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Illustration: Alexxndr, © 123rf.com

November 25, 2023 | Eric Geringas

Power of Babel Blasts Off!

We’ve had a busy couple of years…

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Eric Geringas

Illustration: Ivan Simonov, © 123rf.com

January 11, 2021 | Eric Geringas

E-learning videos: 4 tips to make localization a breeze

and make your clients and viewers happy

 

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Eric Geringas

Cutie Pugs, produced by Little Engine Pictures

November 20, 2020 | Eric Geringas

Lip-Sync Dubbing: 5 tips that will save you money

and get better, faster, cheaper results

 

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Eric Geringas

Voice director Simon D. Scott works remotely, while engineer Neil McDonald is in his usual chair at 528 Recordings

October 5, 2020 | Eric Geringas

COVID-Safe Recording Part 2: Remote Lip-sync Dubbing

You need a lip-sync dub of your animated series or feature film, but COVID protocols are telling everyone to stay home. What do you do? You figure out a software solution for remote lip-sync dubbing that allows everyone to work remotely, without compromising the product.

Seven months into the pandemic, virtually every sound studio is recording voiceover remotely. If they didn’t have Source-Connect before, they likely do now. And Source-Connect is excellent – an internet-based replacement for a dedicated ISDN line that’s now the industry standard.

But what about dubbing? How do you handle socially distanced recording to video – especially lip-sync dubbing? The voice director is in one place, the sound engineer in another, the performer at a home studio…

How did Zoom do?

Sure, there’s Zoom. We tried it. Massive fail. Audio and video were out of sync, there were audio dropouts – in other words, there was no way to evaluate the performance.

Skype was a little better: with a webcam aimed at the studio monitor, you get much better audio-video sync, and you can monitor the recording reasonably well.

But what about lip-sync dubbing, where you need much more precise control? At Power of Babel, we use VoiceQ ADR and dubbing software, which has modernized the traditional rythmoband method. To set-up an effective remote workflow with VoiceQ, we needed more software.

The right set-up for remote lip-sync dubbing

First, to give the director remote control of the VoiceQ computer in the studio (which is mirrored in the performer’s studio and linked to ProTools), we added TeamViewer. And to feed video to the director and the performer, we chose SessionLinkPRO, browser-based remote recording and video-feed software, which delivers broadcast-quality video in real time, with no lag, at up to 30 fps.

And that’s the set up. Our voice director controls VoiceQ, our sound engineer runs ProTools and SessionLinkPRO, and the performer is free to create characters in the safety of their home studio. 

We are ready to help you anytime with your dubbing or voiceover recording project – in English, French or any other language. Please get in touch for a free quote.

Eric Geringas

Voiceover recording session at 528 Recordings

July 17, 2020 | Eric Geringas

COVID-Safe Recording Part 1: At Our Studio

How to minimize risk for performers 

There are many questions about minimizing the risk of coronavirus infection in audiovisual production. For us at Power of Babel, the most relevant one is: how do we record audio safely for our dubbing and voiceover projects? How do we minimize risk for our voice performers and audio engineer?

We started researching this months ago, because requests for dubbing and audio production didn’t stop when Toronto went into lockdown. Of course we’ve tried as much as possible to work with performers who have home studios. But with dubbing work, that’s not always possible.

So what’s the solution?

For us, it’s been relatively easy: we are lucky to be working with Marco Furgiuele’s 528 Recordings, a small studio in the basement of a private home, with its own entrance. The distance from the studio’s front door to the recording booth is about 10 feet. And once in the booth with the door closed, the performer is completely isolated.

So we figured we could make this space safe, and worked with Marco on a straightforward safety protocol:

    • All work surfaces in the booth are disinfected before and after each performer.

    • Performers each get a brand-new disposable mic cover, and are encouraged to bring their own headphones.

    • There is no one else in the studio except the engineer and sometimes the voice director.

    • And of course, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes are provided at all times.

After a few sessions, we decided we had to go further, and today we take even more precautions:

    • We leave an hour between sessions, which gives us time to ventilate the booth.
    • The studio acquired a Winix PlasmaWave air purifier, with a true HEPA filter, which, among other things, traps airborne droplets.

I looked up the recommendations for best practices at voice studios published by ACTRA Toronto and SAG-AFTRA, and was happy to see that we are 100% on the same page about performer safety.

So if you need dubbing or voiceover production in any language, please get in touch. We take safety seriously, and we’ll get it done right.

NEXT: Recording remotely

 

Eric Geringas

Stage: The Culinary Internship, produced by Butternut Productions

June 8, 2020 | Eric Geringas

Subtitle Primer: What NOT to Do

How to avoid common mistakes that cost you time, money and quality

 

My last post was a primer on subtitling for producers and filmmakers. Today, I’ll tell you how to avoid a couple of common mistakes that can cost you time and money – insight that will help you get your video content translated professionally and effectively.

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Eric Geringas

League of Exotique Dancers, produced by Storyline Entertainment

May 28, 2020 | Eric Geringas

Subtitle Primer: A Guide for Producers, Filmmakers and Editors

 

If you are a video producer today, chances are that sooner or later you’ll be asked to deliver subtitled content.

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Eric Geringas

Russian-language video by Q Media Solutions

May 8, 2020 | Eric Geringas

How to boost your video production business

A video translation partner helps you do more for your clients

 

For producers, some language versioning projects are straightforward: you send your video to a dubbing company, which translates the script, and records and mixes the audio in the target language. You get back a voice track that drops nicely into your timeline, so all you have to do is output.

But sometimes the project is more complex, and you need more help.

 

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Eric Geringas
May 8, 2020 | Eric Geringas

Video translation costs: talk to us early about budgeting

The cost of dubbing and subtitling can vary. We can help you figure it out.

 

I’ve spent a good chunk of time over the past few years figuring out video translation budgets: translation, adaptation, voice performers, studio time – every language, every project is a bit different. And it’s important to us and to our clients that we get the numbers right. So we sweat the details.

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Eric Geringas
May 7, 2020 | Eric Geringas

Grow your video production business with a trusted translation partner

If you need to translate your video, are you ready?

 

For a video producer, what are the keys to financial success? Creativity… excellent client relations… careful cost control… These are all important. But what’s really going to get you repeat business is problem solving. Make your clients’ problems go away, and you’ve got their loyalty forever.

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Eric Geringas
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