In this article we want to delve deeper into two very particular sectors of the audiovisual world, namely voice over and dubbing. Although they apparently have a lot in common, since in both cases it is essential to have a good command of the voice, in reality they are two different and separate disciplines, each with its own peculiarities.
Continue reading to find out what their main characteristics and differences are, and learn to distinguish them once and for all.
What is voice over
If, while surfing the TV, you have ever come across a documentary or one of those programs in English in which the protagonists want to lose weight, renovate their house or train their dog, you will surely have noticed that this type of content has a double audio track. The first, the one in relief, in your native language; the second, lower and muffled, in the original language. Well, this ‘game’ of voices and superimpositions is a technique called voice over.
When we talk about voice-over we are referring to the production technique consisting of an overlapping voice that is often used in the audiovisual world. To achieve this, the voice of a narrator who does not appear on the screen is recorded.
Broadly speaking, it can also be seen as a type of oral translation or interpretation that occurs in the voice of the original character. This type of service is mainly used for the translation of documentaries, series, reality shows and commercials.
One of the main reasons that led to its birth has to do with the credibility it is able to give to the content. This is especially true in relation to multimedia content such as documentaries, a little less for reality shows. A second reason lies in the dramatic component that voice over manages to transpose onto the screen, since the fact of seeing and listening to a person showing their feelings is considered a great television resource for gaining an audience.
What is dubbing and how it differs from voice over
Unlike voice over, dubbing is the technique that completely replaces the original audio track – be it a film, a TV series, a documentary or any other type of format – while maintaining its emotional nuances and dramatic performance unchanged.
The viewer, essentially, will have the perception that the characters or the narrator speak his own language perfectly.
Dubbing is a close relative of acting, so much so that voice actors are generally professionals who come out of theater or acting schools and who only later specialize in the sector.
LingoYou, professional multimedia translations
It is important to rely on a team of professionals in charge of performing a professional voice over to incorporate voice over into your audiovisual pieces. This method is closely linked to translation, since the latter is the most important preliminary phase before recording the audio that will be screened in the country to which the production is directed.
LingoYou is the agency expert in professional translation, interpreting and transcription services. Get in touch with us.
Marketing Team LingoYou
Call us
+39 0282957101
Send us an email
