Voice-over translation

Voice-over translation is an audiovisual translation technique in which, unlike in dubbing, actor voices are recorded over the original audio track which can be heard in the background.

This method of translation is most often used in documentaries and news reports to translate words of foreign-language interviewees in countries where subtitling is not the norm. In some countries, most notably in Eastern Europe, it is commonly used to translate all kinds of movies.

A typical voice-over translation is usually done by a single male voice artist. It is slow paced, therefore shortened but fully intelligible, usually trailing the original dialogue by a few seconds. The original audio can thus be heard to some extent, allowing the viewer to grasp the actors' voices, yet due to the lack of synchronisation between original dialogue and a voice-over, original music is usually a victim of lowering the original track's volume. The voice-over usually contains only a hint of emotion, as many of the interpreters try to sound "transparent" to the audience. A significant drawback of such dubbing is the ambiguity as to which character is speaking at a given time, as the interpreter usually makes very few changes in intonation to distinguish between different participants in a dialogue. Any text appearing on the screen is also usually read out by the interpreter, although nowadays it's sometimes carried with subtitles covering any on-screen text.

Due to the imprecise nature of simultaneous interpretation, as well as the difficulties faced by non-native speakers in understanding foreign-language vernacular, idioms, and culture references, voice-over translations are often riddled with errors in translation.Dmitriy Puchkov has been very outspoken about the issue, stating that simultaneous interpretation should be abandoned in favour of a more precise translation, with thorough efforts to research and find Russian equivalents in cases of lexical gaps, and maintains numerous lists of gaffes made by interpreters, including highly experienced ones such as Mikhalev. However, others have commented that the creativity of good interpreters can make the film more enjoyable, though deviating from the filmmaker's original intentions.

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