1.2.1 Artistic Direction
The artistic director in charge of a project will be the person guiding the actors in the studio, and is often also the person who has adapted the script into the target language. However, many of the decisions vital to the project are not up to her. Very often, it is the distribution company rep (typically someone with a marketing background) who looks out for the integrity of the project on behalf of the client, calls the shots about which actor gets the role, and even makes decisions about pronunciations or the linguistic style of the adaptation.
For example, the Walt Disney Company is chiefly concerned with superior sync, even if it means a slight deviation in the meaning from the original script; Alliance on the other hand aims for a timely delivery rather than absolute fidelity.
1.2.2 Actors
Dubbing actors are principally voice actors who undergo long and arduous apprenticeship before they can become confident in the studio. Over the course of their careers each one will build a repertory of on-screen actors whose voices they will specialize in.
In dubbing voice-acting classes, actors learn about the notation of the rythmo band, how to read in time, breathing techniques, vocal projection, how to listen to and imitate intonation, and how to retain performance details about a scene.
When working on a film, dubbing actors rarely get the script ahead of time. At best, they may have a chance to view the film prior to recording. Most of the time, however, they will only see the lines they are about to perform only at the recording session.
1.2.3 Working with Talent
In this line of work the actors and the director are the stars, and the technical crew (perhaps with the exception of the chief sound mixer) are service personnel. The more transparent the technical side is, the smoother things will go. While the dialogue mixer may have a better idea of how things should sound, it is best leave things in the hands of the artistic director unless the situation absolutely calls for intervention.
Dubbing foreign shows is in many ways a process of imitation, but it is also a creative one. The recording mixer and dialogue editors should appreciate this fact, and should use careful judgement when rejecting an artistically challenging take due a lip smack or some other random studio sound so long as the performance is good and the director approves of it. After all, we can edit out much of those little noises immediately at the time of recording, and we have music and effects (M&E) to mask the rest.