International Dubbing: A Booming
Growth Industry For Voice Actors
By Juana Plata
December 4, 2020 – Society of Voice Arts and Sciences
Original content on streaming media has changed the dubbing industry significantly and profoundly, becoming a growth genre for voice talent where specialization and localization play a fundamental part.
During the most recent That’s Voiceover!™ Career Expo, important figures in international dubbing participated in the only Spanish language panel in the whole event. Why in Spanish? Because in the US, dubbing into English has barely started, while in Latin America and Spain, movie and TV audiences have consumed US-produced content in Spanish for decades. This has afforded the Spanish dubbing industry, especially in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Spain, a deep understanding of what voice artists must possess to be successful in the genre. To produce high-quality dubbing, it’s not enough to learn and master the mechanics and techniques; voice artists must also be able to interpret the sentiments that the original character is feeling, so they can make the audience feel what the native speaking actor was conveying.
In a high powered panel, where the most important and recognized producers from Mexico and Spain, Ricardo Tejedo and Lorenzo Beteta respectively, shared their view of the essential qualities a voice actor must possess in order to interpret a character while always respecting the original but adapting it culturally to the Spanish-speaking audience.
In another section, Andrea Nieto, CEO of Centauro Communications (with offices in Miami, Bogotá, and Sao Paolo) spoke about the production levels required to localize high profile series. Additionally, she shared how voices are selected and how this process demands speed, know-how, art, and precision to create a high-quality final product that convinced the audience of its authenticity. Finally, she shared her experiences in dubbing Latin American and Brazilian series into English and how this field is gaining momentum in the US.
Deborah Wexler, Localization Director for the Americas and APAC for Los Angeles based Pixelogic Media, shared with us the incredible importance of script translation and adaptation to the cultures for which it is being prod
uced. She further explained that the precision of translations and adaptations are essential for successful original language series to also be successful in the translated language.
The international dubbing panel was moderated by Argentinian voice artist Natalia Rosminati who has significant dubbing experience and who is nominated for several categories at the SOVAS 2020 Voice Arts Awards including best international dubbing for interpreting Margot Robbie’s “Kayla Pospisil” in the movie Bombshell.
Natalia Rosminati, together with Ezequiel Lachman and Juana Plata, is also the co-founder of “La Industria Desde Adentro”, the number one worldwide webcast for Spanish-speaking voiceover professionals. La Industria Desde Adentro was tasked with coordinating and executing this panel that without a doubt offered a deep and detailed vision of the US dubbing industry for English-speaking voice professionals.
With over 20 years of experience in front and behind the scenes, Juana Plata is a 2-time Emmy Nominated producer, SOVAS Award Winner, PROMAX nominee, and an internationally acclaimed bilingual voiceover talent. Knowing that Hispanic/Latinos in the USA come from diverse backgrounds and that language and words vary from country to country, she encapsulates diversity and inclusion. Juana is co-founder and co-host of La Industria Desde Adentro, the most important webcast for Spanish language voice over artists worldwide.
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