[精品转贴][转帖]Chinese whispers(Pro Audio Asia)

[这个贴子最后由norwoods在 2004/02/06 02:18pm 第 1 次编辑]

Chinese whispers
As the Chinese appetite for Hollywood films grows, so too does the role of facilities to dub them into Chinese. RICHARD LAWN reports from the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio
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There have been many cultural East–West fusions exemplified in the world of cookery, music, arts and dance. Cinematic fusions are much harder to identify however. Kung Fu films have exported well to blood-thirsty Western audiences since the 1970s, and Bollywood films have been in demand since Indian migrants congregated in Western countries. Conversely, Hollywood films have been penetrating into the Chinese market at an alarming rate in recent years, which is forcing the Chinese government to review its quota on big screen imports. In an age where subtitles have been consigned to film noir screens, traditional Chinese overdubs are an imperative part of the film production. Take away the layer of dubbing and these multi-million dollar productions would be meaningless to its 1.3bn population that still, by and large, understands little English.
The city of Shanghai - which operates the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio - has recognised the growing portfolio of big-budget Western films coming through its doors in recent years. With this in mind, the studio, which is located on the ground floor of the China Radio International headquarters, has undergone an expensive and time-consuming transformation. It will cater for this growing demand and at the same time offer Hollywood producers a vital link to one fifth of the world’s population with a production suite that is second to none.
Upon entering the facility, you will see posters of recently dubbed films - including Charlie’s Angels 2, Johnny English and Sweet Home Alabama - lining the wall, in recognition of its work. Any preconceptions of how work is conducted in a film-dubbing studio are shattered upon passing the front door. Actors relaxing in lounge chairs, reading and rehearsing scripts, while several actors act out scenes in a studio where a re-make of the 1960s classic The Italian Job is being overdubbed. A 10s action scene will be played in English, followed by several takes without any audio in which the dubbing actors assigned to screen roles act out the scenes to boom microphones. The scenes are actually pre-acted to eliminate any dryness. A typical film takes about five weeks to complete enveloping translations, acting and rehearsals using as many as 40 actors for larger projects. There’s a lot more to this than meets the eye.
The studio’s actors are either employed on a full-time or casual basis and are renowned throughout China. The president, Qiao Zheng, is recognised as a famous Chinese actor and, together with the controller/actress Ding Jian-Hua and her technical chief, and husband, Wei Lu-Jian, they operate an efficient, commercially viable facility that is readying itself for an increasing amount of Western films - whether they be in French, German or English – to appear on the Chinese market. Together with vice president Peng Zhi-Chao, the team have been modernising the facility with the assistance of Advanced Communication Equipment, the largest distributor of audio equipment in China. The government-run venture has been operating in Shanghai since 1957, and has turned out over 1,000 translated film productions to date. The management reached the conclusion several years ago that the studio’s growing demand could only be maintained by totally re-developing its main projection studio - which was then centred on an Amek 9086 analogue console. ‘The console was wonderful,’ says Zhi-Chao. ‘However, it was vital that a digital console be placed at the heart of the operation if the studio was going to compete successfully with Hollywood in future. Together with Lu-Jian, we short-listed several consoles including SSL, Studer, Harrison and above all, Neve.’
On its final day, Zhi-Chao visited the BIRTV show in Beijing. ‘I approached what I thought was the Neve booth, but it was that of JCE, which was demonstrating a Euphonix System 5,’ he says. ‘I knew the president, Yugang Cheng, well, and was impressed.’ So impressed, in fact, that in the following year, Zhi-Chao attended the NAB in Las Vegas and undertook a closer investigation. While in the US, he also visited several studios - including Lucas Films’ Skywalker Ranch - which were all System 5 console users. ‘This convinced me that the System 5 was the console for our studio and we finally specified it. I firmly believe that this console has the best design structure for any engineer. It’s intuitive without being over-technical. But not only that, we now have a console that will also allow us to record as well as perform HD-TV planning. The colour and appearance make this the complete package – it gives atmosphere to the studio.’ As convinced as Zhi-Chao was however, it wasn’t plain sailing for JCE and Euphonix. ‘There was a large amount of internal conflict between various technical departments as to which console we should actually specify,’ recalls Zhi-Chao. Luckily, the System 5’s ease of use, reliability, technology and, perhaps most importantly, its versatility, won the day: ‘The System 5-F console is really several consoles packaged into one,’ Lu-Jian says. ‘On price for quality, it could not be beaten, yet the simplicity of operation and the technology on offer were in a league of their own.’ Unlike other consoles, the SDF management wasn’t worried that the console would out-date between ordering and installing the System 5-F with 48 faders and 192 audio channels. ‘Software upgrades keep the System 5 console current and up-to-date,’ says Zhi-Chao. ‘Not every console manufacturer can provide this.’
SDF’s newly-developed screen room is served by Barco and Kanaton projectors, and was acoustically treated by the team over a period of 18 months specifically for 7.1 surround production. ACE won the lucrative order to design and install an impressive portfolio of equipment around the System 5 console and its R-1 digital 48-track recorder. Sixteen JBL 8330A 200W three-way wall monitors powered by 3.2kW Crown 1202 and 5002 amplifiers installed in a rear control room serve several rows of audience seats to create a representative cinema surround sound environment. The impressive racks of signal processing, Pro Tools and Dolby equipment reflect the optimism shown by the Chinese government authorities in the studio’s ability to attract further foreign investment. Its fortunes suffered a downturn because of this year’s Sars virus, but with the new dubbing studio doors open, the challenge is on to repay this trust. ‘With the System 5 console, we’ll be able to mix the Night Show as well as other CCTV programmes, outsource work for other provincial studios, music recording and of course, film dubbing,’ enthuses Lu-Jian. ‘We project that for the dubbing alone, there will be at least 20 international local and domestic films pencilled in for next year.’ Without their acting and linguistic skills, would Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz and George Clooney have become such recognised figures in Beijing, Ningbo and Guangdong?
 
The Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio, China: +86 21 6278 8177
 
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http://www.proaudioasia.com/paa/article.asp?cid=217

P.S.
"....The president, Qiao Zheng, is recognised as a famous Chinese actor and, together with the controller/actress Ding Jian-Hua
and her technical chief, and husband, Wei Lu-Jian, they operate an efficient, commercially viable facility that is ......."
---- Hahaaahaaaaa......

拜托翻译下好不好？至少把那些不知道什么字符的东东去去掉嘛