TABLE OF CONTENTS
TRANSLATION/ADAPTATION
- Colloquialisms
- We want our audiences to relate to the content they are watching and the message to resonate with the same intention as the original voice (“OV”). Unless the content is a period piece or the use of language in the OV is different from the way people talk nowadays, we suggest dubbing translators utilize colloquial language when the content justifies it.
- Definition of colloquial language should not be limited to the language used in the metro cities that might skew towards retaining more English in the speech than the rest of the country. The language must cater to a larger target audience.
- Censorship
- Our mission is to honor the original creative intent as much as possible with our dubbed versions. Dialogue (including expletives) should be rendered as faithfully as possible, without using dialect or words that would otherwise introduce a level of obscenity not implied in the content. We strongly encourage dubbing adapters to not soften or censor any cursing or profanities used in the OV (with adherence/respect to local laws).
- When curses or profanities are used not as an expletive but as an intensifier, adaptation should reflect the same. Special care should be taken to make sure that the usage of an equivalent expletive in such a case does not end up making the dialogue, character or the scene crass, if not intended so in the original.
- Lip Sync & Intent
- Perfect lip-sync is a goal we want our dubbing partners to constantly pursue, however, we don’t want to sacrifice the message and intention of the OV by prioritizing perfect lip-sync. The original intent of the dialogue is our priority and we lean on the expertise of dubbing translators/adapters to make judgment calls when both attributes can’t be achieved.
- Sensitive & Inclusive terminology
- Inclusion and Diversity (“I&D”) are priorities for Netflix and while we have made considerable progress, we are still learning how to better communicate our needs and expectations to the dubbing community. When I&D topics appear in our content, Netflix’s dubbing team will provide guidance and support to make sure we are representing the original characters in the best way possible.
- In the absence of a linguistic approved term for certain underrepresented communities in the regional target language, e.g. non-binary pronouns, the adaptation has to be sensitive and open to a work around on a title to title basis with the help of Netflix's dubbing team.
- The partner help center has a non-exhaustive terminology list that calls out sensitive names, terms and phrases applicable to India and provides context where they can be considered insensitive.
- Established Intellectual Property & Franchises
- Some of our shows are or will be based on established intellectual property (“IP”) that has been translated for other forms of content (video games, books). The dubbing team will provide which sources should be utilized as key references in order to be consistent across the board.
- Research
- Some of our films and series utilize vocabulary specific to the topic that is not necessarily in the common vernacular. We want to encourage translators and adapters working on such content to have existing knowledge/experience and/or to research extensively to make sure the same level of verbal expertise exists in our dubbed versions. Please reach out to the local dubbing team to collaborate and share knowledge & context for the best results.
- Music/Song Treatment
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- Songs should be translated and included in the forced narrative file (not dubbed) only if plot pertinent and if the rights have been granted.
Please obtain song clearance from your Netflix representative. - In case the song dubs are commissioned, your Netflix representatives will reach out to you.
- Songs should be translated and included in the forced narrative file (not dubbed) only if plot pertinent and if the rights have been granted.
- Foreign Language Treatment and Accents
- For shows where foreign dialogue is sparse throughout, or has plot pertinent importance, a forced narrative file for the foreign dialogue will be created and the foreign dialogue will be recreated and included in the dubs if the talent can convincingly recreate them. If not then a close voice match will have to be achieved so that the original dialogue stem can be retained in the dubbed version.
- If foreign dialogue accounts for roughly 40% or more of run time, this dialogue would be better conveyed with dubs instead of forced narratives, as too many forced narratives cause a disruptive experience.
- Do not replicate accents from the original. The use of language accents should generally be avoided, because an inaccurately applied/imitated accent may be perceived as insensitive or offensive to certain cultural and/or ethnic groups. Moreover a foreign language with regional accent takes away from the believability of the character. Same is the case when Indian regional language accents are used for evidently foreign characters, story and premise. Such accents should be resorted to only after discussion and confirmation from the local Language Production Manager.
- Seek advice from Netflix if it is unclear how to treat foreign dialogue or accents.
- Pronounced Indian English accents should be used only when the brief specifically mentions so.
- Audio description coverage
- The end user needs to be kept in mind while adapting and dubbing. Every silence has a reason, the importance of which amplifies for someone who is not visually following the on-screen activity. Giving as much information in a concise and time sensitive manner, enhancing the audience’s experience, should be the goal.
VOICE CASTING & PERFORMANCE
- Creative Director
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- We would like our studio partners to be as thoughtful about selecting the creative team as producers are for the original version. Translators, adapters, directors, etc. should be identified and secured based on qualifications or specialties for that genre or topic of the film/series. We know production schedules can make this challenging, so please reach out to Netflix to assess flexibility in dates as necessary.
- We want to ensure creative oversight/guidance is provided during the Voice Casting recording sessions. Ideally, the Dubbing Director assigned to the title should be present during the sessions but when this is not possible due to schedule conflict or any other circumstance, we want our dubbing partners to assign a Creative Director for the Voice Casting recordings and not leave it to the audio engineer or studio staff to direct the sessions.
- Age & Gender
- Casting the on-screen talent is an extensive part of the creative process of the filmmakers that work on our content, and we want our dubbed versions to mirror as closely as possible how the on-screen talent is portrayed. We want to make sure the voice talent is being cast accordingly in order to honor the original creative intent. Our preference is for our dubbing partners to cast talent according to appropriate and relevant voice age and gender (relative to the original character identification) to achieve the best vocal match.
- For minor talent, Netflix prefers age appropriate voice talent, but understands this is not always possible in certain markets (and in certain kinds of content not appropriate or recommended for child viewing e.g:. Sex, nudity, voilence, horror as the case may be). Please use your discretion in such cases and it may also be good to drop the Netflix team (LPM/TM) a note as FYI.
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- Should there be a need to cast an adult for a kid’s character, efforts have to be made to find a close voice match which does not need processing to match the age.
- Voice Match & Performance
- Achieving both attributes is ideal but sometimes might not be realistic. Voice matching is important but creating an immersive experience for our audiences is our first priority. Unless voice match with the original is imperative to that experience because of using material from the original version, we will prioritize capturing the best performance in order to create the most credible experience for the audience. Dubbing Directors and Partners will be guided in such scenarios by Netflix’s dubbing team as needed.
- The idea behind finding a voice match is not just to find a voice that sounds closest to the OV but also to find a voice that sounds the best on the character based on its portrayal.
- Musicals
- In content where songs are required to be dubbed, the ideal expectation is for the dubbing actors to be able to perform the songs. However, when voice actors are not able to sing, our guideline is to cast a professional singer that matches the dubbing actor to make sure there is voice consistency between the dubbed dialogues and the songs.
- Pronunciation & Delivery
- We want to ensure that all the dialogue is intelligible enough to be easily understood, but we don’t want the actor’s delivery to be compromised because of this. It’s okay to have less than perfect enunciation when recording action/intense sequences or to have a muted projection in quiet, intimate scenes. Pronunciation should be as natural as possible and the delivery should match the on-screen talent performances.
- Accents should only be recreated if pertinent to plot, character, or dialogue/humor. They should always be recreated as authentically as the original actor created them. In these scenarios, reach out to Netflix Dubbing for further clarification if needed.
- In order to pronounce proper names correctly please reach out to your Netflix representative for an audio pronunciation guide as reference.
RECORDING
- Preamps
- Utilizing analog or digital preamps is acceptable. If the preference is analog, please make sure there is no audible noise generated when increasing the gain to the desired recording levels.
- Microphones
- Large-diaphragm condenser microphones are our suggestion for lip-sync animation. The original voices are recorded in controlled environments like sound stages and this type of microphone is the common practice, therefore, we aim to match the dubbed versions as close as possible to the OV. We rely on the technical expertise of our recording engineers and technicians to position these microphones adequately and ensure the proper distance from the actor's mouth - for more details see our Dialogue Recording Recommendations at the bottom of this document.
- DAW’s
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- Any professional DAW in the market is acceptable. We lean on our dubbing partners to utilize professional software that accommodates their workflows and technical best practices.
- Pre-recording processing
- We strongly recommend not using any dynamic processor (EQ, Compression, Limiting, Noise-gate, De-Esser) in the recording process in order to capture the dialogues as clean as possible and leave room for sound mixers to manipulate the sound as needed. A Low cut filter is acceptable as long as it’s not above 100Hz.
- Walla/group
- We expect dubbing versions to match the crowd/group sound design of the original. Netflix will work with Post-production to provide as much walla and loop group from the original (where dialogues are indiscernible) as possible, but we expect all studios to recreate the same layered sound regardless of whether these original elements are used.
EDITING
- Noises
- Audible noises like tongue clicks and saliva should be removed during the editing process unless the original performance demands it.
- Manual & Plug-Ins
- Both approaches are encouraged. Utilizing noise-removal plug-ins is acceptable as long as the process doesn’t affect the quality of the recorded audio.
- Lip Sync
- The recommendation is to edit against the reference image and not just the audio waveforms. We want our audiences to experience our content in their respective language like if they were watching the OV. Dialogues should start when the on-screen actors move/open their mouths, and should end when their mouths close. Also, be mindful of the lip flaps/mouth shapes and even the gesture/movement of the actor on-screen to synchronize the dialogue with the physicality to create that performance bond.
- Off-screen dialogue
- For off-screen audible dialogue, we recommend matching the waveform of the OV with the dubbed version. Considering there are other audio elements (Music or SFX), we want to make sure the dubbed versions leave room for the sound design to play its role in the storytelling.
- Breaths & Reactions
- We encourage dialogue editors to follow the original dialogue stems in order to match where breathing and reactions are present.
- Fades
- It’s ideal for dialogue editors to use fade-in and fade-out in every dialogue. The noise captured like room tone or pre-amp gain might not be noticeable during the recording and editing process but could represent undesired noise during the mixing process.
- Track assignment
- Sound editors should assign the tracks in an organized way for the sound mixers to have a clean setup to start with.
MIXING
- Dialogue Levels
- Dubbed versions should match the audio levels of the OV. If the recording and editing guidelines are followed, sound mixers won’t find the need to push the dubbed dialogues and make them louder than what the OV dictates. In order to keep the dialogues consistent and balanced, we encourage sound mixers to utilize mixing controllers or consoles for level automation instead of any dynamic processors that could potentially affect the natural sound we are striving for.
- Dynamic Processing
- EQ
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- Equalization is a resource to remove and soften unwanted frequencies and/or accent desirable frequencies on the dialogues. Equalization shouldn’t be considered as a process to compensate for subpar recordings and therefore, we encourage sound mixers to not over-utilize equalization for such purposes.
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- Compression
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- Compression is accepted as long as the dynamic of the dialogues is not considerably affected by it. Our expectation is to have natural-sounding dialogues and we suggest sound mixers to balance levels with volume automation before utilizing compression as a resource.
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- Futzes
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- When Netflix’s dubbing team can’t provide plug-in specifications or parameters, our expectation is for sound mixers to match the futzes as close as possible to the OV. Film-makers work very closely with sound designers creating all the sound land-space for their content and we want to make sure every language provides the same experience.
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- EQ
- Time Processing
- Reverb & Delay
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- The purpose of reverb and delay is to provide a sonic reference to our audiences of where characters are located and where they are interacting. In order to provide an immersive experience, we want to encourage sound mixers to match the spaces as close as possible to the OV when Netflix’s dubbing team can’t provide plug-in specifications or parameters. Plug-ins or hardware for such purposes is accepted as long as the goal is achieved.
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- Reverb & Delay
- Panning & Perspectives
- When available from the content partner, Netflix Dubbing will provide OV dialogue stems to our dubbing partners, and we advise sound mixers to use them as an audio reference for panning when panning and perspectives are not clear enough for replication in the full mix
- M&E
- The M&E tracks we provide to our dubbing partners have been approved and QC’ed for dubbing mixing purposes. We advise dubbing mixers not to make any modifications or volume adjustments while mixing. If you encounter any issues with the M&E tracks provided, please flag them to Netflix’s dubbing team so we can advise on how to proceed.
- Optional tracks
- Optional tracks usually contain reactions, call-outs, foreign language, isolated vocals for songs and wallas. We advise our dubbing partners to utilize the optional tracks at their discretion as long as the recorded dialogues blend seamlessly with the optional tracks provided. Netflix’s dubbing team will provide creative and technical directives when the optional tracks should be utilized for specific purposes.