Anonymous
06-03-2003, 04:07 AM
Ok, I know this is a long post, but I am cutting and pasting this from a recent exchange I had with someone who used to work for GAINAX, and I wanted to get some opinions from you guys. Here is the original messsage I sent:
"Lea~
Ok, well, let me give you a little background first. I attended this year's E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), which is a venue for video game companies to generate hype about new software and products. One of the new products they showed was a media player for the Game Boy Advance. Using a proprietary software codec, a 24 minute episode is squeezed onto a 32mb SD memory card, and it plays on the game boy advance screen.
It's a really neat little piece of hardware that, as I understand it, is doing fairly well in Japan. The company, AM3, has licensed several shows (including Platonic Chain and I believe Hellsing, among others, and is backed by Bandai), and offers them as downloads for a couple bucks an episode. I think that a product like this would be really successful if proper marketing is applied, and some key licenses are secured. But there is a question.
I don't know how important subbing and dubbing are in anime files. As a big anime fan and Japanese major, I much prefer subbed series over dubbed series, not only because the original voice actors are almost always better, but because fansubbed series appear over here within days of being aired in Japan. But while there is a hardcore contingent of anime fans that prefer subtitles, I suspect the general public prefers dubbed material.
Now, companies like ADV and Manga have gotten a lot better at getting series licensed and released in the US (the standard now seems to be the first disc set being released within a week or two of the series' end in Japan), but that is still almost a year after the initial debut of the series on television.
I apologize if I'm treading over old material here. Here are my questions. How much of the turnaround time for a series is because of translating/synching/recording dubs? How much of the budget of a translation is spent on actors/studio time/mixing? How important do you think it is to have a series released with dubbed material? Do you think it would be possible to have the more mature material released with subtitles only? Or, do you think it would be possible to release material with a subtitle, and later make the dubbed version available (keep in mind that this material would be downloadable, so once a consumer purchases the license for an episode, the dubbed version will become available at a later date, eliminating redistribution/replacement product issues)?
Finally (I know, it's already long), how do you think something like this would best be marketed? The Game Boy Advance has sold millions of units in the US, mostly to pre-teens. Video games and anime are generally compatible, and properties such as Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, and Dragonball routinely generate best selling video games. The idea that I had would be that, similar to Yu Gi Oh and Pokemon trading cards, Anime series would be sold on a business card sized CD ROM wrapped in foil and sold to retailers in the same packaging style as the Trading Card Games for POP sales. Each CD ROM would hold 4 episodes, and come with a 'trading card' or individual user license (possibly with a unique code) which can be used to sign on to an online database for tracking purchased episodes (this would allow downloads of updates, such as dubs as they become available). The foil packed CD ROMs would sell for between 2.99 and 4.99. The only issue I can see with this is the obvious lower price point, and the possibility of cutting into DVD sales. I don't think this will be a problem since the episodes will only be available for viewing on the Game Boy Advance, and the lower price point and POP marketing would increase sales (after the initial purchase of the 30 dollar SD card and adapter, only the CD purchases need be made).
I realize that this post has gotten really long and involved, and I understand if it's not your cup of tea. The main thing I'm interested in is where you stand on the importance/difficulty of dubbing anime series... ...I would love to see them succeed, if only to close the gap and make anime more accessible to the mainstream crowds.
Thanks for any input. "
If anyone here has information about some of the costs / responsibilities involved in dubbing/localization/translation, I would greatly appreciate that information. Also, any opinions on how something like this should be marketed would also be appreciated.
"Lea~
Ok, well, let me give you a little background first. I attended this year's E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), which is a venue for video game companies to generate hype about new software and products. One of the new products they showed was a media player for the Game Boy Advance. Using a proprietary software codec, a 24 minute episode is squeezed onto a 32mb SD memory card, and it plays on the game boy advance screen.
It's a really neat little piece of hardware that, as I understand it, is doing fairly well in Japan. The company, AM3, has licensed several shows (including Platonic Chain and I believe Hellsing, among others, and is backed by Bandai), and offers them as downloads for a couple bucks an episode. I think that a product like this would be really successful if proper marketing is applied, and some key licenses are secured. But there is a question.
I don't know how important subbing and dubbing are in anime files. As a big anime fan and Japanese major, I much prefer subbed series over dubbed series, not only because the original voice actors are almost always better, but because fansubbed series appear over here within days of being aired in Japan. But while there is a hardcore contingent of anime fans that prefer subtitles, I suspect the general public prefers dubbed material.
Now, companies like ADV and Manga have gotten a lot better at getting series licensed and released in the US (the standard now seems to be the first disc set being released within a week or two of the series' end in Japan), but that is still almost a year after the initial debut of the series on television.
I apologize if I'm treading over old material here. Here are my questions. How much of the turnaround time for a series is because of translating/synching/recording dubs? How much of the budget of a translation is spent on actors/studio time/mixing? How important do you think it is to have a series released with dubbed material? Do you think it would be possible to have the more mature material released with subtitles only? Or, do you think it would be possible to release material with a subtitle, and later make the dubbed version available (keep in mind that this material would be downloadable, so once a consumer purchases the license for an episode, the dubbed version will become available at a later date, eliminating redistribution/replacement product issues)?
Finally (I know, it's already long), how do you think something like this would best be marketed? The Game Boy Advance has sold millions of units in the US, mostly to pre-teens. Video games and anime are generally compatible, and properties such as Pokemon, Yu Gi Oh, and Dragonball routinely generate best selling video games. The idea that I had would be that, similar to Yu Gi Oh and Pokemon trading cards, Anime series would be sold on a business card sized CD ROM wrapped in foil and sold to retailers in the same packaging style as the Trading Card Games for POP sales. Each CD ROM would hold 4 episodes, and come with a 'trading card' or individual user license (possibly with a unique code) which can be used to sign on to an online database for tracking purchased episodes (this would allow downloads of updates, such as dubs as they become available). The foil packed CD ROMs would sell for between 2.99 and 4.99. The only issue I can see with this is the obvious lower price point, and the possibility of cutting into DVD sales. I don't think this will be a problem since the episodes will only be available for viewing on the Game Boy Advance, and the lower price point and POP marketing would increase sales (after the initial purchase of the 30 dollar SD card and adapter, only the CD purchases need be made).
I realize that this post has gotten really long and involved, and I understand if it's not your cup of tea. The main thing I'm interested in is where you stand on the importance/difficulty of dubbing anime series... ...I would love to see them succeed, if only to close the gap and make anime more accessible to the mainstream crowds.
Thanks for any input. "
If anyone here has information about some of the costs / responsibilities involved in dubbing/localization/translation, I would greatly appreciate that information. Also, any opinions on how something like this should be marketed would also be appreciated.