Voice Actor (Ash from Pokémon) Breaks Down Voice Dubbing in 9 Steps | Vanity Fair

Voice actor Sarah Natochenny breaks down the art of mastering voice dubbing. From animation dubbing to live-action dubbing, watch the Pokémon voice actor explain the 9 steps of mastering dubbing into different languages.
Still haven’t subscribed to Vanity Fair on KZbin? ►► bit.ly/2z6Ya9M
Want to stay in the know? Subscribe to Vanity Fair Magazine and be exquisitely informed ►► vntyfr.com/2RuQGW2
ABOUT VANITY FAIR
Arts and entertainment, business and media, politics, and world affairs-Vanity Fair’s features and exclusive videos capture the people, places, and ideas that define modern culture.

[@SarahNatochenny1]

:) Hi internet.

[@han7693]

YOOOO

[@jc.92]

Hiiiiiii

[@jenniferm914]

Hi

[@fury1313]

❤️

[@ossoffwarnockjan.5th413]

Wow, on KZbin since 2006!

[@RealBreakingNate]

Sarah is so talented! One of the best in the business. So honored to call Sarah a friend!✌️

[@SarahNatochenny1]

thank you Nate!!

[@cee5714]

@@SarahNatochenny1 you’re dope

[@aryansavage-8886]

I am your subskiber

[@aidanstrikez4339]

your smelly

[@snowchild1764]

@@SarahNatochenny1 🤩💛

[@dancyman2220]

"Let's see how I dub this into Russian." - Biggest flex of 2020, love it! 😂😂

[@luissalas177]

Her Russian sounded really legit.

[@Blondesax]

Right? "Hold on a second! She speaks Russian?!"

[@adinamusrepova1447]

Her Russian is spectacular!

[@technicolorgiallo1111]

@@adinamusrepova1447 Her last name means "Sharpened" in Russian.

[@adinamusrepova1447]

@@technicolorgiallo1111 it does! I didn’t even notice it. The only thing is that it’s pronounced differently

[@PetiteNomNom]

She’s so incredibly well spoken, extremely realistic in her tips, and just a pleasure to listen to. I have no interest in this career but I love this video. Definitely could be implemented into other fields.

[@servantbyday]

Excellent point.

[@auroradiazp]

It is!!

[@Gabe94dotcom]

True

[@NinjagoGuy416]

I’m more blown away by the fact that she fluently speaks Russian

[@hiimmistergay4247]

I'm pretty sure she is Russian.

[@andreasjung3612]

Her surname is Russian.

[@Paulxl]

@@andreasjung3612 Thanks for saving me the effort to say it. xD

[@thedaychr]

She also speaks roselian and bunearyan, trully al inspiration.

[@lucinae8510]

Karen Strassman speaks fluent French, she even got a voice role in Lost because of it!

[@gerardgarcia8501]

Sarah Natochenny is The Lady Gaga of The Pokemon Anime Voice Acting World Plus Veronica Taylor’s The Cyndi Lauper(or Madonna) of The Pokemon Anime Voice Acting World Both of them are So ICONIC AF

[@LeBeautiful]

OMG LITERALLY

[@totalro5049]

batman beyond movie cast kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWjUpWqagt-egac

[@briarroseella7142]

Not to mention she looks a lot like Lady Gaga too!

[@raydenovan4805]

If Ash can't age, can she? I'm still wondering how she felt during XY

[@ericbazinga]

"Iconic af" Veronica Taylor: "Am I a joke to you?"

[@baileyc7703]

Vanity Fair! Put her name in the title!

[@Victoria-pt4io]

Ugh, I hate these comments. Do people not understand how marketing works? They are not slighting her by not putting her name in the title. Instead they are probably doing her a service by having a title that attracts views. Most people have no idea who she is so it makes far more sense to just say “voice actor”. And it’s not like her name isn’t listed

[@ratedpending]

@@Victoria-pt4io just "Pokémon Voice Actor, Sarah Notchenenny,..."woulda just been convenient imo

[@Lazuley_]

@@Victoria-pt4io are you seriously getting mad at this

[@odditysparks1006]

@@Victoria-pt4io they def could’ve did exactly what you said while simultaneously putting her name in the title lol. What are you on about

[@christopherhollow4906]

@Verity irrelevant point that doesn't make any sense.

[@calumcooper3295]

Imagine being one of the most talented voice actors in the world, and not having your name put in the title of a KZbin video

[@theflamingfreezer8478]

Calum Cooper You know nothing of Japanese voice actors if you think any English voice actor is talented.

[@calumcooper3295]

@@theflamingfreezer8478 Casual slamming of the English culture, that's going to go down well

[@calumcooper3295]

@@mia-paris5533 Well just out of respect is all

[@DylanRomanov]

Well what’s her name? Lol

[@clasher6124]

SEO and content marketing my friend

[@DerekToningoogle]

"We don't, we just do it, we just go in and we do it, and it's hard" You got me. I'm watching the rest of this video.

[@sion8]

Finally, someone mentions that line!

[@BrandonWestfall]

The way she delivered that line was adorable lol

[@Novarcharesk]

Why because of that phrase?

[@JZGreengo]

She’s gorgeous, never would’ve thought this would be the person to voice Ash

[@4biz]

me neither

[@daebak7370]

Same

[@matthewgumball4568]

Been doing ash since 2006

[@eliasp92509]

Still prefer the original actress.

[@gurusmirrorminds802]

"Dubbing is not as easy as it looks." I agree, But Sarah is soo talented she makes it look like a child's play 🤔🙂

[@theflamingfreezer8478]

Guru's Mirror Minds Dubbing is clearly too difficult for anyone outside Japan to handle.

[@gurusmirrorminds802]

@@theflamingfreezer8478 You're right

[@theflamingfreezer8478]

@@gurusmirrorminds802 Then why praise her at all?

[@Kuuga-Ultimate]

@@theflamingfreezer8478 because we can

[@fabplays6559]

@@theflamingfreezer8478 Because she's a grown woman who can convincingly voice act a 10 year old boy?

[@glimmerlifeVA]

This video is such a good learning tool for any aspiring VA's such as myself because Sarah offers so many tips and advice on how to develop as a VA and how to start as one! Thank you so much for making this video with Sarah! It's greatly appreciated!

[@GabeNwagbala]

Glad you got advice.

[@1300mer]

I love how this woman carries her self.

[@controllz.]

Wait.. *your telling me the voice actor of ash isn’t a 9 year old boy*

[@mrman7038]

Ofc not

[@darwinwins]

*cue surprised Pikachu face

[@themaker4977]

Well its a babe

[@PkmnMstr10]

Ash's voice would change every 3 years if 9-year old boys kept voicing him.

[@darknight6904]

Its been 3 different ladies pal

[@RickC-fv7fd]

PLOT TWIST: she's dubbing this too!

[@br00talhonesty]

Same thought

[@ScarletWhisper13]

I hope they do more of these not only with Sarah but other voice actors (anime, animation, video games, live action). I would love to see their different techniques and advice.

[@onmas909]

It would be cool to see Dan Green on one of these. That guy has a great voice!

[@michaeltran4275]

I love Sarah Natochenny, one of the best VAs as well

[@lanzlabro5932]

This is like a Master Class for voice acting. Thank you Sarah, been a fan of you since I learned you were the voice of Ash.

[@WhatIsYourStoryGonnaBe]

I stumbled on this, and it's one of the best mini-workshops I've seen in a long time. Thank you for producing this.

[@sirmel11]

woah she's so pretty

[@Je_suis_Jefe]

She is extremely photogenic.

[@swaroopajit]

7:55 I remember Will Smith and Tom Holland said they never saw each other throughout the entire 'filming' of Spies in Disguise, they recorded all their lines separately.

[@FamousMadisonTM]

I know the voice actors for mr incredible and elastic girl said they never met each other until the second movie. It’s crazy how that stuff works

[@christopherhollow4906]

For many animated movies in America, actors tends to record by themselves. 2 or more actors recording together is very rare. Goes to show you how improv is very important when it comes to acting.

[@rarj2]

Sarah Natochenny is so gorgeous! She's a perfect Ash!

[@Seth6000]

Ash is such gorgeous!

[@mr.exposition]

Veronica Taylor is the perfect ash

[@theflamingfreezer8478]

@@mr.exposition No, only Rica Matsumoto is.

[@peepsg]

@@theflamingfreezer8478 I will say both for Japanese and 4Kids

[@MasterAkiDraw]

SHe needs to do a masterclass for people! So insightful! And I'm so happy to see Pokemon voice actors getting recognized as talents that needs more spotlight! TY Vanity Fair for providing such good content!

[@TomOostenrijk]

She is so awesome and so lucky. She's been doing this about 15 years now. Having a steady job, performing in such a populair pop culture phenomenon must be frikking awesome!

[@M0nk3ys99]

She’s a very good voice actor. And this channel is great 🤩🤩🤩 keep it up 👍

[@alohaarianna]

This was actually really entertaining and interesting to watch!

[@Paulxl]

And she has a lovely speaking voice too.

[@MoisesVoices]

I just ventured to Voice Acting industry, mainly dubbing, and your tips really helped me out. Thank you!

[@bkcalvine]

Not only does she have a beautiful voice, but she's got a fun personality. She's gorgeous!

[@austinerdmann6232]

I'm a recording engineer at a studio that records voice acting regularly, and I cannot stress enough, that this is AMAZING advice for aspiring voice actors. She is clearly incredibly talented!

[@eliasp92509]

Yup, She’s so talented that when she took over the voice of the character ash, the franchise nearly ended.

[@BangkokVoiceCoach]

Such sense here - and great advice.

[@Parzi_Parzival]

As someone who wants to be a voice actor, this was very helpful for practice!!

[@thecheckm8689]

dubbing schools in Japan are so tough. Wild how different it is in us.

[@theflamingfreezer8478]

thecheckM8 Japan is the only country with a full-blown educational system for the specific job of voice acting. Really goes to show no other country can compete with Japan in that.

[@liamellodub]

Wow, that was great. I'm a dubbing actress in Brazil and that stays true even here. My throat is itching to dub this video, btw :3 hahahaha

[@SarahNatochenny1]

that's awesome!!!

[@TheChristianWood]

I love all the talent that comes with voices actors. ❤

[@ZeldaA_91]

Sarah is not wrong, the english dub of Money Heist is really well done ( even with a cast change after S2)

[@MusicMaker84]

Favorite show dubbing of all time!

[@xXxXkuramaxXx]

Elite is also a good dub. Lu’s English voice actress is absolutely amazing . In fact, the English dub sounds more like how she looks which is insane!

[@DogOfHades]

Best dubbing of all time was for the Anime Kinnikuman Ultimate Muscle. I am normally a subtitle reading fan of foreign films but that dubbing was on another level!

[@Jellysfrickingstuff]

Lmaooo I dunno about that one my guy

[@Jellysfrickingstuff]

I don’t think the actors did a bad job I think they casted the wrong people.

[@pervysage4934]

Me: There is no way Sarah can get any sexier than when she speaks Russian. Sarah: I play about 30 characters in Pokemon. Me: ... .... ...

[@marianbuduroi6463]

most characters are pokemon if i understand better

[@BrendanJSmith]

It’s so perfect that the Pervy Sage made this comment!

[@MusicLoverMN]

Agreed❤️

[@josiahjeudy9394]

Cap

[@pervysage4934]

@@marianbuduroi6463 you say that like it's a bad thing

[@Deckardrick007]

She's so amazing. I'm in love with her knowledge and passion. #Gem

[@TheMoises1213]

Those tips are incredible thank you

[@Shadow_Valk]

This is great info since I'm going into voice acting and acting :) ty!

[@gladiatorunleashed7732]

Thanks for making my childhood better.

[@kuraikonguyen9303]

Dubbing gets some flak as to some, it's just not as authentic to the original source material. But tbh, dubbing shows, films, anime, etc actually helps a lot of people, especially those with ADHD and dyslexia. I had a friend in middle school who I was trying to get into anime, so I recommended Ouran High School Host Club as that suited her tastes more. I told her to try the sub version, since at that time I believed it was the better version. But she admitted to me that she has ADHD and has trouble focusing on the captions. At the time, I didn't really think that people with ADHD and/or dyslexia would probably have some issues reading sub of a content they want to enjoy. I also have international friends who watch eng dub versions of their country's shows or movies to better understand the English language. A Japanese international student that I was in class with told me that they would watch an english dub versions of anime they know, such as FMA:Brotherhood. The reason for this is because they already know the story and remembered what goes on in the scenes in their native language, so it helps as a sort of background or auditory comparison when watching it in another language, if that makes sense. So yeah, thanks for dubbing!

[@UltimateHammerBro]

FMA Brotherhood is a pretty good example. The series hasn't been dubbed in my language, so I started watching it in the original Japanese, but I heard a few samples of the English dub and went back to episode 1 and watched it all in English, simply because of how good the dub is.

[@theflamingfreezer8478]

Kuraiko Nguyen English voice acting is a disgrace. No self-respecting person, even with dyslexia, would rely on English dubs to consume media.

[@shoyoverse]

@@theflamingfreezer8478 uh what

[@zinzolin14]

@@shoyoverse this person has been going around saying all dubs are bad because they're dubs. Just another mindless dub hater, pay them no mind.

[@squiggznomoney1990]

I always show my 10yo daughter every video of Sarah Natochenny I can find to show her that she can be creative and successful. thanks for being so awesome, Sarah

[@iamjoehill]

The energy output of this woman! 🔥👌🏾

[@seansilence2697]

"You don't wanna fall over in the booth, it's weird." That felt a little too knowledgeable xD And I agree what she said about subtitles. Especially more recently, now that a lot of studios have improved their dubbing. If you haven't tried it, My Hero Academia has fantastic english dub.

[@tdm281995]

Can we all just take a moment to admire how gorgeous Sarah is 😍

[@rossocorsa6577]

yeah she is

[@pabloduarte1722]

Already am xd

[@TheCookie30]

Wonderful, very beautiful, well made and well acted!! Congratulations!

[@ninjapirate123]

So do you like her?

[@kotonohakatsura6930]

1:06 I am German and I am so flattered right now. :) I have grown up with the German version of the lion king but I 'd also seen the musical version in new york back 3 years ago and I absolutely loved it.

[@FreezingTheMind]

Okay but like, I had no idea the voice of Ash, was absolutely stunning lmao.

[@lapispiderp1544]

People who can voice act both boys and girls are totally amazing.

[@lowangdragneel5117]

Omg im loving her so much😭

[@tjskeyblade]

I did someone’s voices while you were doing the dubbing And I appreciate your voice

[@RJTheCerealGuy]

She’s a voice acting legend but for me money heist is something that I can’t listen to in English a lot of the emotion is ripped away but you do an amazing job

[@krackawoody2556]

“You’re not doing that with a sandwich” Guy who invented the Big Mac: “hold up a minute”

[@PkmnMstr10]

Case in point: you don't know the guy's name.

[@TurnipDerp]

Solid advice, thank you!

[@michaelbrennan911]

Thank you for giving us a wonderful childhood Pokémon is life

[@pyramid_iremide]

I found this very enlightening.

[@yundorphin]

I like subtitles because I use them even in English media, but ia that a lot of subtitles (especially on Netflix...) aren't always accurate. The sub v dub debate is definitely a nuanced one, if not one that should only be considered on a case by case basis.

[@ashton24_08]

Being Dyslexic i struggle to keep up with subtitles and sometimes I have to keep rewinding thats why I prefer dubs.

[@WhisperingWinds0]

I find that dubs more than subs change waay too much of the sentiment of what it's being said. probably to fit to the sounds/mouth movements. but I trust more subs for that reason. I don't find the "when you look at the subs, you can't see what's happening on the screen" to be true. you have a very wide field of view. sure, your focus is in the subs, but it's not like if your mother is standing right besides the tv you won't see her because you're focusing on the subs.

[@Angela-ie6ql]

Subs are never accurate, but it help me in me journey learning english and french

[@ThiPhan-mi4xs]

@Macca McDonald Funny you mentioned Spirited Away. I usually watch anime in subs, but because I watched the dubs of Inuyasha and all of the Miyazaki movies in english first the nostalgia makes me only able to watch the dubs. Haha

[@sjohnson1269]

Thank you for invaluable information.

[@darionepps4363]

I've enjoyed your video l, Thank you for your advice Sarah Natochenny

[@GregGetsEverywhere]

She’s very talented, but I do disagree about dubbing being better than subtitles. I enjoy hearing the original language in foreign productions.

[@TheMrKlump]

Yeah that was a pretty hot take by her. I would NEVER watch a live action dub.

[@cipherhex]

She kinda right though, the rest of the world is all-in on dubbing. The point is it needs to be a good quality dub... (a lazy poor quality subtitle effort won't be able to ruin the experience half as bad as a lazy poor quality dubbing effort will).

[@Paulxl]

Yeah. I do use subtitles, but she is right. Subtitles take away part of the experience too.

[@gsreads]

@@cipherhex Pretty happy with her Ash Ketchum dub... So

[@darkraven2116]

If she supported subtitles, she would be out of a job.

[@ivyrain4134]

This video should be renamed “Sarah Natochenny being Iconic for 14 minutes straight” 💖

[@animo1760]

Thanks for creating my favourite character's voice.

[@Viralworld046]

Thanks making interview

[@mooselove]

This was Sarah just saying “quit asking me to do things for cheap or free”

[@MelissaJetzt]

The German Pokemon dub is AMAZING. Nothing against Sarah, of course, I'm just learning German. But truly. They have such incredible production value.

[@midnight8341]

Our dubbing is also spectacular in how the dialogues are constructed to perfectly match the lip movements. Often you don't actually realize that the actors aren't the ones talking, especially because our voice actors will do one actor in every movie, so your so used to them having that voice it's just weird to hear them talk in English. But its also kinda bad, because I can't watch movies or series made in Spanish speaking countries, because you can't match up their lip movements. And as soon as I see that, it's game over for that movie, I just can't watch anymore.

[@vharuv4651]

Not a huge fan of dubbing but this was very informative and I enjoyed watching it. Not being able to rehearse lines explains a lot for anime dubbing. :

[@journeybeyondthesea]

Ooooh she mad skilled 👏🏾

[@owenbradley726]

6 year old me doesn’t like how 20 year old me feels about ash’s voice actor

[@kennymcormick5619]

Lol

[@AdriaOliSal]

There's a song in Catalan called "L'home que dobla en Bruce Willis" which translates to "The man who dubs Bruce Willis" and explains a funny story (not real, though) were the dubber went to meet the real actor thinking he would know him. It's kind of a comic song and it's a great song :)

[@hodayazambuka6191]

THANK YOU im on my little way of becoming a voice actor this tips helped me alot

[@PS-jh3in]

She is so well spoken!

[@ss3mania28]

Why am I in love

[@firepower7017]

what. What. WHAT. WHAT!!!

[@MrMarcJackson]

Because you're a virgin

[@ruialmeida818]

"subs are prefered all over the world" - laughs in Portuguese

[@junjunjamore7735]

Statistically.

[@Milanirose]

U did so good of playing ash!! Good job

[@jacobdrolet4262]

Amazing video about dubbing and being a voice actor too.

[@tardif66]

She's beautiful and talented but after growing up in the 90's I only have ears for Veronica Taylor 🤣

[@Swordtee40]

What’s also a coincidence is that she’s the English VA for Roselia, and Ikue Otani, the voice of Pikachu is the Japanese VA for Roselia.

[@pineappleunicorn7729]

Lmao how is that a coincidence?

[@kenzowatari3553]

@@pineappleunicorn7729 I was thinking the same thing too

[@yunidai16]

So Ash and Pikachu were the voices for Drew's Roselia? And both were perfectly interchangeable? Now that's professional

[@SmSyf]

Oh boy! Do I love...this excessively talented lady 😘❤️😍

[@SorceressRose]

While Veronica Taylor is still my favorite Ash voice, Sarah Natochenny does a really good job. I still remember when the TPCi cast took over with Season 9 (Pokémon: Battle Frontier), watching Fear Factor Phony on TV and instantly hearing that the characters got new voices just shocked me, just because I never knew it was going to happen. But this was back in 2006, when I was 11 years old and I don't think the internet was a big thing, so I never knew about the voice casting changes and all that jazz. Just typing this out, it was really nice to reflect on the past, now I'm 25 years old, I've been following Pokemon since I was basically a toddler, when the franchise came to the US. So this was a nice trip down memory lane. xD

[@Dan-Black]

So this video is… nine Dub Steps? But seriously… she's amazing!

[@vmij6925]

Literally just came to say, put her name in the title. That is so beyond disrespectful. She's not just a VA

[@theflamingfreezer8478]

Veronica Mijares Why give her any respect? She's just an English dubber. Only Japanese VAs should be respected.

[@junjunjamore7735]

But her name's in the description.

[@Tim-007]

@@theflamingfreezer8478 And those Japanese ain't much better. Now get off that high horse already kid.

[@Kuuga-Ultimate]

@Mythical chan this guy/girl is just a troll

[@xuereb2867]

Your voice is so angelic!

[@liaandrade2336]

This video was so interesting to watch

[@ChuckD008]

I'd love to see a roundtable discussion with all the actresses that have voiced Ash since the show began.

[@Natalie-li6st]

my voice: hiiIiiIii *cracks*

[@irvin966]

Loved this! And Pokémon!

[@ricz124]

Like the art and the remixes!

[@BabiesKillYou]

I just want her to speak to me in Russian 24/7 🥺

[@mrman7038]

That's kinda creepy

[@BabiesKillYou]

@@mrman7038 I need to be sure I'm not a Russian sleeper agent 👍🏻

[@mrman7038]

@@BabiesKillYou I see

[@armankatiby7078]

she really was iconic

[@highvoltage9772]

Yep, just like Veronica Taylor

[@kaigeplays6905]

So absolutely fascinating

[@will78787]

Sarah voicing Alya will be absolutely perfect

[@raphaelguinet4680]

Why did I feel like when she was talking, she dubbed it to trick us??

[@niko-7417]

Idk man. I thought the same thing. Lack of emotion on her face,?almost like a ventriloquist. Idk. She’s good though.

[@peepsg]

Yeah I feel something strange on her, because Veronica Taylor is more emotional than her because she care about the money for don’t mind to role as Ash than others

[@briarroseella7142]

WAIT hold the fRONT DOOR - she speaks RUSSIAN?! I knew she was awesome, but that makes her 230482394x more awesome omfg

[@themightywrighty]

My reaction exactly!

[@Paulxl]

I like her. She is good and the video was informative and entertaining.

[@alex.s2023]

Sarah Natochenny continues to amaze me

[@alioda_]

I have a huge crush on Sarah Natochenny, she's just so unique

[@wifienabled]

you are a simp

[@alioda_]

@@wifienabled and proud

[@maddiehuang6212]

WERE ALL WAITING FOR BILLIEEEEE

[@marianbuduroi6463]

I didn't expect to hear her voice behind the Pokemon character Ash, but i like it so much is just perfect

[@divy9377]

You're just amazing💕😍

[@tina.InTheSkyWithDiamonds]

It's fascinating that English speaking people aren't that used to dubbed movies/shows. In Germany, it's so common, because we watch those American movies like everyone else. And we would recognize Johnny Depp's or Leo DiCaprio's voice out of thousands. Because they've had the same German dubbing actor for yeeeeaaars. It's them. I love that.

[@julihesse9222]

I was thinking the same. And if the Voice of for example Leo DiCaprio dubbes someone else, I’m like “wait a sec, that’s Leo’s voice”. Haha it’s just normal in Germany.

[@tina.InTheSkyWithDiamonds]

@@julihesse9222 True lol. I think I've had that with Kate Winslet before 😅 It's so weird.

[@thebeatricehorseman]

Wäre besser für den Lernfaktor wenn wir keine bzw. weniger Synchro hätten, wie die Skandinavier

[@tina.InTheSkyWithDiamonds]

Das mag auch stimmen... Aber ich stimme mehr mit dem Video überein - dabei geht zu viel Aufmerksamkeit fürs Lesen drauf. Das Lernen muss man schon wollen, dann wird das auch. Die Option OV mit Untertiteln hat man ja immer noch auf anderen Wegen. So hab ich's jedenfalls erlebt 😊