Voice-overs and dubbing are tools used by organisations all over the world to link their content with a worldwide audience. Voice-overs and dubbing are frequently used in the production of marketing and promotional content. Videos, for instance, can readily be viewed by millions of people worldwide thanks to social media platforms.

The difficulty is that your material must be written in a language that your intended audience can understand. If you want to show a genuine devotion to your regional viewers, you must accurately translate your video material, frequently employing a localisation or even transcreation strategy.

Instructive content like staff training films and online courses is another significant area where voice-over and dubbing are used. It has been demonstrated that speaking to your audience of students in their native language improves learning outcomes and knowledge retention, therefore it should be a focus for shrewd course providers.

But which—voice-overs or dubbing—should you employ? We’ll learn in the following blog:

What distinguishes dubbing from voice-overs?

Despite the fact that the terms are occasionally used synonymously, there are some significant distinctions between voice-overs and dubbing:

What is a voice-over?

A voice-over includes adding a new language track over the original audio file. Generally speaking, there are two distinct types:

1) “Voice-over in UN style”

You can typically still hear the original audio track at a lesser volume in the background when you are listening to an UN-style voice-over.

You will be familiar with the effect if you have ever heard someone being interviewed on the news and having their words translated over top of what they are saying.

2) “Off-camera voice-over” or “off-screen narration”

In cases where the actual speaker cannot be seen on television, voice-overs are frequently used. For instance, in a tutorial or advertising video. In this instance, the original audio track is frequently completely deleted.

It takes a translated version of the original screenplay or a translation of a transcript of the dialogue from a video to create a voice-over. A narrator or voice-over performer subsequently records this translated version, which is then overlaid over the video.

What is Dubbing?

Dubbing entails entirely swapping out the original audio performance for a translation into another language. The actors’ on-screen performances are perfectly complemented by the new sounds.

Usually, the new audio performance will be performed in real life. This entails one or more voice actors accurately reproducing the style, nuance, and performance of the original actor, including things like crying, laughing, and a wide range of expressions. Typically, it adopts one of two shapes:

1) Dubbing with “voice replacement” or “language replacement”

Voice replacement entails substituting an audio performance in a different language for the original one.

Although the new performance will be properly “played out,” there will be little or very little effort made to match the new audio with the on-screen lip movements of the performers. This method is frequently referred to as “fake lip-sync” or “dialogue substitution” for this reason.

Lip-sync dubbing includes as closely as possible synchronising the on-screen performers’ mouth motions to the new audio performance.

The accuracy of the original script translation is the most crucial component in producing high-quality lip-synced audio recordings. A thoughtful choice of words and phrases that communicate the same idea as the original language is required for this. The same lip movements from the original performance must be used simultaneously, but in the target language.

When to use dubbing

When you wish to hide the fact that the information has been translated or lessen its impact, or when you want to communicate the nuance of the original speaker’s intent or feeling. Television shows, movies, and content geared toward youngsters or maybe illiterate adults make excellent dubbing candidates.

Dubbing involves a lot more labour because it must accurately capture every aspect and tone of the original performance, as well as maybe similar accents or dialects.

The benefit of doing it this manner is that a native audience will typically find it much easier to absorb the information and it will sound much more rich and natural. Additionally, it is far superior for entertainment purposes.

Voice-overs and dubbing: Pros and Cons

Both methods for translating audio content (and its subtypes) have benefits and drawbacks that might help you choose the strategy that is best for your existing content.

The following is a list of the key facts to consider before making your choice:

1) Voice-over (UN-style)

• Economical – Since only one or two voice actors are typically required and a completely lip-synced screenplay is not required, UN-style voice-overs are frequently the most economical audio translations to produce.
• Extremely accurate—the new version of a UN-style voice-over may prioritise the total accuracy of the translation because it merely needs to match the pace of the video and doesn’t require lip-syncing.
• Time-limited – If the length of the video is not kept to a minimum, the listeners may find the presence of the old audio track underneath the new audio performance to be distracting or bothersome.

2) Voice-over (off-camera)

• Increases authority and trust – it’s well established that an off-camera voice lends credibility and coherence to the material delivered in a video.
• Can assist a film with numerous actors or parts come together. If a video has several actors or performers, off-camera narration can help tie the various elements of the video together.
• When utilised improperly, off-screen narration can hinder the delivery of information. In certain circumstances, adding narration where it isn’t necessary might detract from the overall effectiveness of a video by adding an unnecessary distraction.

3) Dubbing (lip-synced)

• The most immersive audio-visual experience possible thanks to high-quality lip-synced dubbing, which gives viewers the impression that the programme was created just for them. All of the intensity and passion of the first performance will be captured in the new one.
• Enables your audience to concentrate on the visuals; currently, even many Japanese anime artists advise dubbing audio for audiences abroad. This is so that viewers can concentrate on the artwork on the screen thanks to dubbing. In live-action video, the director’s vision and the performances of the original actors are identical.

Voice-overs and dubbing vs subtitling

• Voice-overs often have an alternative called subtitles. You might want to record a voice-over for your video material rather than using subtitles for a number of reasons:
• Maintains the viewer’s attention on the visual action rather than the text at the bottom of the screen, which can lead to viewers missing subtleties in body language, performance, background information, and other areas.
• Vital for online learning – It is crucial that learners are given the opportunity to assimilate the information intended for the visual and aural components of instructional and educational content. This can be distracted by subtitles.

Are you looking to provide compelling voice-overs or dubbing for you video content?

Music Magix Chennai works with many types of organisations to produce dubbing and voice-overs that are factual, convincing, or informative for a variety of objectives. Contact us today for more details.