Dinara Chayzhunusova, corporate foundation "Bolashak" director
Almas Alimzhanov, the director of Aray Media Group recording studio
About the project
"Bolashak" project which makes artistic dubbing of Hollywood films into the Kazakh language has been forking for more than seven years. The goal of the project is to create high-quality content in the Kazakh language. This idea belongs to Baibek Bauyrzhan Kadyrgalievich - the acting chairman of the board of trustees of the fund.
In Kazakhstan due to our project two studios are certified by Walt Disney: CINEMATON in Almaty and Aray Media Group studio in Astana. They meet the highest quality standards.
Thanks to the project the Kazakh language became the 7th language in Sony Pictures and 39th language in Disney. Buying a Blu-ray disc anywhere in the world, you can choose the Kazakh language for viewing.
Dubbing was not professionally developed in Kazakhstan before us. When the representatives of Walt Disney firstly arrived seven years ago for dubbing project, our actors had to work hard. We wrote down for several months, because this is a whole actor play: you have to get used to the role, you have to go through all the emotions that the actor feels, so that the film was perceived as if it was filmed in Kazakh. It's a huge job, the director is required to do a lot. We had different cases when the director had to shout and swear so to make an actor somehow act as he should. Actors play, they scream and cry, everything happens for real. In other case, the audience would feel the fake game.
Now it takes only two weeks to record according to studio standards. Also, we had to invite actors from Almaty before, and now the studio has formed a certain group of actors who understand what dubbing is and can implement it qualitatively. We have our own director Shah-Murat Ordabayev, who is young, creative, promising, open.
Where and how long films in Kazakh are shown
Films in Kazakh are shown in cinemas for a week or two. The cartoon "Moana" lasted longer. Cinemas often put sessions in Kazakh in not quite a favourable time, we constantly try to work it out. On November 23 there will be a premiere of “The Mystery of Coco”, and every day we will ask for a timetable, track at what time the film is shown. Unfortunately, representatives of cinemas say that now people are more likely to watch movies in Russian.
If we compare with other countries, we have low attendance of cinemas "Moana" was visited by 25 000 people - this is the highest rate, "The book of Jungle" by 13-14 000 people. However, there were films, which were visited by 500-1000 people only.
On Air Astana aircrafts’ boards our films are rotated as well, we ask them to be included in the list. They do it with pleasure.
To watch a good quality product in Kazakh is the right of every person. Unfortunately, television does not fully cope with this. We have always watched and will watch Disney, because this is a company whose films are always about the victory of good over evil, propagandize family values. Disney is the most popular content in the world.
About the studio
We have two editing studios. Recording is made in a large studio, and editing, mixing are done in the second . Previously, the mixing was done in London. But the last two films we dubbed here: Timur Bekmambetov's "The Time of the First" and Luc Besson's "The Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" is the most expensive film in Europe.
We have already announced 23 films, two films of which has been fully processed in Kazakhstan, in this studio. On average we translate from four to six films a year, but these are blockbusters. The average budget for such a film is 250-300 million dollars. To make a dubbing creative team is formed, everyone is paid. The final processing takes place in London and then a film is promoted. On average, such dubbing costs 150,000 dollars. Sometimes it comes out and more. When the mixing is carried out in Kazakhstan, it comes out twice as cheaply as in London. We’re dreaming of Disney to open an office in Kazakhstan.
The process of dubbing
We send the material received from Disney to an interpreter, who translates directly from English to Kazakh. After that, we send it to the editor and assemblers. Assemblers make sure if the sound coincides with the movement of the lips, so that everything is perfect, as if the hero speaks Kazakh. If the hero speaks the phrase in English, then you need to keep within this time, in the original text, in timbre, pause, breathing. There mustn’t be any discrepancy even in a second.
We perform an audition for the voice acting. Voices chosen are to be approved by Disney. Representatives of their studio come here. The main characters choose the voice to synchronize them, whereas we select not the main roles. For example, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp affirmed their Kazakh voice. The voices chose will go on synchronizing the actors in the other films too.
Also, we translate songs, we lay and write them in Kazakh keeping in mind seconds. The music editor, the vocalists also work on musical projects. Overall, 50-60 people work at one project. There can be 50-60 people in a crowd as well. It all depends on the movie.
About the cartoon "The Secret of Coco"
This film is about a boy who dreamed of singing. The thing was that music was banned in his family. The cartoon focuses on family values and mistakes of the past. The boy called Miguel was voiced by Akarys, who is the youngest actor in our project, he is 12. Overall, 35 actors took part in the dubbing. The director of the Kazakh dubbing was Shah-Murat Ordabayev.
In Astana, the pre-view took place in Kinopark7 last week. The audience including men couldn’t help crying. Within two days after the prevision there were many amazing posts. People who speak the language professionally stated everything to be perfect.
