THE PROCESS OF TRANSLATION FOR DUBBING IN

BRAZIL
ABSTRACT
The process of translation for dubbing in Brazil differs from some European
countries in many ways. While it is far from being homogenized among those
countries, in Brazil the same happens among dubbing companies and
translators, apart from the fact that there are no guidelines or style guides to
write the dialogs. Those differences include: a) dubbing symbols lists differ
not only from company to company, but even from translator to translator, and
so does the meaning of each dubbing symbol; b) the job of the translator who
is paid per minute of film and carries out all the steps of the translation such
as the rough translation, dialog translation and timing; c) songs are translated
in a different way; d) text segmentation into takes, which are called loops
( in Rio de Janeiro) and anis (in So Paulo), follows different criteria
compared to European segmentation, because loops are split into segments of
approximately 20 seconds, no matter how many lines there are in each loop
for the actor to dub; e) actors are paid according to the amount of hours
calculated by the number of loops they dub. Based on Chaume's Dubbing
practices in Europe (2007), the objective of this paper is to show all the
differences between translation and dialogue writing in some European
countries and Brazil, through some samples of different layouts illustrating the
conventions, and talk about the translation for the dubbing market, which has
immensely grown during the last few years.
Key words: dubbing, loops/anis, layout, style guide, market.

1. Introduction
Baker and Hochel (1998: 76) state that a dubbed film or program is always
overtly presented and perceived as a translation based on a wrong assumption
that the lip movement regularly shows the false nature of dubbing. Since it is
the technique of post synchronization, consisting in deleting the original voice
and recording another one in another language, the lip sync is inevitable and
extremely relevant. In a good dubbed production, we are constantly aware of
the mouth movements, coordinating them to the sounds of the translated text.
If the distributor does not worry about the dubbing quality for economic
reasons, of course the final product will have poor quality, thus confirming
Baker and Hochels quote. A high-quality dubbing has the aim of pretending
that the actor is really speaking the idiom of the receiving culture.
When comparing the Western European dubbing practices with the ones in
Brazil, I realized that, in spite of following almost the same routines, one of
them stood out for being really different from the one that we follow: the role
of the translator. According to Chaume (2007: 154), the translator in Western
Europe produces a rough translation; the rough translation is domesticated by a
dialogue writer to make the dialogues sound natural and synchronize the text
to the screen characters lips movement. Those two tasks, done by different
people, are not equally performed in Brazil. The translator is also the dialog
writer, although this activity is not more profitable for him.

Sometimes,

depending on the company, he is also in charge of the take segmentation

(loops/anis) and the working plan (tabela).
2. Translation

In dubbing, the translator has to work hard to be faithful to the theatrical sense
and also to the phonological synchronization. When facing idioms, proverbs,
slangs, jokes, rhymes, expressions of a specific culture, it takes a lot of time
and research to translate a scene. The cultural differences between SL (Source
Language) and TL (Target Language) are also a big challenge. It is necessary
to consider a range of aspects in different areas, from issues related to the
lexicon and syntax, to the effect on the public whose product is intended. From
a domestication perspective, I give some examples of the main strategies used
in Brazil, which I find relevant when translating for dubbing:
Deletion The SL word of phase is dropped in the TL. For instance: Well; I
mean; You know.
PENNY As I obviously am. I mean, last year I ran four events.
(translation)
Assim como eu sou. Ano passado, cuidei de quatro eventos.
(back translation)
As well as I am. Last year, I ran four events.

Reduction - The SL word or phrase is replaced by a TL word or phrase which

does not correspond exactly to the SL meaning. This happens mostly when a
character speaks very fast. The translator has to shorten the sentence so as the
voice actor can dub it clearly and synchronized. Ex.: (reduction and deletion)
CHRISTIE Well, Lily. It just so happens I have had an empty desk in my
classroom all year just waiting for you. So, if you'd like to take your
seat my class will finally be complete.
(translation)
Olha, Lily, por acaso tenho uma carteira na sala que ficou vazia
o ano inteiro s esperando por voc. Ento, se voc for se
sentar, minha sala ficar completa
(back translation)
Look, Lily, by chance I have a desk in the classroom which has
been empty all year just wainting for you. So, if you go and sit down,
3

my class will be complete.

Expansion The SL word or phrase is replaced by a TL word or phrase

correspondent to the SL meaning plus something else. This strategy is, usually,
mostly used in the studio, when actors are dubbing, so as to complete an extra
lip movement which had no sound. But if it is not filled, we are going to
have what is called bater boca in Brazilian Portuguese dubbing.
JOO
Jaime Qu pasa, que pasa? Que
ANDR
(translation)
Jaime, o que houve? O que houve? O que que voc

Modulation or adaptation The translation is adjusted to the TL and culture,

and it can involve a change in the point of view. Ex.: Jokes, idioms, proverbs,
slangs. The slang come flor is used in Venezuela.
VANESSA

Qu estas insinuando t, come flor (persona soadora, ilusa,

despreocupada), nueva rica, que Juan Andrs se cas conmigo
borracho?
(translation)
O que voc est insinuando, sonhadora e nova rica? Que o Joo
Andr se casou comigo porque estava bbado?

In my opinion, taking a dubbing course is very important and very useful as

well because the translator can understand the whole process of dubbing, from
translation to the final product. The dubbing process begins with the translator,
then comes the director, voice actors, operators, editing, client review, retakes
or not, and the final product. A major difficulty that I have noticed among my
students is that they do not think about how a sentence is "spoken", and do a
very hard translation, as we say, or "adapt" (in quotes because actually they
4

translate wrongly) changing the syntax of the sentence. When you take a
dubbing course, you can get a better understanding of what speech lenght is. In
other words, the input and output of each sentence.
3. Text segmentation
The text is segmented into takes, which are called loops in Rio de Janeiro,
and anis in So Paulo, to determine the hours for which the voice actor is
paid. The translators have no obligation in doing this task, especially because
they are not paid for it. Anyway, my advice is that they learn how to do it as a
complement of the dubbing process.
The actor/actress receives per hour. And how is it calculated?
One loop has to be approximately 20 seconds, no matter how many lines there
are during this period of time. In such case, it is also possible to have a
previous calculation of the costs spent on all voice actors in a specific
production.
One hour is equivalent to 20 loops because the actors have 3 minutes to dub
each loop. Even if it is just a reaction in one loop, they will have these 3
minutes for it. Obviously, they will not spend that long to dub, but sometimes,
there is a more difficult loop in which they spend more time, thus a short one
compensates for a long one.
As the actors get paid per hour and each hour corresponds to 20 loops, the
companies must meet the following criteria:
*First hour is fully paid
*21 up to 30 loops one half hour of the second hour is paid.

*31 up to 40 loops two hours are paid and so on.

In 2015, the hourly rate is US$112,30 for movies and US$33,23 for DVDs
and TV media.
The more experienced actors use to dub around 40 loops in one hour, but this
has long caused a disagreement among actors and companies. Since the
companies know that the actors are able to dub more than 20 loops per hour,
they want to increase the number of loops to 30 per hour. The problem is that
the actor will not be paid proportionally for it! The companies have been
trying to negotiate this for a long time and have also been offering only a raise
of R$1,00 (one real) or the equivalent to US$0,30 per hour.
Some samples of text segmentation:

CHARACTER
1

KATE

TC
00:06

TEXT
(VO) A VIDA TEM UMA MANEIRA CRUEL DE LEMBR-LO QUE, JUSTO
QUANDO VOC PENSA QUE CHEGOU AO FUNDO DO POO,
SEMPRE TEM UM NVEL ABAIXO ONDE VOC PODE CAIR.

LETREIRO

00:30

TRAIO EM FAMLIA

KATE

00.50

ISSO! EST TIMO! LINDO. CORRENDO AT A MAME! / QUE

TIMO! / AH, FICOU DEMAIS. FICOU TIMO.

ME

(SUG.:) MEUS AMORES!

KATE

ESTO LINDAS. / SUAS FILHAS SO MUITO FOFAS.

KATE

01.57

(REAO)

KATE

02.09

(SUSPIRA)

KATE

02.15

AMANH O GRANDE DIA?

JACK

02.16

AH, ACHO QUE MAIS ATUAO A ESSAS ALTURAS. CHAMEI UMA

TESTEMUNHA PRA DEPOR ESTA TARDE QUE BEM DIZER /
DESTRUIU OS ARGUMENTOS DA ACUSAO.

Loop # TC

Character

Dialogue

BATMAN

ESTAMOS INDO PRA, DELEGADO.

ROBIN

EU CONCORDO COM O DELEGADO, BATMAN. A PISTA, COM

01:00:15
2
01:00:49
2

CERTEZA, APONTA PARA O RIO GOTHAM.

BATMAN

01:00:54

H SEMPRE ALGO A MAIS NUMA PISTA DO QUE OS OLHOS PODEM

VER, ROBIN. AS PINTURAS DO CRAZY QUILT NO SO EXCEO.
ELE EST SE REFERINDO A ONDAS DE LUZ, NO DE GUA.
VERMELHO, AZUL E VERDE SO AS CORES BSICAS PELAS QUAIS
O OLHO HUMANO PERCEBE A LUZ.

LETREIRO

CENTRO DE EXPOSIES

BATMAN

AQUI QUE VAMOS ENCONTRAR AQUELE DEMNIO FLAMBOYANT!

BATMAN

01:01:09
2
01:01:10
3
01:01:13
4

QUILT

EST

ATRS

DO

EXTREMAMENTE

PERIGOSO

AMPLIFICADOR DE EMISSO DE LUZ ESTIMULADA.

ROBIN

NOSSA, BATMAN. VOC T CERTO DE NOVO.

BATMAN

NO TEMOS TEMPO PRA DESCANSAR SOBRE OS LOUROS, ROBIN.

01:01:29
4
01:01:31

FIQUE ALERTA. PARADO A, QUILT! DESCOBRIMOS AS PISTAS DAS

SUAS CORES.

ROBIN

AGORA VOC VAI TER QUE PINTAR NUMA CELA!

01:01:40

CLAVE:
TTULO ORIGINAL:
TTULO PORTUGUS:
DURAO:
T.C.
01.01.45
01.02.06
01.02.08
01.02.09
01.02.10
01.02.11
01.02.17
01.02.44
01.02.47
01.02.49

GAME OF THRONES THE WARS TO COME

GAME OF THRONES - AS GUERRAS QUE ESTO POR VIR
51'

PERSONAGE
M
LET/LEG
MORENA
LOIRA
MORENA
LOIRA
MORENA
LOIRA
LOIRA
MORENA
LOIRA

DILOGO
(TTULO)
NO DEVAMOS ANDAR AQUI SOZINHAS.
POR QUE NO?
SE SEU PAI
ELE NUNCA VAI SABER QUE SAMOS.
MAS SE ELE DESCOBRIR
VOC NO PRECISA TER MEDO DO MEU PAI.
ALI.
TEM CERTEZA?
TENHO.
7

T.C.

PERSONAGE
M
MORENA
LOIRA
MORENA
MAGGY
MORENA
LOIRA
MAGGIE
LOIRA

01.02.52
01.02.53
01.03.37
01.03.39
01.03.41
01.03.42
01.03.44
01.03.47

DILOGO
NO DEVAMOS ENTRAR.
CLARO QUE DEVAMOS.
(R)
SAIAM. / SAIAM!
VAMOS EMBORA.
NO.
OUA SUA AMIGA.
DISSERAM QUE VOC ERA ASSUSTADORA, /
COM DENTES DE GATO E TRS OLHOS. /
VOC NO ASSUSTADORA. / ENFADONHA.

As you can see above, there is a difference between the first and the second
example, where the time code and the name of the characters are in different
columns. In the third example, there is no loop column. In any case, the
translator does not have the obligation to insert the loops. However, the time
code insertion has been becoming a common rule by the dubbing companies,
the translator is not paid specifically for that, although spending more time for
this task. Logically, it facilitates the take segmentation work, done by
somebody else who does not necessarily need to be the director.
4. Songs
The translator has no obligation to adapt songs. He just translates them and
does not worry about rhymes or metrics. For that, there is the musical director
who is responsible for the adaptation of the songs, when they are sung in
Portuguese. No matter if the songs are going to be sung in Portuguese or in the
original with subtitles, the file to be sent by the translator is the same. See
example below:
Tc in: 01.01.59

You feel safe with

your feet on the ground...
Voc se sente seguro
Com os ps no cho
Where everything is predictable
Onde tudo previsvel
So many possibilities
passing you by.
8

Tantas possibilidades
passando por voc

5. Prices and market

There is a union for translators named SINTRA (Sindicato dos Tradutores)
which sets rates for all areas of translation, but they are not applicable in the
real translation market in Brazil because there are no laws imposing those
rates. They are not mandatory, thus they are not abided.
Below, you can find a chart of the price rates suggested by Sintra, and in red,
the real rates paid by the subtitling companies. The dubbing rates suggested by
SINTRA are calculated, based on the subtitling rates.

SUBTITLING
Movies (35 mm) for single part up to 10 minutes of projection (dialogue and/or
narration), including trailer: / Actually, the rates are paid per reel, no matter
how long the projection is. (Fox and Warner)
a) Subtitling translation with full original script

US$ 77.33 / US$ 154.66

per reel

b) dialogues and/or narration transcription in Portuguese

US$ 77.33 /no specific

rate

c) Version for subtitles with full original script

US$ 125.00/ no specific

rate

d) dialogues and/or narration transcription in a foreign

language

US$ 125.33 / no specific

rate

SUBTITLING
Vdeos for television, VHS or DVD per minute of projection (dialogue and / or
narration) (charged at least 15 minutes):
Subtitling translation with full original script (no timing):

US$ 8.66 / from US$1.66

to US$2.66 (with
invoice)

Subtitling translation without original script (no timing):

US$ 13.00 / Actually, it

is double the rate paid for
a translation with full
original script

Subtitling translation with timing, add:

30% / (obs.: in case the

translator does not do the
timing, he will receive
30% less)

Technical films, training videos ou documentary, add:

40% / not applicable by

companies

Version, add:

70% / not applicable by

companies

DUBBING
Movies
2 x the subtitling rates
Dubbing translation with full original script (translation and (US$154.66) / Actually,
adaptation):
for movies, the rates vary
Obs.: It is always with the original script. The translator
according to the
usually receives the preliminary ones, and then the final one. distributor. (US$4.00 to
US$10.66 per minute).
10

DUBBING
TV, VHS or DVD, per minute of projection
Obs.: In Brazil, the dubbing translations are done in a
Microsoft Word's DOC file. There is no use of softwares.

Actually, the rates vary

according to the dubbing
company and it is never
2x the subtitling rates

Dubbing translation with full original script (no timing):

2 x the subtitling rates

(US$17.32) / US$1.66 to
US$2.66 per minutewith invoice

Dubbing translation without original script (no timing):

double the rate paid for

translation with full
original script (around
US$5.00) with invoice.

Dubbing translation with incomplete script (no timing), add:

50% of the full original

script with invoice

Technical films, training videos or documentary, add:

40% / not applicable by

companies

Version, add:

70% / not applicable by

companies

For a long time, watching a foreign film in the cinema meant preparing
yourself for a long reading session. Excluding cartoons and some children's
productions, dubbed films only found space on broadcast television. In recent
years, the tradition began to change. To gain a larger audience, the cinemas
have invested in dubbed versions. Depending on the film, finding a subtitled
session can be difficult.
Two thirds of the copies of the teen overproduction The Twilight Saga:
Breaking Dawn - Part 1, released in 2011, were dubbed, which was more than
the subtitled versions
The premiere of The Avengers, released in 2012, showed this change in
numbers. Out of 1.152 copies of the film spread throughout movie theaters in
Brazil, 673 of them were dubbed. The production surpassed the US$110
11

million in billing and became one of the top-grossing films in the history of
Brazilian cinema.
According to a research conducted by Datafolha Institute in 2012, the
comparison between the dubbed and subtitled film market was:
A 50% increase of dubbed copies were released by the UCI network
between 2012 and October 2013.
65% of films released in the country by Playarte in 2012 were dubbed copies.
In 2013, this number went up to 75%;
70% of films released by Paramount in 2013 were dubbed copies.
The survey also found that Brazilians prefer the following:
56% prefer dubbed films;
37% prefer subtitled films;
7% have no preference.
Cable television channels have also adapted their listings. Films and TV series
are dubbed as well. The Telecine network adopted the audio in Portuguese as
the first choice in four of its channels. If the subscriber prefers the subtitled
version, he must use the remote control for this choice. Just like in the movies,
the change has to do with the audience growth. According to ABTA (Brazilian
Pay TV/Telecom Association), during the third quarter of 2014, the growth of
cable television subscribers was at 2,5%. Compared to the same period of
2013, the growth reached 10,5%. Today, however, the number of subscribers
has reached almost 20 million.

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6. Conclusion
Brazilian dubbing is considered one of the best in the world; nevertheless it
continues to be ignored by professionals in the area.
We have been facing a boom in dubbing in Brazil, especially with Spanish
spoken soap operas (not all of them being Mexican), streaming, movies and
cable TV channels.
The existence of different terms in literature related to audiovisual translation,
quoting Carvalho (2005: 23), is due to the huge number of existing practices in
the activity, so we are still looking for a terminology that describes this area
satisfactorily. As Franco mentioned (2002: 65), audiovisual translation is still a
recent research field, if "compared to other fields such as literary translation and
technical translation." For Daz Cintas (2003: 194-195), the terminology
variation is a clear indication of changes that can enable scholars to assimilate
and recognize new developments in practice of this translation mode.
Carvalho (2005: 25) adopted the term "audiovisual translation" to refer to this set
of practices due to being widely used in various parts of the world, including
Brazil. Because it is an area that is constantly growing due to the large amount of
foreign films shown on television and in theaters, Brazilian dubbing should be
the object of further research, and practice and circumstances should be
investigated so that professionals can improve their work together with scientific
contributions.
It would be even better if the professionals of this area showed more interest in
sharing their knowledge with academics and vice versa, so that other
professionals and researchers can benefit from the exchange of findings, data
and experiences. According to Mendes (2007), the little existing literature in the
field of audiovisual translation, although it is gaining more prominence, may be
13

a direct consequence of the lack of courses offered by universities in Brazil and

abroad.
I agree with Daz Cintas (2003: 200), when he says that audiovisual translation
should be taught at universities as well as other types of translation, despite the
high cost of maintaining a degree in the field. He points out that it is very
difficult for universities to raise the necessary funds to buy equipment and
software packages specifically designed for audiovisual translation and to invest
in constant updating of such equipment, given that the technology in the field of
translation is fast-developing ( DAZ CINTAS, 2003: 200-201).

14

Bibliography
BAKER, Mona and Hochel BRAO. Dubbing, in Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies edited
by Mona Baker, London, Routledge, 1998, ISBN 0-415-09380-5, p. 74-76.
CARVALHO, Carolina A. A traduo para legendas: dos polissistemas singularidade do
tradutor. Dissertao de Mestrado. Departamento de Letras. Rio de Janeiro: Pontifcia
Universidade Catlica do Rio de Janeiro, 2005.
CHAUME, Frederic (2007). Dubbing Practices in Europe: localization beats globatisation.
Universitat Jaume I.
DAZ CINTAS, Jorge. Audiovisual Translation in the Third Millennium. In: ANDERMAN,
Gunilla; ROGERS, Margaret (eds.). Translation Today: trends and perspectives. Clevedon,
Buffalo, Toronto, Sydney: Multilingual Matters, 2003, p. 192-204.
FRANCO, Eliane P. C. The subject perspective - Audiovisual translation research in Brazil
and in Europe. Belo Horizonte, Revista Brasileira de Lingstica Aplicada, v. 2, n. 2, p. 6568, 2002.
MENDES, Regina Helena Ribeiro. Diretor de Dublagem e dublador os co-autores da Traduo para
Dublagem. Dissertao de Mestrado, December-2007. Faculdade de Letras. Universidade Federal do Rio
de Janeiro.
Site: http://www.sintra.org.br/site/?p=c&pag=precos
Site: http://www.moviecom.com.br/news.php?idnoticia=104548

Dilma Machado
dilma.dilmica@gmail.com

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