Ask John: What Do “ADR” Scripters and Directors Do?

Question:
What is ADR scripting? I see it at the end of every English dubbed anime. So it’s obviously tied to something for English translation, right? The same for ADR directing.

Answer:
ADR stands for “Automatic Dialogue Replacement” and is simply the technical industry name for what laymen refer to as just “dubbing.” An ADR scripter writes the script that dubbing voice actors recite from. An ADR scripter may or may not compose the original dialogue translation from Japanese into English. The ADR scripter is responsible for creating or adapting an English language script that sounds natural to a native English speaking viewer, and matches the mouth movements seen in the animation. The dialogue that an ADR scripter writes may be very similar to the original Japanese dialogue, or may be a total re-write that bears almost no resemblance to the original Japanese script.

An ADR director is responsible for the creation and implementation of the dubbing process. The ADR director selects the English language voice actors and directs their performances, and oversees the editing and mixing of the completed dubbed audio track with the animation footage.