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Broadcasting
DUBBING AND SUBTITLING
Language lessons – part two In our second look at modern approaches to dubbing and subtitling, we discuss with Allan Dembry, CTO, Iyuno Media Group, the role of voice actors, the demands of the OTT world and the changing requirements of African markets. Photo: Iyuno Media Group
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EW TECHNOLOGY HAS transformed dubbing and subtitling. However, new approaches to TV production and distribution have brought new pressures to bear on the localisation process. In a recent interview with Communications Africa, Allan Dembry, CTO, Iyuno Media Group, a market leader in the localisation industry, explained why. But he began with a look at a long-established part of the localisation process: the role of voice actors. Communications Africa: How difficult is it to fit new dialogue, lip-synced, into the same time frame as the original? Do voice actors need to be dubbing specialists? Allan Dembry, chief technology officer, Iyuno Media Group: Voice actors need to develop specialised skills so that they are able to synchronise as much as possible their spoken dialogue to the actors on screen. However, the level of accuracy required here differs from region to region. In some regions it’s permissible for the dubbed voice to not match perfectly with the onscreen lip movements of the original actor. However, in other markets, most markedly in French-speaking territories, the need to match audio and syllables to the lip movement of the on-screen actors is a necessity. Rythmo band recording [a precise approach but one that can be demanding to prepare] requires investment up front in mapping out the lip movements into an understandable and viewable syntax in the script so that the voice actor can ensure that the dubbed audio matches as closely as possible the lip movements on screen. Ultimately, the amount of studio time is then reduced by taking this approach. Communications Africa: I believe there is a lot more pressure on time now that shows can roll out simultaneously across multiple territories. Is this true? How do you manage this? Allan Dembry: This is very true. With broadcast there was always a need to deliver localised content in a timely manner, and often the turnaround times were very tight, but now that we are in the OTT world of myriad different platforms, as well as content simultaneously releasing in multiple territories and languages on those platforms, there is huge pressure to manage and deliver projects on time, while still
www.communicationsafrica.com
Allan Dembry: “There is a real divide in terms of subtitling and dubbing by region and language.”
maintaining the high levels of quality expected by both our clients and, of course, the end consumer. To achieve this we use our cloudbased project management platform, MSX, to coordinate, manage and deliver those global projects. As we mentioned earlier [see issue 1 2020] around the end-to-end process, this global approach allows us to allocate work out in parallel to multiple teams and have the completed work streams come back together for finishing, QC [quality control] and ultimately distribution. Depending on how many languages we are dubbing and subtitling the materials into, and the number of materials being localised – for
example, an entire season of a show – it can be a truly global undertaking. Ensuring this is properly coordinated, [with] tasks allocated, deliverables tracked, and timely delivery, is no small undertaking but, thankfully, we’ve got the tools needed to help us to achieve that. Communications Africa: I have also been told that some territories prefer dubbing to subtitling (and vice versa). Why is this? Allan Dembry: That’s very true. With the exception of children’s content, which is almost universally dubbed, there is a real divide in terms of subtitling and dubbing by region and language. There are lots of theories
Communications Africa Issue 2 2021
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