The Future of Synchronization

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Flawless could revolutionize the art of dubbing

In the future, dubbed films will look as if they were shot in the target language.

The Swedish film UFO Sweden was released in the USA in May. Foreign films are usually shown there with subtitles, but UFO Sweden has been dubbed. However, not as usual so far. It used what is called "immersive syncing". This is an AI technology that digitally adapts the actor's mouth movements to the translated dialogues, so that it is no longer recognizable that there was any synchronization at all. The film looks like it has always been shot in the target language.

The technology comes from the company Flawless. 

According to co-founder Scott Mann, the company's goal is not to replace people. Rather, he wants to see his AI as a tool for creatives, artists, directors, actors, sound engineers and many others. Mann: "I think that with new technologies, creatives also have completely new opportunities to apply them. What AI shouldn't do: replace creatives."

The Future of Synchronization Right Tool

Mann's statement is not entirely correct, since the actors who voice the dialogues of the localized version are replaced by the AI. Because this allows, as Victor Danell, the director of UFO Sweden, also made it clear, that not only the dialogues can be changed and adapted to the mentality of a country, but that the original cast of the film can also be worked with. So you hear the voices of the real actors, not those of a dubbing actor, who also lends his voice to many others. The performance thus retains the uniqueness of the original version.

The Future of Synchronization Dark Side

Artists are thus more directly involved in the localization of their films and thus also have the opportunity to reach an audience that, due to the language barrier, is otherwise only reached by a team of local dubbing specialists. One advantage is that not only does everything look natural with the right mouth movements, but the voices also get their individuality back. On the flip side of the whole thing, it is obvious that an entire industry is worried about its existence, especially in a country like Germany, where synchronization has reached an amazingly high level.