When a show (motion picture, TV series, animation, etc.) is selected for distribution in a foreign language, a copy is sent to a dubbing studio where it undergoes several preparatory stages. A dubbing project begins with detection of the original audio, adaptation into the new language, post-synchronisation (recording sessions), editing, and mixing.
Before any work begins, the picture department will have prepared a copy of the video with a standardised time code burn-in reference. Music, effects, and dialogue stemswill be evaluated, to determine how much of the original dialogue can be re-used (long scenes without discernible words, for instance). If multiple versions of the video have been provided, for example a theatrical release and an extended version for Blu-ray, all differences between them will be marked on an EDL so that later on the sound editor can properly conform the two versions.
Specialised software suites streamline various stages of this process into an all-encompassing production project where many of the intermediary steps are automated. This allows studios to budget time and space more efficiently, and to complete projects in a much shorter time frame.