Dialogue Writing for Dubbing

An Insider's Perspective

Giselle Spiteri Miggiani

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9783030049669
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Translating & Interpreting
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This book analyses an important phase in the interlingual dubbing process of audiovisual productions: the elaboration of target language scripts for the recording studios. Written by a practitioner in the industry who is also an academic and trainer, it provides practical know-how and guidelines while adopting a scholarly, structural and methodical approach. Supported by an exemplified, analytical and theoretical framework, it is non-language specific and discusses strategies and tricks of the trade. Divided into three parts, the book provides a descriptive, practical and analytical approach to dubbing and dialogue writing. The author analyses scripts drawn from her own professional practice, including initial drafts that illustrate the various transformations of a text throughout the rewriting process. She also offers a 'backstage' perspective, from first-hand experience in recording sessions that enabled knowledge of text manipulation, studio jargon, and the dubbing post production process. This publication will provide a valuable resource for novice dubbing translators and dialogue writers, while offering practitioner insights to scholars and researchers in the field of Audiovisual Translation, Film and Media Studies.

Part IThe Dialogue Writing Practice

A Descriptive Approach

© The Author(s) 2019

Giselle Spiteri MiggianiDialogue Writing for Dubbinghttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04966-9_1

Begin Abstract

1. Dialogue Writing Set in Context

Giselle Spiteri Miggiani¹

(1)

Translation, Terminology and Interpreting Studies, University of Malta, Msida, Malta

Giselle Spiteri Miggiani

Email: [email protected]

End Abstract

This first part of the monograph is intended to pave the way for the practical and functional tasks and demands that belong to the dubbing and dialogue writing process. The insider’s description of the dubbing and dialogue writing process is accompanied and supported by a scholarly outlook on the subject matter and is aimed at introducing specific aspects and issues that will be dealt with later from a practical viewpoint.

1.1 The Dubbing Process and Main Professional Roles

A dubbed production is obtained by replacing the original voice/dialogue track with a newly recorded one in the target language (TL); this is mixed technically into the rest of the international soundtrack. The recording usually takes place in the territory of the TL country, though there are exceptions, as in the case of multilanguage localization companies that have their studios based only in one country and do not rely on dubbing studios in foreign territories. The newly inserted dialogues are synchronized to the visuals to create the impression that the original actors on screen are speaking the dubbed TL.

The intention is not to deceive the viewers “that they are watching an original” but to “encourage the illusion of a homogenous whole” (Whitman-Linsen 1992, p. 17). The aim, therefore, is an invisible cut-and-paste activity in order to maintain the suspension of disbelief¹ or, rather, the double suspension of disbelief (Bosseaux 2015, p. 69 drawing on Sánchez Mompeán 2012, p. 713). Likewise, Martínez Sierra (2008, p. 48) drawing on Caillé (1960, p. 108) describes the dubbing process as an illusion of an illusion. This effect is obtained mainly through the synchronization between text and visuals, the quality of which determines the level of credibility obtained, as also the quality of voice selection, performance, newly recorded elements and effects, and final sound mixing, not to mention the dialogues. Figure 1.1 visually depicts the idea of the original dialogues being extracted from a whole and replaced. The new dialogues must fit perfectly into a complex filmic system made up of several other codes, which are in interplay with each other.

Fig. 1.1

Dialogue extracted and replaced. (Sketch drawing by Sara Chersoni)

Whitman-Linsen (1992), Chaves (2000), Paolinelli and Di Fortunato (2005), Le Nouvel (2007), Jüngst (2010), Chaume (2012), Martínez Sierra (2012), Chorao (2013), Cornu (2014), Lukic (2015), and Machado (2016), among other scholars and practitioners, have described, at length, the dubbing process and the main professional roles involved. Since this chapter aims at placing dialogue writing within context, it is necessary to present a quick overview of the dubbing process and to repropose the key features of the various roles that support and form part of the dubbing framework. The perspective offered is based on professional experience and observation in the dubbing industry and backed by the works of academic researchers and scholars. Additional research conducted for the purposes of this monograph, and intended to establish dubbing modalities and tendencies across countries and cultures, has also been taken into consideration.

This work does not engage in a chronological account of how dubbing or dialogue writing developed throughout the years and the impact that technological advancements had on the recording methods, therefore it is necessary to mention specific scholarly contributions that tackle the evolution of dubbing. Cornu (2014) and Le Nouvel (2007) both lay special interest on the various stages of dubbing in France and therefore necessarily investigate the bande rythmo method and the calligraphy system used for the latter. A diachronic discussion on dubbing methods and dialogue writing would also need to make reference to Pommier (1988), Whitman-Linsen (1992), Herbst (1996), Chaves (2000), and Paolinelli and Di Fortunato (2005), among others.

The dialogue writing profession is a solitary one, this notwithstanding, as Martínez Sierra (2012, p. 80) rightly points out, the dubbing process is based on teamwork, consequently on the interdependence of all the so-called dubbing agents. Understanding the manner in which the other dubbing practitioners will be intervening on the TL scripts, helps translators and dialogue writers to position their work and determine a specific approach, without losing sight of the overall picture. Needless to say, visiting the actual dubbing recording studios is the best way for dialogue writers to acquire awareness of the other operations involved and the process as a whole.

The postproduction chain hosting the dubbing process can be summarized as follows, and in this specific order: production companies, intermediary agents and/or international distributors, purchasers (e.g., TV networks), dubbing companies, and screening platform (e.g., cinema, TV channel, or VOD). Figure 1.2, on the other hand, illustrates the key phases in the dubbing process and the professional roles usually involved at each stage. The diagram does not, in any way, represent an exhaustive breakdown of the dubbing process, which is also made up of other tasks and processes. The summoning of actors, the remake phase (during which certain excerpts are rerecorded and edited), and the tasks and additional professional roles involved in using the bande rythmo method (Le Nouvel 2007; Cornu 2014) are typical examples.

Fig. 1.2

The dubbing process and main professional roles. (Adapted from Chaume 2012)

The dubbing practitioners can be in-house or freelance depending on company policies and norms that vary from one country to another. Freelance agreements seem to be a more widespread or popular method, perhaps with the exception of sound engineers and dubbing assistants who are often part of the in-house team.

1.1.1 Sound Technicians

Sound or audio technicians are usually responsible solely for the technical aspects, mainly dialogue/vocal recording, mixing, mastering, and editing as well as backup and data management of the recording material; they also ensure that the recorded track is free from any unnecessary noise, be it the rustling sound of hard copy scripts, any pounding on the microphone, or unrequired body sounds such as the actors breathing or sniffing, which can easily elude everyone else’s attention in the studios. Their trained ears also enable them to identify unclear articulation or incorrect diction pronounced by the actors, hence providing added support to dubbing directors and assistants. Sound engineers are also responsible for volume levels, as well as audio effects such as filtered or echoed dialogue lines or any particular room tones required in specific scenes. The skill with which the newly recorded voice tracks are mixed into the original sound track can have a huge impact on the overall credibility of the dubbed product. It can therefore be considered as a distinct quality standard (Chaume 2007), which matter will come up for discussion, at a later stage.

Sound engineers are also responsible for the blending in of newly recorded background murmur, sometimes enhancing it further in volume when compared to the original, and on other occasions they may also need to add digital or foley sounds (manually created sound effects, Wright and Lallo 2009) drawn from prerecorded samples. This is usually required in the case of sound effects that have been originally recorded on the voice track and would therefore be lost once the original dialogue track is substituted. Music and effects are, more often than not, recorded on a separate track, but there could also be other sounds, originally captured on set, al...