The Airline Audio Challenge
Creating an optimal viewing experience on an airplane presents a unique set of challenges. The audience is highly international, the viewing screens are small, and the ambient noise level is high. A ‘SubDub’ mix is a hybrid audio solution specifically designed to address these challenges for In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) systems. It’s a carefully crafted compromise that aims to make a film as accessible as possible to the widest possible audience without resorting to a full dub that would remove the original performances of the main cast.
How a SubDub Mix Works
In a typical SubDub mix, the audio is structured as follows:
- Main Dialogue: The film’s primary language dialogue, especially that spoken by the main stars, is left in its original language (e.g., English).
- Dubbed Secondary Dialogue: Any significant scenes where supporting characters speak a different language are dubbed into the film’s primary language. For example, in an American action film where the hero travels to Spain and interacts with local police, the Spanish-speaking officers’ lines would be dubbed into English.
- Subtitled Elements: Any remaining foreign dialogue that is not critical to the plot, as well as all on-screen text (e.g., signs, text messages), is handled with subtitles.
The Rationale Behind the Hybrid Approach
The goal of the SubDub mix is to reduce the ‘cognitive load’ on the viewer. Following a fully subtitled film can be difficult on a small, shaky screen in a distracting environment. The SubDub mix minimizes the amount of reading required to understand the main plot by dubbing the most important foreign-language scenes. However, it preserves the original, iconic performances of the film’s main actors, which is something many international viewers still want to experience. It strikes a balance between the clarity of a dub and the authenticity of the original language version, making it an ideal format for the specific and challenging environment of air travel. This mix is a standard technical ‘deliverable’ that studios create as part of the package for their airline distribution partners.