners of the world, services for multimedia translation and interpretation are in high demand. The increase in multilingual audiences are requiring the most sophisticated use of the latest technology combined with skillful human interaction to ensure information can be read, listened to, or watched so your target audience has a comfortable sense of inclusion. Voice-over and dubbing services differ but both are popular audiovisual techniques that have been used for decades to deliver a verbal message in a specified language to a new audience. Either process is more time consuming than the use of written subtitles, where the translation appears as captioned text below the visual image. Nonetheless, dubbing and voice-over interpretation services are not the same and are used for differing reasons for business, political, or entertainment purposes. As you grow your business globally or extend your organization’s message to a broader audience, promotional video content and podcasts can easily be shared via popular social media platforms, but the interpretation process must be done accurately with a precise translation of the speaker’s message to the target language(s).

Common Applications for Audiovisual Interpretation

Although voice-over and dubbing services are different types of multimedia translations, both provide audiovisual interpretation where the client’s message is translated into a foreign language using an audio track instead of written subtitles. Popular applications for industries include:

• Dub-Over for Language Replacement
  Simple dialogue replacement is one of the cheapest forms of voice replacement where the original audio is muted and replaced with a new audio track recorded in the target language. The fake lip-sync used with this dubbing technique can be seen in many kung-fu films where an oriental language was replaced with over-acted deliveries of the original script in English.
• Lip-Sync Dubbing
  Lip-Sync dubbing uses a translated script that is carefully voiced by replacement speakers (or voice actors) and technically edited so the new language soundtrack matches the lip movements of the native speakers seen on screen, in a video, or online podcast. This dubbing technique can translate complex messages to recreate a more immersive user experience.
• UN Style Voice-Over
  The simplest voiceover, often referred to as UN Style Voice-Over is similar to what is delivered and heard during simultaneous interpretation of a multilingual event. The native speaker is heard in the background with an interpreter’s translation recorded in the target language. Voice-over services require a selective choice of words to convey the original message with the same meaning.
• Voice-Over Narration
  Where the UN style voice over focuses on interpreting the speaker’s message, voice-over narration occurs off camera and is seldom used as a real-time technique. A voice narrator can describe the actions being seen to simplify the visual message delivered by a film, training video, or e-learning tutorial. A good narrator can add a sense of objective truth to your visual presentation.

Simply stated, voice-over services create an audio track in the translated language where the interpreter’s voice is heard loudly with portions of the original audio heard in the background. Dubbing, on the other hand, allows the native speaker’s voice to be replaced with a new track recorded in the target language.

Audio Authenticity versus Natural Delivery

It has often been said that voice-over and dubbing services are merely two sides to the same coin. While a voice-over naturally preserves the authenticity where interpretation to another language is the main objective, dialogue replacement can preserve nuances of a speaker’s message as dubbing naturalizes the audio track. Although not as cost-effective as UN style voice-over, voice replacement can create an illusion that a video, film, or podcast is presented in an unchanged manner but where the new audience is allowed to understand the message as spoken in the target language. However, due to the technical aspects, dialogue replacement using full lip-sync dubbing is not used as often as other re-voicing techniques. Based on your specific needs, dubbing services are useful when the interpretation of a complex message requires cultural translation, or the dialogue must deliver the precise meanings of words across multiple languages. This is especially true where the native speaker’s script contains metaphors or humorous quips. After all, what is funny in one language can be considered offensive in another.

Managing Your Interpretation Budget for Content Localization*

Multimedia translation can be useful for a variety of applications including simultaneous interpretation as well as remote interpretation and mobile interpretation. When audiovisual content is interpreted and reproduced using a variety of semiotic resources, such as image, language, or cultural perspective, the delivery of context is multimodal. Based on your specific needs for translation, synchronization, localization, and timing, your budget can be better utilized if you go through the proper thought process and workflow for each project before settling on your best option for voice-over or dubbing services. Although fake lip-sync dubbing has an entertaining aspect for humorously interpreted B-rate movies, this less-expensive technique for dialogue replacement is not recommended where foreign content needs to appear native to the target audience. Language replacement should create an illusion that the person on-screen is speaking in the native tongue of the audience, so the result is not distracting to the viewers. Voice-over narration can be used in corporate, industrial, or institutional environments as an effective technique for training, promoting, or delivering important messages when informing multilingual employees or showcasing a special event.

*The bigger your budget, the more natural your content can sound to your multilingual audience. If you have struggled to get your message across, contact ProLingo for assistance. Our voice-over and dubbing services offer unique advantages that can be expertly matched to the most challenging project budgets.