What is the difference between ADR and dubbing?

ADR replaces dialogue in the film's original language, usually for technical or creative reasons, and belongs to the original master. Dubbing replaces dialogue in a different language for an international audience. They use different skills and sit at different points in post-production — ADR should be finished before dubbing begins, so every localised version is built from a completed master.

How much does ADR recording cost?

ADR is priced on studio time and cue count rather than finished runtime, since scattered cues across a feature can take longer than one dense scene. Talent fees, engineering, voice-match casting and remote director links sit on top. Send us a cue sheet with timecodes and we will quote against the actual session.

Do I need the original production audio for ADR?

Yes, including the takes you consider unusable. That spoiled recording is the performance reference the replacement is matched against — pace, breath, physicality and emotional level. Working without it means the actor is recreating a take blind, which is the most common reason ADR fails to blend.

Can you do ADR if the original actor is unavailable?

Yes, through voice matching. We cast a performer against the existing dialogue for timbre, rhythm and delivery, then direct them against the original recordings. It is a genuine specialism and we cast it separately from general voice work, because it is judged entirely on whether the audience notices the substitution.

Can our director attend the ADR session remotely?

Yes. Our London studios support Source-Connect and similar remote links, so directors, producers and mixers can listen live, give notes and approve takes from anywhere. This is standard practice on international productions and avoids the schedule cost of travel.

What format do you deliver ADR files in?

Whatever your dubbing mixer needs — typically broadcast WAV at the session's sample rate and bit depth, split per cue or per character, with timecode stamps and handles. Tell us the delivery spec at the start and we build the session around it rather than converting afterwards.

Actor recording ADR to picture at the mic, with scene and timecode on the studio screen

ADR voice over

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Professional ADR voice over and recording services

Production sound fails for ordinary reasons: a plane over the location, a radio mic that clipped, a line the director wants delivered differently now the edit exists. ADR is how those problems get solved without reshooting, and it has to be invisible — the audience should never hear the join.

At GoLocalise, we provide ADR voice over and automated dialogue replacement for feature films, television, streaming and commercials, recorded to picture in our London studios and matched to the original take so it drops straight into your existing mix.

Recorded to picture with timecode, so replaced lines land exactly where the edit expects them
Matched to the original production sound in tone, perspective and room, not just in words
Voice matching where the original performer is unavailable, cast against the existing dialogue
Mix-ready delivery in your session's format, with handles and takes your dubbing mixer can work with

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ADR engineer working across waveform displays with the scene playing above

Explore some examples of our ADR Voice Over Artists

ADR is judged by whether anyone notices it. A replaced line that draws attention to itself has failed, however clean the recording is.

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Types of ADR work we record

ADR covers more ground than replacing a spoiled line. These are the six kinds of session we are booked for most, each with its own technical and performance demands.

Technical ADR

Replacing dialogue where the production sound is unusable — traffic, wind, aircraft, camera noise or a failed radio mic. The performance already exists on location; the job is to rebuild it convincingly in a booth, matching the energy and physicality of a take the actor gave months ago.

Creative ADR

Re-recording a line because the edit changed, the director wants a different reading, or a scene needs new information. Freer than technical ADR, but it still has to sit alongside untouched production sound in the same scene without announcing itself.

Voice matching

Casting a performer to match an original actor who is unavailable, has died, or cannot be recalled within the schedule. A specialist skill: it needs a close ear for timbre, rhythm and idiosyncrasy, and it is judged entirely on whether the audience notices the substitution.

Walla and group ADR

Crowd voices, background chatter and reaction sounds recorded by a group to fill the world around the principal dialogue. Essential for restaurants, stadiums, offices and streets, and one of the clearest markers between a finished mix and an unfinished one.

Content and language replacement

Swapping specific words or lines for broadcast standards, airline edits, regional versions or brand and legal changes. Usually tightly constrained — the replacement has to fit the existing mouth movement and run time exactly.

Remote and connected ADR

Recording an actor in our London studios while the director, producer or mixer joins live from anywhere via Source-Connect or a similar link. Standard practice for international productions, and it keeps creative approval in the room without the travel.

How our ADR recording process works

ADR sits late in post, which means it usually arrives with a fixed mix date and no room to slip. The work is as much technical as performative: matching perspective, room tone and delivery to material recorded months earlier on location. Every session runs through a dedicated project manager:

Cue sheet review

Picture & timecode prep

Talent or voice match

ADR session to picture

Performance direction

Sync editing & fitting

Perspective & tone match

Mix-ready delivery

Cue preparation, casting, recording and delivery all run through one team in one building — which is how ADR arrives matched, in sync and ready for the dubbing mixer.

Why use a professional ADR studio?

ADR succeeds only when nobody hears it. A replaced line sits inside a scene of untouched production sound, so it has to match the room, the distance from the mic, the actor's physical state and the energy of the original take. That match is a craft, and a technically clean recording that ignores it stands out worse than the noisy original.

The room matters as much as the mic. ADR recorded in an untreated space carries its own acoustic signature into a scene shot somewhere else entirely, and no amount of processing fully removes it. Our London studios are built and treated for exactly this work, with the mic options needed to match a range of production perspectives.

ADR arrives late and moves fast. By the time cues are locked, the mix date is usually fixed and the actor's availability is narrow. Sessions have to be prepared properly in advance — cues marked, picture and timecode ready, streamers set — so the time in the booth goes on performance rather than setup.

Voice matching is a real specialism. When an original performer cannot return, the substitute has to be cast on timbre and delivery rather than on a good demo, and directed against the actual original dialogue. Very few voices do this convincingly, and casting it casually is how a scene quietly falls apart.

How to plan an ADR session

Come with a cue sheet, not a hunch. Knowing exactly which lines are being replaced, their timecodes and why, is what turns an open-ended session into a scheduled one. It is also the single biggest factor in what an ADR day costs.

Supply the original production audio for every cue, even the unusable takes. The performance in that spoiled recording is the reference the replacement is matched against — tone, pace, breath and physicality — and working without it means guessing.

Think about perspective before the session, not in the mix. A line delivered across a room, through a door or in close-up needs a different mic choice and distance, and matching that in the booth is far more convincing than recreating it afterwards with processing.

When we scope ADR at GoLocalise, these are the four things we settle first

Cue sheet, timecodes and run time

Picture, guide track and sync format

Original talent or voice match casting

Delivery spec for your dubbing mixer

ADR recording pricing & session options

ADR is quoted on studio time and cue count rather than on finished runtime, because a dozen scattered lines across a feature can take longer than a single dense scene. Talent, engineering and whether a remote link is needed all sit on top. That is why we scope per session. The tiers below are reference points showing how ADR bookings typically come together:

Bronze

For a short session covering a handful of cues with your own talent. Includes:

Studio time with an ADR engineer
Recording to picture with timecode
Sync editing and clean-up
Delivery in your session's format

Select plan

Silver

For a full ADR day with directed performance and remote attendance. Includes:

Full-day studio and engineer
Cue preparation and streamer setup
Remote director link via Source-Connect
Sync editing, perspective matching and delivery

Select plan

Gold

For productions needing casting, voice matching and group ADR. Includes:

Voice match casting with your sign-off
Principal ADR plus walla and group sessions
Directed sessions with remote attendance
Full sync, tone matching and mix-ready delivery

Select plan

Custom ADR bookings

A feature with two hundred cues across a six-week post schedule? A single line replaced for a broadcast compliance note? A voice match for an actor who is no longer available? ADR bookings vary this widely, so send us the cue sheet and we will quote around it.

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ADR, dubbing and international versions

ADR and dubbing are often confused, and the distinction matters when you are scoping a budget. ADR replaces dialogue in the original language for technical or creative reasons. Dubbing replaces it in another language for a new audience.

Most international releases end up needing both, and running them through one team keeps the original-language master and every localised version working from the same picture, cues and standards.

ADR first, then localisation

ADR belongs to the original-language master, and it should be finished before localisation starts. Dubbing a version from a master still carrying unreplaced dialogue means redoing work once the ADR lands.

We sequence the two deliberately: original-language ADR completed and approved, then translation and dubbing built from the finished master.

That order removes the most common source of duplicated cost in film post-production.

ADR session in progress, dialogue waveforms aligned to picture on the edit displays

One studio, one set of specifications

ADR and dubbing split across separate suppliers tend to drift apart technically — different mic choices, different levels, different delivery conventions — and your mixer absorbs the difference.

Running both through our London studios means one specification, one engineering standard and one point of contact across the original and every language version.

Your dubbing mixer receives files built to the same spec whichever version they are working on.

ADR take list with per-take status and notes beside the matching dialogue waveform

Voice continuity across versions

When a character is voice-matched in the original language, that decision has to carry into every dubbed version, or the character shifts between territories in ways audiences notice.

We hold casting references centrally and direct each language against the approved original, so a replaced or matched voice stays consistent everywhere the film plays.

Approvals sit with you at every stage, in the original language and in each market.

Remote ADR session with the director joining live on screen beside the take displays

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Other movie voice over services

ADR is one part of finishing a film's audio. If your project needs more than dialogue replacement, these are the places to look next.

Movie voice over

Film narration, documentary and off-screen voice work, plus an overview of which film voice service a given project actually calls for.

Find out more

Movie dubbing

Full dialogue replacement into other languages, with lip-sync, phrase-sync and multi-territory release management handled in-house.

Find out more

Recording studios

Our London studios, the rooms where ADR sessions are recorded — with Source-Connect, engineering support and remote attendance.

Find out more

FAQs

ADR stands for automated dialogue replacement — the process of re-recording an actor's dialogue in a studio after filming, in sync with the picture. It is used when production sound is unusable, when a line needs to change after the edit, or when new dialogue is required. The recording has to match the original take in tone, perspective and energy so it sits invisibly inside the finished mix.