Filmmaking

In filmmaking, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture.

Voices recorded that do not belong to the original actors and speak in a different language from the one in which the actor is speaking.

"Dubbing" can also be used to describe the process of re-recording lines by the actor who originally spoke them. This process is technically known as automated dialogue replacement, or ADR. Foreign-language films and videos are often dubbed into the local language of their target markets to increase their popularity with the local audience by making them more accessible.

Automated dialogue replacement / post-sync

In conventional film production, a production sound mixer records dialogue during photography, but several uncontrollable issues, such as traffic or animal noise, during principal photography can cause the production sound to be unusable.

When the film is in post-production, a Supervising Sound Editor or ADR Supervisor reviews all of the dialogue in the film and rules which actor lines will have to be replaced using the ADR technique.

ADR is recorded during an ADR session. An actor, usually the original actor on set, is called to a sound studio equipped with video playback equipment and sound playback and recording equipment. The actor wears headphones and is shown the film of the line that must be replaced, and often he or she will be played the production sound recording. The film is then projected several times, and the actor attempts to re-perform the line while watching the image on the screen, while an ADR Recordist records the performances. Several takes are made, and based on the quality of the performance and sync, one is selected and edited by an ADR Editor for use in the film.

An alternative method, called "rythmo band” (or "lip-sync band") was historically used in Canada and France. This band provides a more precise guide for the actors, directors and technicians and can be used to complement the traditional headphone method. The band is actually a clear 35 mm film leader on which is written, in India ink, the dialogue and numerous indications for the actor (laughs, cries, length of syllables, mouth sounds, mouth openings and closings, etc.). The lip-sync band is projected in studio and scrolls in perfect synchronization with the picture. Thanks to the high efficiency of the lip-sync band, the number of retakes are reduced, resulting in a substantial savings in recording time (as much as 50% compared to headphones-only recording).

Dubbing is often used to localize a foreign movie. The new voice track will usually be spoken by a voice artist. In many countries, most actors who regularly perform this duty are generally little-known, outside of popular circles such as anime fandom, for example, or when their voice has become synonymous with the role or the actor or actress whose voice they usually dub. In the United States, many of these actors also employ pseudonyms or go uncredited due to Screen Actors Guild regulations or simple desire to dissociate themselves from the role. However, famous local actors can also be hired to perform the dubbing, particularly for comedies and animated movies, as their names are supposed to attract moviegoers example shahrukh khan, stallione etc.

Asia

China has a long tradition of dubbing foreign films into the Mandarin Chinese which started in 1930s. Beginning from late 1970s, not only films, but popular TV series from the US, Japan and Mexico were also dubbed.

The Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio has been the most celebrated one in the dubbing industry in China. In order to generate high-quality products, they divide each film into short segments, each one lasting only a few minutes, and then work on the segments one by one. In addition to the correct meaning in translation, they make tremendous effort to match the lips of the actors.

As a result, viewers can hardly detect that the films they are seeing are actually dubbed. The cast of dubbers is acknowledged at the end of a dubbed film.

In Thailand, foreign television programmes are dubbed, but the original soundtrack is often simultaneously carried or "simulcast" on the radio.

In Pakistan, Almost 60% of population speak Punjabi as their mother-tongue in country. Therefore Punjabi films make more business than Urdu films. The film companies produced Punjabi films and re-record all films in Urdu and released it as a "Double Version" film.

OTHER USES

In most cases, the original actor does not perform this duty; instead, an actor with a similar voice is called in. The results are sometimes seamless, but in many cases the voice of the replacement actor sounds nothing like the original performer, also, often easy to notice, is the sudden absence of background sounds in the movie during the dubbed dialogue

CRITICISM AND DEFENSE OF DUBBING

Dubbing has been criticized in several ways, particularly in countries where it is not common practice.Those who dislike dubbing sometimes claim that it devalues films or TV programs, as original soundtracks are closer to what the director intended.

Dubbing performers are occasionally known to take liberties with some works they do not hold in particular esteem, or consider exploitation films.

Defenders of dubbing maintain that subtitling interferes , distracting, with the visual experience

Also, some viewers who understand both the original language and the language used in the subtitles say they find that it is confusing and distracting to mentally process the dialogues in both languages at the same time.

New technology
It is now becoming possible to overcome some of the problems associated with dubbing using new technology. An application developed at New York University, known as Video Rewrite, uses computer animation to match lip movements with the new voice track.

Media Movers, Inc., a dubbing company, has developed a piece of proprietary software which can automatically sync ADR/dubbed tracks with pre-defined algorithms.