{"id":2737,"date":"2022-11-28T12:29:04","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T15:29:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stillmantranslations.com\/?p=2737"},"modified":"2022-11-28T12:29:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T15:29:05","slug":"when-translating-audio-theres-a-choice-to-make-subtitles-dubbing-or-voiceover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stillmantranslations.com\/fr\/when-translating-audio-theres-a-choice-to-make-subtitles-dubbing-or-voiceover\/","title":{"rendered":"Dub, dub, goose!<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

When translating audio, there\u2019s a choice to make: subtitles, dubbing or voiceover?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve talked about this before. But it\u2019s always good to refresh. Should you Dub, Sub or Voice over<\/strong>? The reason this question is still on the table is because the choice has no right or wrong answer. When it comes to translation and accessibility<\/strong>, the method of how you translate or give context to video content<\/strong> depends very much on the type of project, audience and location<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The important thing is to understand the pros and cons<\/a> before localizing your media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dubbing <\/strong>attempts to hide the traces of translation. Well-dubbed audio takes expertise, sounds natural, and the result is unnoticeable to the viewer. And sometimes, we don\u2019t need all this and subtitling <\/strong>is more than enough. And sometimes<\/em> not even that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to tell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"translating
Photo by Immo Wegmann<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some basic definitions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dubbing: it\u2019s very often confused with voice-over services<\/strong>, but it\u2019s not. They both imply a voice over the original. And they both replace dialogue<\/strong> with a spoken translation. But the outcomes and objectives are different.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s<\/em> is very technical and involves directors, voice-over actors, translators, sound mixers and more. The goal is for it to be almost impossible to discern that the video being watched is not in its original language.<\/strong> Words match lip movement, there are matching tones and emotions. Or tones and emotions localized to how it would sound in a given country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s typically used in entertainment, for example. Where a mistake in dubbing would break the illusion or imagery that is being built.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voicover:<\/em> On the other hand, voiceover is a voice that replaces os is placed on top of the original language. And the objective is to purely transmit and translate<\/strong> what is being said. But it\u2019s not necessary for it to hide the fact that it\u2019s not the original voice. Lips don\u2019t need to match. In fact, the UN-style voice-over<\/strong> is the most common and while the original audio still can be heard, the volume is turned down around 20%, and the translated voice-over starts 1-2 seconds after the original-language voice. And a single person or a small group plays all the roles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is why it\u2019s typically used for international interviews, or TV shows and documentaries<\/strong> where the emotional weight is not as big, and costs can be cut by using voiceover instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subtitles<\/em>: the written translation of the dialogue in a piece of content. Subtitles are placed at the bottom of the screen and are timed with the actor\u2019s lines.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And how does one pick between these? The main factors that impact your decision are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n