Watching the credits roll at the end of a movie, I’m always reminded that an actor’s performance in front of the camera is only the tip of the move-making iceberg. Hundreds - if not thousands - of specialised professionals work together behind the scenes to bring Film, TV and On-screen Advertising to life. You may remember the opening scene to the 1993 film ‘Mrs Doubtfire’, in which the late-great Robin Williams, playing voice-actor Daniel Hillard, records the voice-over to a children’s cartoon. For many, this may have been their first glimpse into the world of the ‘ADR’ and ‘VO’ recording process that forms such an integral part of audio post-production. At Syn, our studio in the heart of Tokyo specialises in recording ADR and VO for projects in Film, TV, Gaming and Advertising. We are proud to have worked with some of cinema’s greatest, including Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Ken Watanabe, Michael Mann, Michael Bay and Patrick Stewart. To understand the process behind the recording of ADR/VO, Syn invites you into the world of Syn Tokyo’s studio to understand a little more about the world of dialogue recording.

First, let’s explore ‘ADR’ and what it means. ‘ADR’ - or ‘looping’ as it’s sometimes known - stands for ‘Automated Dialogue Replacement’. Recording perfect dialogue is not always possible on-set/on-location, factors such as background noise, wind noise, crowd noise (or the Gaffer dropping his Leatherman) can sometimes ruin that ‘magic take’ and it is common practice for the actor’s dialogue to be re-recorded at a later date in the comfort of an ADR studio. Revising the actor’s dialogue in a controlled environment enables actors, directors and producers to focus specifically on dialogue, without worrying about extending time (and costs!) of an expensive location, film crew and more. Syn’s Tokyo studio is multi-functional, serving as both a recording studio for music and a fully equipped ADR/VO studio. Syn works with a combination of Boom and Lavalier microphones, including Sennheiser shotgun mics as the main Boom microphones and Lavalier microphones from Sanken, which run through Neve 1073 Preamps to amplify the signal. Light ‘transparent’ compression is applied from Tubetech / Urei outboard compressors to create the desired sound which is then recorded using the industry standard Pro Tools HD Ultimate Digital Audio Workstation. Paying close attention to the ambient sound of the room is always significant in a recording studio and ADR is no different, in order to allow the dialogue to sound as natural as possible and to seamlessly integrate with the sound recorded on set in the final mix.

Unlike recording musical performances, where the use of post-production audio effects such as compression and EQ is often used to enhance the performance and recorded sound, ADR/VO keeps the use of these effects to a minimum wherever possible. There are certainly differences between the specialist skills required to record live music and ADR as Syn’s Chief Engineer Akaku Takashi continues, “During a musical recording session, musicians don’t stand far from the microphone, but for ADR we have to change the position of the microphone often. For example, if the cue has been shot from one specific side, we have to think about the microphone position and take this into account.” During an ADR session, depending on the scene, the actor can often have to deliver a wide dynamic range of performances. These vary from a quiet whisper to a loud shout, which involves the engineer paying close attention to level of recorded sound so as to avoid any overloads.

How does ADR differ from VO? VO - or ‘Voice-Over’ - is defined as ‘a piece of narration in a film or broadcast not accompanied by an image of the speaker’. In other words, Voice-Over is the dialogue you hear in a Film, TV or Commercial where the speaker’s character is not visually identified. Perhaps the most common example of this is in TV Advertising, where VO plays an important role in narrating a brand’s messaging. Whilst the essence of ADR recording is to create a natural sounding dialogue, VO recording puts more emphasis on clarity and clear delivery. A common request for VO comes from the production of instructional corporate videos, where the narrative is vital in conveying the message of the script. Unlike lip-syncing dialogue to the actor’s performance on screen in ADR recording, VO projects - such as instructional videos - require dialogue to usually be synced to subtitles, making the editing an integrated part of the process. Akaku Takashi shares some more insight into the technical side of VO, “For VO, we use a Neumann U87 Ai microphone to record dialogue, running through our Pro Tools Ultimate HD DAW”. Syn has arranged and recorded many VO sessions over the years, including commercials for Dove, Pampers, Ayden and Listerine. Often the work is for ‘localisation’, a term used to describe language localisation, where a brand has a campaign for a product or service and wants to adapt it to another territory in a different language.

Syn’s chief Engineer Akaku Takashi is bi-lingual (fluent in both English and Japanese) and he often is called upon to edit a script, adjusting Japanese text to sound more natural to native Japanese speakers. Adapting the script to be able to fit within the time constraints of the commercial is also sometimes a required skill. For example, commercials usually run within a set length of time (the norm being 15, 30 or 60 seconds). This time is allocated for the brand messaging or narrative to fit within and is structured around the original script, written in English. When the script is translated into Japanese, the time of the dialogue can easily change and may no longer fit into the desired commercial length. One technique to avoid this is to remove any gaps in the recorded voice performance, so that all of the words can comfortably fit in the timeframe and be clearly understood. Another technique used here is a digital audio process called ‘Time stretching’, which compresses the length of the audio recording by a set amount. Both of these techniques suffer drawbacks, the main issue being that the message can often sound difficult to understand, un-natural and uncomfortable to listen to - so it is always preferred if the script can be adapted to fit into the length of the commercial in advance. A foreign client can rely on Syn’s experienced internal team to deliver a great script and a performance in Japanese within the allocated time for the recording studio session, which is an important consideration when working to a budget and wanting to achieve the best quality of work.

Syn’s convenient location in Tokyo’s Harajuku district has lead to a wide variety of work, ranging from recording local Japanese actors in domestic projects to working with Hollywood actors on high-profile movies that have a particular cultural/narrative focus on Japan. Japan is ever increasingly playing host to film and television projects from around the globe, with a fascination with Japanese culture at an all time high. This focus on Japan has given Syn the opportunity to enjoy recent credits including Tokyo Vice Seasons 1 & 2 (HBO), Shogun Season 1 (FX), Invasion Seasons 1 & 2 (Apple TV+), Pachinko Seasons 1 & 2 (Apple TV+) and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Apple TV+) among others.

Syn was founded in Tokyo in 1991 by friends and creative collaborators Simon Le Bon (of Duran Duran fame), Yasmin Le Bon and Nick Wood. Being headquartered in Japan for over 30 years, Syn has unparalleled access to both Western and Japanese talent, regularly navigating the complexities of recording dialogue in multiple languages and sourcing voice-actors from a deep pool of world-class talent. Syn’s Chief Engineer, Akaku Takashi, tells us more about the nuances of recording ADR between languages: “I think one of the most important things to do as an ADR engineer is to make the actor feel as comfortable as possible. Most actors aren’t familiar with recording inside small rooms and it can make them nervous, particularly when Japanese actors have to speak English and focus on pronunciation and nuance. Sometimes I’ll have to explain what the director wants, and help translate for a better performance”. Akaku continues to compliment Japanese actors who can express themselves eloquently in both Japanese and English, “Most actors face quite a lot of difficulties to express themselves in both Japanese and English and it can be challenging, I think it’s a special skill”.

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How does this translate to an increasingly remote working environment? By using familiar technology such as Zoom and Audio Movers, Syn is able to connect sessions to clients globally; giving directors in Los Angeles, New York or London an opportunity to virtually ‘sit in’ on the session in real time. Akaku reflects on a particular session for the 2016 movie ‘Silence’ with Martin Scorsese, “Usually big Hollywood movies have a dedicated ADR team, however, for ‘Silence’, Martin Scorsese joined the session himself and I worked directly with him”. With everyone post-Covid all too familiar with Zoom and other videoconferencing platforms, this has now become the new norm in attending remote ADR sessions.  

If one of the roles of a successful ADR/VO engineer is to reassure and calm the talent to allow the best performance to be captured, then creating a wholesome and relaxing environment must also be key to a studio’s success. Syn’s studio is fortunate to sit on the first floor of a two-storey building, enjoying natural light and a relaxing lounge (Syn Cafe) and balcony. Unlike many ADR studios housed in basements with no access to daylight, having a pleasant environment to work in, combined with a very convenient location, can be crucial to getting the best performance out of actors. Syn’s central location in Tokyo - surrounded by Harajuku’s famed boutique bars, restaurants and vintage stores - offers a calm, professional environment located right in the beating heart of the megalopolis. With satellite offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Los Angeles, London and Manila, Syn pools resources from around the globe to make sure that every attention to detail is carefully considered. Being able to connect with post-production supervisors and other production professionals around the clock is important to reassure clients that great work can be delivered to the toughest of deadlines.

Next time you sit down for an evening in-front of your favourite show, you can bask in your new found expertise in audio post-production, and impress even the most erudite of movie buffs with your informed appreciation of ADR and VO. And if you ever find yourself in Harajuku, you can rest assured that Syn Tokyo is hard at work on your new favourite TV show !