Suggestion for New feature: Voice Actors

You might want to vote for this thread: https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/suggestion-for-new-feature-voice-actors/5f4a79878815453dba80787a 

@alistairmckenzie You might want to vote for this Idea: https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/suggestion-for-new-feature-voice-actors/5f4a79878815453dba80787a

This would make cast listing nearly unreadable as there would be a potential of dozens or more people credited for the same character. I think there needs to be a new implementation to handle dubbing credits but you'd have to change the IMDb policy that they only list credits from the original release.

People probably often forget that some countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain, etc literally dub (almost, at least) everything. It’s not just animation films etc. IMDb doesn’t have resources to sort out 6-7 different ”set” of actors in every film and series. Let alone Adrian’s comments about unreadable cast listings.

So this won’t happen in any time soon. It’s simply unrealistic request.

@adrian​ "This would make cast listing nearly unreadable as there would be a potential of dozens or more people credited for the same character."

Dubbers don't have to be listed in one long cast list. Apart from the main list with the original cast, there can be several cast lists per title, one for each language the title has been dubbed in.

@eboy​ "People probably often forget that some countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain, etc literally dub (almost, at least) everything."

Wouldn't that actually be an argument in favor of adding dubbers to the database? If IMDb truly wants to be international and offer all their customers a good service, shouldn't they include the voices heard by millions and millions of people all around the globe?

"So this won’t happen in any time soon."

True dat, I've first asked about this in 2003.

"It’s simply unrealistic request."

Everything is unrealistic until it is done and with that, becomes a reality. Creating a database with these stats: https://www.imdb.com/pressroom/stats/ was probably also considered unrealistic in the pre-internet era. :)

Were the dubbing credits listed onscreen in the original film?

https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/filmography-credits/imdb-credit-eligibility-faq/GXMWNMB8LQCZYFH8?ref_=helpsrall#

In other words, we will not list individuals who worked and/or are only credited in the home video version, in the DVD deleted scenes, or in any other subsequent version. Also, we do not list credits for foreign language versions of a film (dubbing, dialogue editing, translations etc.), with the exception of the US dub of non-English animation.

https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/filmography-credits/eligible-credits/GFXKZE9VXLB5CR8M?ref_=helpsrall#

There are certain types of credits that we do not list unless they are specifically credited on-screen: these include work on marketing elements of a title (work on key art, trailers etc.), or on non-theatrical versions (e.g. DVD authoring, supplemental materials, captioning etc.), or on localized releases (dubbing, dialogue translation/editing on foreign versions etc.). We do not list these credits unless the person has received an on-screen credit for their work in the original version of the title. These details may be added to the other works biography section, or alternatively IMDbPro members can add these to the additional credits section of the name page. Some common acting categories such as "Special Skills" may fall into the "Trivia" section of a biography.

https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/filmography-credits/cast-acting-credits-guidelines/GH3JZC74FVYKKFMD?ref_=helpms_helpart_inline#

(Table of criteria)

Hello!

The thing is that the project hasn't even being premiered yet... is "¡García!" for HBOmax (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14599306/)

As you can see, the character "Idoia" is listed twice, and one of them is sub credited as "English version, voice" without being an animation series.

She also appears in additional crew as English dubbing producer, which I think is great.

But this isn't the first time I've seen this case, but I can't remember where else...

Thanks a lot!

With the age of streaming, some international (live action) series (made in Spain, Italy, France, Scandinavia etc) are also being streamed in the US/UK. This often means that they create a new English dub track.

With animations, actors in English dub are accepted, but not sure about live action.

@pickle_pup​, @f_bio_samizu, @alistairmckenzie @Marco @eboy  and everyone,

Aside from the voice actors for foreign dubbing (including English dubs), it seems relevant to also include the crews that create these.  IMDb used to accept credits for sound department jobs within foreign dubs a while back (and they still do, I'll post a screen shot).  The concerning part is that IMDb is saying they don't (they took all of mine down in 2022) but left a ton up for other voice actors and sound crews.  Here's a page containing over 50 credits for English dubbing:  https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9962345/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr55

I'll post of a screenshot below too, but there were too many to fit in one pic.  I'll also post a few more screenshots of English dubbing credits which have been accepted on IMDb.

There are also many other threads on this forum about whether or not the inclusion of foreign dubbing should be on IMDb, and why some credit submissions are accepted and others declined (this goes for all creative re-versioning of content which would included audio description, remastering and sound restoration).  I personally feel it should all be included, granted the submitters enter their submissions as "uncredited" if their name doesn't appear on-screen (which includes dub cards).  But, first and foremost, everyone should be treated equally, accept them all or reject them all.  I've brought this topic up to IMDb customer care several times, and unfortunately they don't respond to my inquiry as to why different accounts are treated differently (even when against their own current policies).  The only tangential response I received was suggesting for me to challenge someone else's submissions.

@hkpwnetd​ Thanks for your thoughts on this issue.

About English dubs: They are eligible, well, if they are American English that is: https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/filmography-credits/cast-acting-credits-guidelines/GH3JZC74FVYKKFMD?ref_=helpsrall#voice

About the dubbing crews: I totally agree they deserve a place on IMDb somewhere.

About the dubbing credits that have made it online while they shouldn't: I've seen quite a lot of voice acting credits (both in the Cast list as well as in the Other Crew section) that, according to the guide, shouldn't be listed there, but somehow sneaked in. 

One can only hope IMDb will one day become truly international and truly inclusive. Until that time, I hope people will share their view on this issue.

@Marco , IMDb also says they only accept American English on-screen credits if they're in the main or crawl (not dub cards after the OV main credits).  So, yes, that doesn't explain why there are so many pages (like the screenshots I posted earlier in this thread) devoted almost exclusively to foreign dubbing work.

Whether or not the policy allows them, IMDb has not explained the inconsistency among accounts.  I'd like to believe IMDb wants to treat everyone equally, but this is definitely not the case.  Fingers crossed, they'll comment and alter accounts to make everything fair.

Anyone else reading this and has input should comment on the subject, it's a global concern.

Has there been an official update from IMDb about their dubbing policies? They are inconsistent since some credits are approved and others are not.