Voice-over and Dubbing Script Translation

What is delivered here is not the recording itself but a script ready for recording: translated, timed and fluent to read. Capturing the audio in a studio is a separate job. The script, though, is the foundation of the voice work; a poor script cannot be rescued even by the best voice artist. The real effort therefore goes into making the text speakable.

The formats differ widely

“Voice work” is not a single job. In voice-over, the original audio is turned down and the translation is read over it; there is no lip sync to worry about, but the timing has to match the picture. This is the method used most often for documentaries and corporate videos. In full dubbing the original audio is removed altogether and the translation is rebuilt to fit the actor’s lip movements; from the script’s point of view this is the most demanding format. Narration is a single-voice text accompanying the picture, and calls above all for fluency.

Which format is required must be settled at the outset, because the script is written to it. A dubbing script that needs lip sync takes many times the effort and time of a voice-over script; treating the two as the same job leads to poor planning.

How the process works

Work on a voice script is driven from start to finish by a single question: read aloud, does this sentence sound natural and finish on time? The sequence below asks that question again at every step. First it is established which type of voice work is needed and how long each line has to fit into, because the script is written to those limits. The distinctive step in the process is testing the text by reading it out loud; a sentence that looks flawless on paper is rebuilt if it ties the tongue. The script that reaches the studio is thus prepared so as to hold no surprises during recording.

1. Format and timing analysis. Which type of voice work is required, and how long each line has to fit into, is established.
2. Translation and adaptation. As the text is translated, both the meaning and the time it takes to say are kept in view; lines that run long are shortened without losing their naturalness.
3. Speakability check. The text is tested by being read aloud; passages that tie the tongue, leave no room to breathe or come out as tongue-twisters are reworked.
4. Sync adjustment. In dubbing, lines are fine-tuned to the lip movements and the length of the scene; in voice-over they are aligned with the picture.
5. Delivery ready for recording. The script is supplied together with performance notes – stress, intonation and pronunciation.

How the work is delivered

The output is a script that can be put in front of the voice artist: lines in sequence, with time codes where needed and notes on how proper names are to be said. How foreign names and abbreviations should be pronounced is set out explicitly; leaving those decisions to be made in the studio during recording costs time and produces inconsistency. If the recording is wanted as well, that part of the process is planned separately via our contact page.

Points specific to this service

Timing is the most critical point. A sentence that is short in one language may run long in another; in dubbing that means the line overruns the lip movement. The writer of a voice script is therefore constantly fitting things in: holding on to the meaning while matching syllables and duration to the target. This is an entirely different skill from straightforward translation.

The second point is not to confuse this with subtitling. Subtitles are read with the eye and condensed; a voice script is spoken and has to resemble natural speech. The subtitle text prepared for a video cannot be handed over for voice work as it stands; the two are written to different logics. The naturalness of spoken language matters far more here than a formal, written register.

How the script relates to the recording

The voice script is the link immediately before recording, which is why most of the problems that surface in the studio are in fact solved at the script stage. A line too long to be read in one breath, uncertainty over how a name is pronounced, or a sentence whose emphasis is unclear all cost time during recording and force take after take. A well-prepared script prevents those losses from the start.

The notes added to the script are therefore part of the job: which word to stress, where to pause, with what feeling a line should be delivered. They allow the voice artist to grasp the text correctly on first reading. If the recording is wanted too, planning the script and the recording as one flow produces a more consistent result; preparing the text in one place and having it recorded somewhere else, cut off from its context, often ends in a mismatch.

What determines the price?

The first factor in the cost is the type of voice work: dubbing that requires lip sync takes far more effort than a voice-over script. The second is the length of the video and how densely it is spoken. The third is how tight the sync has to be; there is a wide gap between a job where rough timing is enough and one where every syllable has to land. If the recording is wanted as well, it is assessed as a separate item. A price therefore cannot be given until the video and the format are known.

You can send us your video and tell us which type of voice work you need through the quote form. The logic behind our pricing is on the pricing page, and the languages we work in are on the language pages.

Situations that come up often

• Using the subtitle text. Handing over text condensed for reading on screen to be voiced; it sounds artificial and incomplete to the ear.
• Overrunning the timing. Lines that are accurate but too long to fit the picture or the lip movement; this is the most common reason for revision.
• Unclear pronunciation. Leaving the pronunciation of foreign names and abbreviations to the moment of recording; it should be noted in the script beforehand.
• Confusion over format. Full dubbing being planned when voice-over was expected, or the other way round; the format should be clear from the start.

The information here is offered as guidance; the current practice of the institution concerned should be taken as authoritative. Go by the requirements in force on the date of the transaction.