October 10, 2005– ABC En Espanol Spanish-Speakers Courted In Switch To Primetime Lineup In Their Language Hispanohablantes invitados a cambiar a programacions en su idioma. -By Joanne Ostrow Denver Post TV Critic

DENVER POST --Dubbing isn't for sissies.

The potential for disaster is obvious when a TV or film actor is given a new voice in another language. Woody Allen

nailed the comic potential in 1966's "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" In the original Japanese film, the plot revolved around the search for a secret microfilm; in Allen's dubbing, the search concerned a recipe for egg salad.

If you've seen bad dub jobs - and who hasn't? - you know the risk. Pitfalls include voices speaking when mouths aren't moving, monotone line readings mismatched to emotional highs onscreen, and bungled translations.

Getting it right means minding your "P's" and "B's."

"The B's, P's, M's - we call them labial consonants. You have to match them, otherwise it starts looking rubbery," said Ruben Veloso, head of CCI Digital in Los Angeles, the company contracted to dub ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" in Spanish.

ABC recently became the first network to offer its primetime lineup in Spanish, by creating a dubbed audio channel that viewers can access with the SAP (second audio program) button on their televisions. That's a benefit to the nation's 20 million households who watch mostly Spanish-language TV.

Of course it's a smart marketing move by ABC. There is money to be made: Spanish-language television is primarily responsible for the boost in advertising spending in the first half of 2005. This sector posted a 15 percent rise in ad spending, bringing in $1.12 billion in revenues, according to data from Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

This is also tricky business for the producers.

"We have to make sure the line has the same number of syllables, the labials match, and the pacing has to match," Veloso said. "Spanish is usually longer."

Veloso's team goes beyond translation to adaptation, "massaging the script to be true to the story line. At times we do take some liberties in dialogue." The goal is to keep the innuendo and double-entendres when possible.

Stephanie Hagen, associate producer on "Desperate Housewives," was doubtful Spanish dubbing could be worked into the already breakneck production schedule. The completed hour is never delivered to the network or studio more than three days in advance.

Now, she says, "I'm surprised it's taken us this long to do this."

In finding the right translation, CCI's Veloso, who is Argentine, is acutely aware of differences in region, from the U.S. to South America, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and beyond. The dubbing sticks to what is called "neutral Spanish" to avoid regional distinctions - and embarrassment.

An infamous mistranslation occurred recently when Hershey's attempted to advertise caramel candies in Spanish. Different words for

caramel mean different things in various Spanish dialects, notably "dulce de leche" in South America and "cajeta" in Mexico. Hershey's advertising agency used the wrong word in the wrong market and ended up making a reference to a woman's genitals.

"We have to be very careful with slang," Veloso said. "We have to stay true to the Spanish dictionary."

"Language choices are difficult," said Valeria Piaggio, senior director for Latino consumer strategies at Iconoculture, a Minneapolis-based consumer research and consulting firm. She sees ABC's Spanish

language initiative as "a breakthrough," but warns that the Latino market is very diverse, with a host of different accents and different vocabularies.

"Dubbing sometimes alienates certain groups," Piaggio said. Besides, "there's not that emotional connection" when you hear a flat reading of a line translated from the original language.

She observed that ABC wisely opted for neutral Spanish, since 60-70 percent of the U.S. Latino market is Mexican.

The casting of voice actors involves art and science. "Some who auditioned just couldn't hit the lips," Veloso said. Beyond matching mouth movements, the vocal tone must fit the image of actors onscreen.

To land the gig, CCI hired actors and gave ABC a test scene.

"I picked a dinner scene from the third show," Hagen said, that included all four women, plus Carlos and Mike, speaking. Three days later CCI turned it over to ABC. "I was impressed with the range of voices. I thought Marcia was spot on. I said if you can't get the raspy, breaky quality of Teri Hatcher, get the best actor. I thought Mike was in too high a register. They made tweaks."

"Housewives" creator/executive producer Marc Cherry asked to personally approve the casting of Mary Alice (Brenda Strong), the soul of the show.

"They brought in the five best candidates, put them on DVD against the picture with her narration," Hagen said. "I just listened to the voices and found Malavena (de Villar). She shares that nice rich, warm feeling that Brenda brings."

Cherry agreed de Villar shared the nuances of Strong's voice - the irony, the lilt. "Malavena gets it," Hagen said. (Veloso and de Villar have worked together since the 1983 dubbing of "Return of the Jedi" in Spanish, when he cast her as Princess Leia.)

Dubbing means getting footsteps and background noises right too. "If Felicity (Huffman, as Lynette) takes off her jacket and throws it down over a speaking line, that will have to be redone for the international feed," Hagen said. "Usually it takes two to three weeks. Now, we have to create an M&E (music and effects) track that night. We mix the show on Wednesday, work all day Thursday to create the M&E track while CCI is making voice changes, deliver it Friday."

The schedule for "Lost" is even tighter. The deadline for a finished product is Tuesday for Wednesday broadcast. That means sound mixing over the weekend.

ABC's foray into a mix of dubbing and closed-captioning is a move to reach the lucrative Latino market. Certain shows, like "George Lopez," have been available with Spanish dubbing for years. Soon, the network's entire slate will be available in Spanish.

"Almost half of the 41 million Hispanics in this country watch only or mostly Spanish-language television," ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson said in announcing the initiative, "and we want to bring that audience to ABC."

If your television is no more than 10 years old, it likely is equipped with the SAP option. Roughly 86 percent of U.S. households have TVs with the SAP capability.

Spanish-subtitled versions of ABC shows can be found on the Closed Caption 3 channel. The network has made its movies available this way in the past, but this is the first time certain holiday classics, notably the Charlie Brown Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas specials, will be offered in Spanish via SAP.

For now, each of the ABC hits poses different dubbing challenges. "Desperate Housewives" is difficult, Veloso said, "because it's a comedy, and comedy sometimes doesn't translate." An upcoming bit with characters singing is another dilemma.

"Lost" is difficult, Veloso said, because there are so many characters and the action moves so quickly. (The Korean stays Korean in the Spanish version.)

Rival networks have not yet jumped on the trend. However, producers insist that if these two series shows can pull it off, it's going to spur the demand for more Spanish dubbing to come.

TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-820-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.

About DVS InteleStream
DVS InteleStream is a leading provider of media content supply chain services to owners, producers and distributors of broadcast and home entertainment content. DVS InteleStream provides the platform through which theatrical and broadcast media content is archived, edited and distributed to thousands of broadcast outlets worldwide. DVS’ services are used by all of the Major Motion Picture Studios and many of the worlds largest Ad Agencies, Fortune 500 and Independent Production Companies.