介绍:
Dubbing is a post-production process usually used in filmmaking. In China, dubbing foreign movies into Mandarin started in the 1940s. In the past, it was these dubbed pictures from different nations that helped the Chinese public get its first glimpse of foreign culture.
However, after six decades, are dubbed films as popular as they used to be?
Zeng Liang has the details.
Reporter:
In the 1948 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet", Laurence Olivier muttered the soliloquy of pain and unfairness of life--in English.
But when the film was introduced to China, the same speech was carried out in Chinese.
For today's young audiences, this dubbed scenario may appear to be unfamiliar, but for many cinephiles, these pictures remain one of the most profound memories of their youth, when subtitled foreign films were not screened.
Fifty-five-year-old Li Che is frequent cinema goer. She remembers that she was introduced to dubbed movies from the former Soviet Union. Until the late 1970s, Chinese audiences had been exposed to films from all over the world.
"When (the Japanese crime drama)'The Manhunt' was introduced, we watched it so many times that some could even recite the lines fluently."
According to Li, the expressive voice-over performances have become more related to certain characters than the visual elements of the on-screen productions.
"Almost all of those foreign films were dubbed by voice actors from the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio and Changchun Film Studio. Their voices are very beautiful, even better than the original performers. Just like today's idolaters, we adore and admire them very much. "
Tong Zirong is one of the most renowned voice actors in the country. His most famous performance is him voicing French actor Alain Delon's role in the 1975 film, "Zorro".
Tong's ear-catching voice fleshes out Zorro and casts a sense of aristocracy on the Robin-Hood-like character. At that time, children would imitate Tong and shout lines from the movie.
Praised as the "prince of the dubbing industry", Tong talks about what to take for being a captivating voice actor:
"(When I am assigned a role, I need to) analyze the script and the character. I will dig into the context of each line and take time to understand and feel, until I fall in love with the role. So before entering the recording room, I spend a lot of time to prepare and ruminate on my characters. There is no shortcut."
In the eyes of Liu Guangning, the award-winning voice actress, dubbing foreign films is an art.The translations must be faithful to the original script and the expressions should be compatible with the Chinese aesthetic standard; moreover, voice artists should harmonize their voice-acting with what takes place on screen.
In order to achieve these goals, producing a dubbed movie requires team work.
"Generally speaking, our work requires a certain procedure. In the beginning, translated script and many other things constitute the foundation. Then, we need to work together with people from the technical side of things. Although when audiences talk about dubbed films, they usually just bring up the voice actors. However, the credit belongs to everyone involved."
Thanks to the devotion of these artists, language barriers were broken. Chinese audiences could taste lavish French humour from the comedy, "La Grande Vadrouille", experience the eternal topic of love from Hollywood blockbuster, "Waterloo Bridge", or be amazed by the dazzling dance and music from the Indian flick, "Caravan". The 1980s became the golden era of dubbed films, when fandom for the productions flourish and satisfied people's curiosity towards different cultures.
But globalization nearly silenced the public clamor for dubbed films, since Chinese people can now enjoy unprecedented access to the outside world in countless ways.
Although cinemas still offer dubbed movies, viewers now prefer seeing productions in their original languages, but with Chinese subtitles.
"The expressions of mood and emotion in the original versions are more appropriate."
"Nowadays, English is spreading nationwide to a certain extent. In some first-tier cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, every young person receives English education. There are probably a lot of people there that could understand foreign films without reading subtitles. "
" Compared with the images, I think some dubbing just sounds very unnatural. It feels a little bit strange. "
Many insiders worry that, one day, this particular form of movie will vanish in China. But Sun Yufeng, who has directed and produced more than 300 dubbed films, remains optimistic.
" I don't think dubbed films will die out in our country. Why? Because we have lots of rural areas and small cities. Though some youngsters in big cities can understand the original productions, many still can't. Lots of people still enjoy watching dubbed movies. In that case, we need to ensure the high quality of our productions. Meanwhile, we are looking for young talent."
In 2011, the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio launched the Weiyou Institute. It conducts professional training and is attracting prospective dubbing actors and actresses to rejuvenate Chinese dubbed films.
For Studio Plus, this is Zeng Liang.
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