Dubbing before, now, and after

As we know, cinema, in its most general and oldest sense, appeared at the end of the ^19th century, undergoing several evolutions. And if the first spoken films appeared just before the 1930s, what about dubbing?

To the origins

Not everyone suspects it, but adapting a film's audio to another country, in another language, is actually just as old as talking pictures themselves. In order to export their films, producers quickly thought of replacing the original language with the target language. In 1927, Alan Crosland's The Jazz Singer was released. And if it is almost unanimously considered as the first talking movie, the question of the first dubbed film is not so obvious. Some consider that this one also holds this title, while others consider it to be King Vidor's Hallelujah in 1929, or others will attribute it to Josef von Sternberg's Der blaue Engel in 1930. And if there is such a discord it is because there are no real criteria, either in terms of time, lyrics or techniques used to determine this.

Over the years, dubbing has undergone several evolutions and technological improvements allowing to improve the quality of the dubbed versions. For the first productions, several different actors took turns in each new scene. This method quickly proved to be too expensive, so Alfred Hitchcock devised a process that was, to say the least, perilous. For his film Blackmail (1929), he simultaneously hired an actress for the camera, and another for the dialogue, placed in a sound booth off-camera. The invention of the rhythmic (graphic) tape at this same period, still used today, was a huge asset for the discipline.

In the 50's, the multi-track recorder appeared. A device allowing the recording of several dubbing actors at the same time. As technology continued to evolve, it was in the 1980s that dubbing became more professional, thanks in particular to the rise of American series.

Not everyone is a fan

From a geographical point of view, Western and Central Europe are very used to this. On the contrary, in the North and East, only the children's programs will be dubbed, some others will be voice-over, while the rest will be subtitled. And if they are more adept than some, it is for several reasons. The first is censorship. For example, during and after the Second World War, Germans and Italians did not hesitate to censor, through dubbing, films referring to the Nazi and Fascist regimes. As for France, it was more for stories of promotion and cultural emancipation, and the desire to compete with Uncle Sam's country. 

And even if our country is an excellent student in this matter, there are French dubbings that are not a success. In the 1980s, the adaptation of the manga Ken the Survivor was dubbed in a very original way, and today it has become a cult film more for its humor and irony than for its quality.

What can we expect in the future?

As we have said, our dear dubbing community has undergone many evolutions and this does not seem to stop, on the contrary. Would the perpetual appearance of new tools, programs and other artificial intelligences threaten the profession? This is a current question for which everyone will have their own opinion.