and get better, faster, cheaper results

 

You’re working on a low-budget live-action series or feature film, and you know that sooner or later you’re going to have to dub it into one or more languages. (Like French, for example, or Spanish… Portuguese… Mandarin…)

 

Here are five things you can do, both on set and in post, to make this process easier, more accurate and cheaper.

 

  1. Make sure you have a solid M&E track. When you’re shooting, whatever natural sound there is underneath your dialogue, make sure you record it clean, so that your dubbing studio doesn’t have to rebuild the background sound. (In other words, record room tone!)  Also, be ready to provide the dubbing house with voice-only stems, which they’ll need for lip-sync adaptation. 

 

  1. In your sound design, consider avoiding things that could make dubbing more costly. For example, fill generic background scenes with library sounds. Don’t have many people shouting words that aren’t relevant to your story but can be clearly heard and need to be dubbed.

 

  1. When your production is finished, create an accurate as-produced transcript. This should contain only: time code in, time code out, character name, and dialogue line. (This format is much more useful for dubbing than a Combined Dialogue and Spotting List.) Also helpful: a second version with annotations explaining any cultural references, possibly unfamiliar words, or jokes that a translator could miss.

     

  2. To speed up the adaptation process (and save on pre-production costs), create two QuickTimes for each episode: one with a voice-only mix, the other with the full mix (voice and M&E). The first one will be used for adaptation, the second for reference in the recording sessions and mix.

     

  3. Finally, think ahead about casting. Give the dubbing house a bio for each of the main characters, with a pictures and a :30-1:00 QT with a key scene that would work for auditions.

 

Want to talk about dubbing your production or ask for a free quote? Please get in touch!