DUBBING
Voices beyond borders
What you need to know about dubbing
Dubbing is the process of replacing the original spoken dialogue of any form of audiovisual content with recorded speech in another language.
Dubbing, voiceover, or audiodescription?
Different types of media require different approaches. Voice-acted dubbing may enhance your project's emotional content, but if you are on a tight budged and your content is mainly informational, a simpler voiceover may do the trick. Learn about the different types of services we provide and find the one that best suits your needs.
Type of service | Implementation | Timing & lip-sync constraints | Common uses |
|---|---|---|---|
Dubbing | Completely replaces spoken dialogue with a translated and acted out performance. | Requires strict timing and lip-syncing. | Preferred for fiction content that requires immersion: such as film, series or videogames. |
Voiceover | Plays alongside or on top of original dialogue. | No lip-syncing. | Preferred for non-fiction content, such as documentaries, news reels or tutorials. |
Audiodescription | Plays at the gaps between original or dubbed dialogue in order to describe relevant visual content. | No lip-syncing; strict time constraints may apply. | For the benefit of visually-impaired viewers. |
Subtitles or dubbing?
If you are about to localize your content into Spanish, this is a fair question to ask. Generally speaking, the dubbing process is generally more costly and time consuming than subtitling, so for smaller-scale projects it may not be advisable. Here are a few factors to help you decide whether it's worth it for you to invest in Spanish dubbing.
Consumer habits
Spain has a long tradition of dubbing with a pool of experienced and talented voice actors. While consumer attitudes are changing, the majority of Spaniards still prefer dubs over subtitles.
Platform requirements
If you are planning to submit your content to any specific platforms, it may be that they required content for the Spanish market to be dubbed.
Immersion factor
Depending on what you're aiming for, it may be easier to convey your message in a spoken form. For example, a comedy film with lots of wordplay will convey its humor better in a spoken form.
Formats we work with
Time always moves forward, and so does the way we interact with audiovisual content. We provide localization services for a variety of conventional and digital formats, including:
Feature films
Short films
TV series and miniseries
Streaming content
Documentaries
Web series
Corporate and training videos
E-learning content
Advertisements
Social media (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc.)
Videogame cinematics and trailers
Other (multimedia content for museums, theater, etc.)
What does the process look like?
Discover how we can work together to a fluent and immersive localization for your audiovisual content.
Script creation
Preparing for translation
The translation process starts by gathering the necessary materials in order to generate a dubbing script. At the very minimum, we would need:
-
The full video in the original language. It doesn't matter if your project isn't finalized yet, though it is best if it looks like the final product as much as possible. We need this in order to understand the full context in which each utterance is spoken.
-
The original script or a transcript of the dialogue.
In addition, any of the following would contribute to better precison and understanding of the project and your vision and thus more refined results:
-
Timecoded script/spotting list.
-
Your own dubbing template (to make sure we follow your preferred format).
-
Character bible.
-
Terminology glossary.
-
Previous localized content (if any).
-
Style guide.
-
Brand guidelines.
Generating a script
Once we have received all the materials, we will generate a script for dubbing. At this stage, we will focus on conveying your story in Spanish fluently and accurately.
Translate your video
Adaptation
Now it is time to turn the translation into an actual script for your voice actors. If you are working with your own dubbing studio, it is likely that they work with an adapter who will make sure that all dialogues match lip-sync and timing constraints, as well as add any necessary instructions for the voice actors. However, we may also take care of this step for an extra fee.
Please note that we do not provide voice acting services.
Quality Assurance
Checking for issues
Once the dub has been recorded and synchronized with the video, the content is reviewed in order to check for any problems. We will send you a report included any detected issues which need handling before finalizing the production. Among others, these may include:
-
Missing lines.
-
Synchronization issues.
-
Pronounciation issues.
-
Corrupt audio.
Final sanity check
After the initial QA round, a new version of the dub will be generated; ideally, all previous issues will be now solved. A final sanity check cross-checks the final version of the video with the initial QA report to make sure that everything has been fixed satisfactorily.
If we report no further issues, congratulations! Your content is ready on the translation side.