Topics of today’s episode:
- Dubbing the loquacious Dr. House
- Czech language used in advertisements
- The functioning of advertising agencies
- Loading audiobooks
Today, the fifty-three-year-old actor got into dubbing in the nineties thanks to Zdenek Mahdal. “That was the prehistoric era of dubbing,” he recalls of his beginnings at the JK Tyla theater in Pilsen, where he still works today.
Back then, it was normal for a series to have 140 episodes. Today, miniseries are the main trend.
“Dubbing was different in the nineties. When I made a film on Kavky or Barrandová, it took a week. There was more time for it, care was taken to match the words with the movements of the mouth. There is no room for that today.”
The legendary Dr. House
Stránský breathed an unmistakable soul into the series about Dr. House. In 2011, he received the František Filipovský award for the dubbing of a peculiar guy with a cane who speaks slowly, deliberately and coughs on patients. “When the series started, no one knew how successful it would be with the audience,” recalls the actor.
On the popular Dr. According to Stránský, the main signature of House is the fact that it is well-acted and that it was not produced by a bunch of people. At House, not a single figure was changed, and I think it paid off.”
At the same time, Stránský adds that the main character is also close to Czech viewers with his humor.
“There was a time when everyone wanted a commercial with Dr. Housem, but they didn’t want to subordinate the text to it. You must have space for it to manifest. It can’t be done in five seconds.”
He is the voice of a well-known fast food and car company, but he chooses orders carefully
In the Czech version
In addition to the struggles with the space for rendering Dr. House in advertising evaluates Stránský from the point of view of a dubber and other pitfalls associated with the creation of Czech advertisements. “Advertising is an incredible scam. Paper can handle everything, but before you say it, it lasts,” he describes what the actors have to deal with.
“They often make it difficult for me to swallow the words or sob. The letter l is also treacherous because it can be said in any number of ways. Ř is generally a problem,” Pages lists the letters that can confuse actors.
At the same time, the choice of words plays a crucial role in how the message contained in them sounds due to the short footage of advertisements.
Complex communication
It is also complicated with the agencies for which the actors dub. Stránský mentions that he hears the news about the end of cooperation from some in a whisper and not directly. Moreover, often from completely different people than would be appropriate.
“Sometimes the agency doesn’t even call you saying you’re quitting. They do not evaluate what was good and what was not worth anything. In recent years, I have observed that these people do not want to have any responsibility and always blame it on someone higher up,” he says.
Which actor can please him during dubbing? Unlike Lábus, why don’t you read the audiobooks in advance? Watch the entire episode on video, you can also listen in the audio player at the beginning of the article.
Interviews by Richard Wágner with well-known Czech dubbers and actors, whose voices are sometimes known for generations. A new episode is released every other Thursday on Nauzal, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or the Podcasty.cz platform.
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