MULTILANGUAGE DUBBING OVERVIEW

The United States is the largest exporter of film and television programming in the world. Foreign language dubbed product has become by far the largest programming block in territories around the globe. International viewers are used to dubbed film and TV programs, and the various territories have become experts at it. As a result of exposure to the high production values of American cinema and broadcast programming, these territories have learned over time how to create equally high quality productions, now available to a global market.

MEDIACONCEPTS, with a worldview borne of longstanding international experience, has anticipated the growing importance of quality film and television from territories outside the US. Historically, however, the US entertainment industry has made a concerted - and very successful - effort to restrict the importation of foreign fare, preferring instead to keep viewers focused on domestic product.

Companies such as Sony Classics and Miramax have brought quality pictures onto US soil, primarily for the DVD market. Unfortunately they have largely been unsuccessful in penetrating the theatrical market, the sole excuse of US entertainment media being that American audiences are not accustomed to dubbed versions, and would not be favorably disposed to the experience.

This is belied by films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Life is Beautiful, The Emperor and the Assassin and Shaolin Soccer, which have attracted sizable audiences, consequently stretching the boundaries of importation.

Advancing technology, along with the impressive number of modern cineplexes recently built worldwide, has now altered the financial balance of the entertainment industry. International productions, once a relative rarity, are now competing with US productions in order to gain a larger global share of the entertainment market.