Tag: Film

Journey to Bethlehem

SoS takes a journey with Adam Anders

Adam Anders’ directorial debut, “Journey to Bethlehem”, is currently in theaters in the USA. The film, starring Antonio Banderas, Fiona Palomo, and Milo Manheim, imagines the biblical story of Christmas as a pop musical.

Anders and Sony Pictures realized that they needed more than standard film localization materials to translate a story told through eleven songs in varying styles. Symbols of Sound was tasked with transcribing all vocals from the film and creating foreign vocal sheet music guides for international translators and dubbing performers.

“Journey to Bethlehem” will have theatrical releases in numerous countries over the next month.

The Marvels film poster

A Marvel-ous Autumn

As summer wound down, work picked up at Symbols of Sound. The autumn months at SoS have had a breathtaking amount of activity including…

  • music preparation for a orchestral studio recording of a stage musical
  • music preparation for 4 big band charts from hand-written scores
  • vocal transcription for over 100 episodes of television
  • vocal transcription for 3 feature films, 2 of which were musicals.

The first of the feature films, The Marvels, was not a musical; however it had a surprising number of vocals that were an important part of the story. Disney needed to ensure the vocals were transcribed properly for foreign dubbing, and turned to SoS once again.

The Marvels releases in theaters on Friday, November 10, 2023.

SoS goes to Theater Camp

You can’t have a summer theater camp without singing. SoS provided music transcription for yet another of this summer’s films, “Theater Camp”.

The comedy will be in theaters July 14, because that’s summer in the USA, and that’s when camp happens. We don’t know if there will be singing and dancing whiskered felines in unitards, but it is always possible!

The Little Mermaid "Part of Your World" in 22 Languages
The Little Mermaid

“Part of Your World” in 22 Languages

Multi-language video created with help from SoS

You can watch the video on YouTube via this link:

Part of Your World (Multi-Language Version)

Disney has posted a video of the song “Part of Your World” from the recent film “The Little Mermaid” showcasing Ariel’s singing dubbed in 22 languages. SoS transcribed Halley Bailey’s original performance and created sheet music for Disney that is used to create Ariel’s voice in other languages. The video is a rare opportunity to hear Ariel’s many worldwide voices together. However, this is only a portion of the various languages in which Disney films are dubbed.

In the USA, few people are aware of the international reach of major films and the need for proper localization. There is a worldwide network of hundreds of people who make this possible. They include voice actors, background singers, voice directors, translators, audio engineers, producers, cultural consultants, and more; plus an administrative team to manage this huge effort.

Localization starts with a dedicated team of Disney employees and contractors who coordinate with productions and create all the necessary materials for dubbing. They document everything in the film that needs localization, from dialog, signs, and text, to humor and cultural references that may not make sense in foreign contexts.

Songs provide a unique challenge, and music transcription and sheet music creation are essential to accurate dubbing. Sheet music created by SoS provides a common starting point for all languages to understand exactly what is in the English-language version of the film, and decide how best to adapt it to the local language.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny film poster
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny film poster

Indiana Jones and the Dubbing of “Destiny”

SoS provides music transcription for the final Indiana Jones film

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!