It’s a busy summer of film releases for Symbols of Sound. The latest is “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”. There were a few vocals in this film that needed to be transcribed for foreign dubbing.

When dubbing musical films in foreign languages, it’s obvious that the lyrics need to be translated and dubbed. But few people realize that even in non-musical films, anytime a character sings a little ditty or hums to themselves, it can provide a challenge for foreign dubbing. This is especially true if their vocals are important to understand the plot of the film, create humor, or provide clues about the character’s feelings. (Plots, humor, and clues are all very important to Indiana Jones!)

Beyond translating any lyrics, it is necessary to determine how the syllables of the new language line up with the musical notes so the dubbed vocal can match what’s on screen. If the vocal doesn’t have lyrics, the voice actors dubbing the film still need to know the pitches and rhythms of the vocals. This is why accurate music transcription and notation of the original film is important. Translators and voice actors rely on accurate sheet music to properly adapt and re-record the vocals.

Disney Character Voices International once again turned to SoS’s expertise and years of experience transcribing vocals to get the job done. We are not sharing exactly what our work was in “The Dial of Destiny”. You’ll have to see the film to find out if Indy breaks out into song. No spoilers here!