Posted by Moran on 21-12-2008

Ever since Robin Williams dubbed the voice of the Genie in "Aladdin", the most famous actors have been vying to dub animated children's movies. This work is less and less associated with the actors behind the scenes.

In animated films, subtitles, video games, in radio and advertising, there is no lack of dubbing actors.

The profession of dubbing refers to an actor recording his voice as a character in a movie, without being filmed as that (or perhaps, any other) character in the film. There are two main types of dubbing: for cartoon characters and as translations in movies, filmed in one language, that are distributed to foreign audiences. In addition, there is the possibility that an actor's voice may be used for radio broadcasting, for advertising, etc. Sometimes, a role may include singing, but usually, a professional singer is used for such roles.

Dubbing Animated Movies

Most people think that dubbing occurs only after the entire movie had been filmed. In fact, it is the other way around. Usually, in animated movies, the voice is recorded, with all the mimicry and expressions of the actor, and only then are the characters drawn. This allows the actor much greater freedom of expression in recording. After the dubbing, the characters are drawn to accommodate the recorded voice, including lip movements and facial expressions that will match the voice. Sometimes, the characters are drawn to somewhat physically resemble the actor that is dubbing its voice.

Dubbing: Languages Translation

In many countries it is customary to dub all the foreign movies and television series into the local language. dubbing makes the series or film more local-friendly. In some of those countries, Italy for instance, the entire original sound track is changed, while in other countries, Russia for example, most of the original sound track is left intact while two or three readers will read a translation of the text. Movie dubbing usually appears unauthentic, since the lip movements never match the words that are, after all, translated.

In other countries, England and the United States for instance, it is customary to leave the original sound track and attach subtitles with the translated texts. In those countries, the only movies that are dubbed are those intended for young children that can't read. Therefore, most of the dubbed movies are animated films or cartoons.

The first step in dubbing into a different language is to translate the dialog in such a way that best preserves the beat and intonation of the original language. The length of sentences pauses and sometimes, even overt lip movements are taken into consideration. Then the actor records his voice according to the character on the screen. The actor listens to the original text as preparation and watches the film as he is reading, in order to synchronize as much as possible. The really large film companies, such as Disney, supervise the dubbing of their films into foreign languages on a very high level in order to preserve the original characters expressions and personalities.

Dubbing or Looping

Some regular films also require parts of the text to be dubbed. If there is a technical problem with the recorded dialog, such as unexpected background noise, the actors will need to return to the studio to repeat the text (dub). This is called automated dialog replacement or ADR. Sometimes the producer decides to use a stunt double to speak instead of the original actors. In Italy, for instance, all of the dialog is recorded in a studio after the whole movie is finished

Famous Voice - Dubbing Actors

In most cases, actors that do voices or dubbing are not famous. Some, though, do manage to gather a following, especially if they become famous through some specific character that they have dubbed. One such famous dubbing actor is Mel Blanc, better known as the 'Man of a Thousand Voices". He has dubbed many of the characters seen in Warner Bros. and Hannah Barbera's animated films. The most famous character dubbed by Mr. Blank is Bugs Bunny. In Japan, where over 60% of the animated films and video games in the world are produced, voice actors can become very well known and their income sky rockets accordingly. Among voice actors there are those who dub on the stage as well as in movies. This is especially true since Robin Williams dubbed the Genie in Disney's "Aladdin". Today, casting actors to dub animated characters had become an inseparable part in marketing those films.

Finding Work as a Voice Actor - Professional Casting Training

Many acting schools offer lessons in voice-dubbing. Dubbing studies include learning voices of different characters, acting and vocal expression. In addition, dubbing lessons offer advice on how to get work in productions. There are actor's agencies that specialize in the dubbing field, and most of the casting crews affiliated with advertising on radio and television use these agencies. If you are interested in dubbing, enroll with a reputable agency of this type, or find out where such an agency exists in your area. In order to offer your services in dubbing, you should produce a high quality dubbing demo-disc that includes samples showing you're capabilities. Pass this disc on to potential casting personnel at the agencies.

Take into consideration that a voice actor is required to do different things than a regular actor. Some of the roles require him to be a bit wild, to produce voices that are very different from regular human voices. There may be a necessity for different accents. Many of the animated movies are humorous, so the voice actor should have an aptitude for comedy. This work is challenging and can be extremely enjoyable. It offers an actor a chance to deal with different characters that he would normally not come in contact with. If you believe you have a talent for this type of work - take a short course or have a talk with your agent. Who knows? You may be the next Homer Simpson!