{"id":7499,"date":"2023-04-20T08:24:35","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T13:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/44.241.49.129\/?p=7499"},"modified":"2025-12-12T07:45:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T13:45:35","slug":"voice-over-a-fine-accompaniment-to-the-unconventional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terralocalizations.com\/ja\/2023\/04\/20\/voice-over-a-fine-accompaniment-to-the-unconventional\/","title":{"rendered":"Voice-over: A Fine Accompaniment to the Unconventional"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In part one<\/a>, we analyzed how subtitling helps to facilitate a sense of escapism, where the audience is transported faithfully into the world they see on-screen, whether it be films, TV, or video games. In this part two, we will look at the different types of voice-overs and outline the effects they may have on their audience, using a couple of my favorite examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, in a nutshell, there are three main types of voice-over: narration, \u2018UN style\u2019, and the rare \u2018lektoring\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we think of \u2018narration\u2019, wildlife documentaries with an off-screen narrator \u2013  think Sir David Attenborough providing commentary as a lizard protects its eggs or a penguin constructs a nest \u2013 quickly come to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But can you identify examples of narration used in video gaming? It\u2019s quite hard. This is because, nowadays, there has been a growing trend in the industry to create realistic, immersive games, where the world is so life-like that, after a while, it\u2019s as if you\u2019ve been teleported into it \u2013 great for subtitling or dubbing but not for any form of voice-over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Narration, on the other hand, provides something very different: contrast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To answer our previous question, one example of narration in video gaming is 2021\u2019s multi-platform RPG-meets-action-adventure title, Biomutant<\/em>. In this great game, a narrator spoke with a stereotypical \u2018received pronunciation\u2019 British accent, which contrasted beautifully with the game\u2019s lush, fantasy, post-apocalyptic world inhabited by gun-toting, kung-fu-fighting rodent-like creatures. The narration enhanced the game\u2019s quirky flavors like lemon juice squeezed lovingly on fish. This wackiness enabled Biomutant<\/em> to stand out in a gaming world filled with titles like Horizon<\/em> and Ghost of Tsushima<\/em> that, in comparison, were somewhat faithful to real-world locations and carried themselves in a serious manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Biomutant featured cartoon-style visuals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, Biomutant<\/em> closely mirrored cult TV show Fargo<\/em> in its use of narration, where, in season 2, British actor Martin Freeman made a small cameo as a narrator. Freeman\u2019s British accent contrasted heavily with the show\u2019s backdrop of life in rural North Dakota. And, once again, this brought out the show\u2019s quirky, unpredictable, and, at times, surreal nature (season 2 even managed to somehow feature a spaceship interrupting a gun-fight without it being too weird, despite the fact Fargo is a crime-drama and not a sci-fi!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018UN Style\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Moving on to the second type of voice-over, we have the \u2018UN style\u2019, which is quite commonly used in news segments, speeches, or interviews. This form of voice-over is where the original speaker is heard talking lightly in the background while somebody speaks over them with a translated version of their dialogue in the foreground. However, its use would be extremely limited in video gaming due to its intrusive nature. But it wouldn\u2019t be out-of-place if used for comedy value, in a series like Ratchet and Clank, or in a realistic, story-driven title like Heavy Rain \u2013 where you might find news segments in cutscenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Lektoring\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, to complete our voice-over trilogy, we move on to the rare and interesting \u2018lektoring\u2019. Now, this is an unusual technique that is common in Poland, but remains a niche elsewhere. On-screen characters will speak their lines in their native language as normal, but then an off-screen narrator reads a translated version immediately afterward. As you can imagine, the result is incredibly distracting, especially in scenes with rapid interchanges of dialogue between characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, lektoring has been used effectively outside of Poland. British and Irish readers familiar with cult 90s comedy Father Ted<\/em> may remember it was used to great effect in a scene in one episode (\u2018The Passion of the Saint Tibulus\u2019), where a Cuban priest spoke Spanish to Father Ted, which was followed by an English translation (voiced by British comedian Hugh Dennis). The result was clunky and intrusive, but brilliant, largely because of Dennis\u2019 excellent timing and delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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