Chances are, you’ll have heard of subtitling and dubbing before, especially if you enjoy international cinema. In case you haven’t: subtitling is when the translation of a video is displayed as text, usually at the bottom of the screen; dubbing is when a foreign language soundtrack is recorded for a film or programme, and is played in place of the original actors’ speech. What you may not have heard of, however, though you will almost certainly have come across it if you follow current events, is voice-over translation. This is where actor voices are recorded directly over the original soundtrack, rather than instead of it. This kind of translation services is used for a multitude of different reasons, and I’d like to discuss some of them.

In the UK, voice-over translation is most commonly used when conducting interviews with foreign-language speakers, whether for a documentary, news item, or other factual programme. However, in some countries, particularly Eastern Europe, this method of language translation is frequently used in films. This is sometimes known as single-voice dubbing, and often features a single male voice. The practice hasn’t really caught on in this country, but perhaps we will see more of it in future.

Here at Veritas, we don’t just offer interpreting and translation services – we can also offer subtitling, dubbing, and voice-over translation services. Just ask us for more information!