Two Terms Often Used Interchangeably, But Should They Be?
While the two processes may seem, on the surface, to be basically the same thing, it might surprise some to know that there is a difference between ADR and Dubbing!
The two terms have been used interchangeably for many years, however it would seem that this became more commonplace with the arrival of digital film and audio, as well as the greater reach that the Internet and ever-improving technologies has provided filmmakers of all types.
ADR stands for Automatic Dialogue Replacement, and is a process used in post-production wherein the dialog is re-recorded in a controlled environment with the intention of replacing the original recorded dialog. It was most commonly employed in film and television shows, but has found its way into the filmmaking process of almost any filmed production you could think of; indie or professional, digital or film, even for commercials and in-house corporate safety videos!
The controlled environment mentioned above is most often a professional recording studio, featuring a “booth” that has been extremely well sound treated against outside noise, and a “control room” where the audio engineer sits at their desk and works their wizardry during-and-after the talent re-records the dialog.
Even when actors are filmed in front of a green or blue screen, or are doing motion or performance capture, with specialised lavalier and boom mics capturing their dialog, it’s not all that common that the audio from those performances will be used in the final production, simply because sound – and recording sound – can be a very finicky practice. If the environment you’re recording in isn’t totally silent or properly treated for recording dialog, then you’ll most likely find your way into the studio to re-record things all over again!
Dubbing, on the other hand, is when the dialog is recreated to replace the original language dialogue from a piece of foreign media, often without as much of an emphasis on timing or matching the ‘lip flaps’ of the on-screen characters.
While that definition might seem like an oversimplification, it is quite literally the entire purpose of dubbing.
If you were to ask the question, “Is ADR the same thing as Dubbing?”, we would have to truthfully say that no, it isn’t.
- Dubbing may be a form or part of the ADR process, but not every ADR project involves dubbing.
To rephrase that analogy:
- Every orange is a fruit, but not every fruit is an orange
The argument could be made that dubbing is more difficult overall than ADR, and this is because it is attempting to make the content more accessible to international audiences. This can involve script translation and localisation, actors having to match the ‘lip flaps’ of the on-screen characters as closely as possible, all while attempting to maintain the emotion, feel, and intended message of the original production.
You might see the terms “ADR Dubbing” vs “Full Dubbing” being used in an attempt to consolidate the two processes while also separating them, but in the wider filmmaking world ADR and Dubbing are still considered two completely different processes used in post-processing aspect of the production timeline.
That being said and for the purposes of efficiency, we will be presenting combined information in the other posts on this site – so keep in mind that you may not encounter all terms, symbols, and shorthand markup codes being used in all ADR sessions or Dubbing sessions.
Better to be prepared and recognise a broad range of information than to be underprepared!