Dubbing Schools in Barcelona: Spanish and Catalan Training

Before You Enroll: Language, Voice Tests and Certificates

First, you need fluent Spanish, and Catalan widens your options. Some dubbing schools in Barcelona also test your voice before their long courses. For example, the Escuela de Doblaje de Barcelona (edb) runs a voice test for its professional course to rule out serious diction problems. At go2takes, the voice test is free.

Second, ask about the language of practice. On its site, go2takes says it has more than 1,000 scripts in Spanish and Catalan, and ArtSpace announces new courses in Catalan. Meanwhile, edb, Eòlia, Sala 23 and La Veu de Ferro do not state a language on their sites. Ask before you sign up.

Third, check what certificate you get. The online course from Treintaycinco mm, for instance, grants the company’s own title. If any course promises an official degree, ask which one and who issues it.

What You Practice in a Dubbing Course

Dubbing is acting with your voice, timed to the image. That is why the schools in this guide mix technique with acting. The syllabus of the professional course at the Escuela de Doblaje de Barcelona works as a general map.

• The process. Translation, script adaptation and ajuste (making the line fit the actor’s mouth), splitting the script into takes and how studio calls work.
• Sync. Listening to the original, a first read, holding the line in your memory and getting into the scene before you record.
• Your voice. How the vocal apparatus works, healthy use and overuse, breathing and relaxation.
• Acting. Text analysis, building a character, improvisation and body language.

Eòlia describes its introduction in similar terms: articulation, lip sync, speed at the mic, script adjustment, rhythm and emotion. Also, go2takes adds commercials, audiobooks and documentaries. Meanwhile, keep your voice ready with our vocal warm-ups, and read our guide on how to become a voice actor for the bigger picture.

How to Compare Dubbing Schools in Barcelona

Start with where you will record. Classes at edb take place in a professional recording studio, and go2takes uses its own studios. Eòlia teaches at Onda Estudios, a professional studio on Carrer Rosselló.

Then compare group sizes, because fewer people means more time at the mic. At go2takes, groups have 3 students, while the edb beginner course takes up to 10. Finally, ask what you leave with. Eòlia, for example, hands students the material they dubbed so they can add it to their résumé.

If you are also weighing general voice training, our list of voice acting classes explains what to look for in a teacher.

Dubbing Schools in the City

These four dubbing schools in Barcelona focus mainly on dubbing, with in-person classes and working professionals.

Escuela de Doblaje de Barcelona (edb)

The Escuela de Doblaje de Barcelona has trained dubbing actors since 2004. Classes are in person, in a recording studio, and its teachers are working dubbing directors. Its professional course spans two school years of seven months each, with six hours of practice a week. There is also an option to do the first year as an intensive. To get in, you take a voice test that screens for serious diction problems.

The beginner course is a good first step. It runs five practical sessions of three hours, with up to 10 students and no entry test. Students who finish it then skip the test for the professional course. The school also offers musical dubbing with singing, kids’ dubbing and audiobook narration. It sits on Plaza Tetuán, by the Tetuan metro stop, and its site does not say which language you practice in. See the professional dubbing course.

go2takes!

On its site this school calls itself “Escuela de Doblaje de Barcelona go2takes!”, but it is a different school from the one above. Since 2012 it has trained dubbing actors, voiceover artists and presenters in groups of just 3. Classes are weekly, in its studios two streets from Plaça Catalunya. Courses last eight months, with four levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced and training) and two to six hours of practice a week.

Besides dubbing for film, series and games, you can add commercials, audiobooks or documentaries, plus optional acting, vocal technique and singing. The school keeps more than 1,000 scripts in Spanish and Catalan and proposes a three-year program. It starts with a free voice test. See the go2takes site.

ArtSpace (AMG-DUB)

ArtSpace runs fully in-person dubbing courses on Carrer de Còrsega, led by dubbing actor Alberto Martos. Beginners can attend one or two days a week, and each course ends with a masterclass from a working director. For students with some level, it also holds monthly Pro sessions with directors and Training day sessions to stay sharp at the atril.

Its site is in Spanish and announces new courses in Catalan. It also states that foreigners can enroll. See the ArtSpace courses.

Sala 23 (Butaca7)

Sala 23 is Butaca7’s space on Carrer de Tarragona, in the Eixample, with rooms to train, practice and record. Its dubbing intensive lasts two days, on weekdays or a weekend. From the first minute, you dub real scenes from films, series, cartoons or games. The focus is on characters, acting, sync, rhythm and intention.

The site also lists yearly and three-month dubbing courses, but without details on the page, and it does not state a language. If you enjoy the intensive, ask about the longer courses.

A Drama School With Dubbing Courses

Eòlia

Eòlia, a Barcelona drama school with higher education programs, runs intensive dubbing courses from age 16. They suit both acting students and people with no acting training. The introduction uses takes from fiction, cartoons and documentaries over seven two-hour sessions.

Advanced courses focus on documentaries or children’s animation, and musical theater students can dub songs. All classes take place at Onda Estudios, and groups stay small. At the end, the school gives you the dubbed material for your résumé. The site does not state a language; see Eòlia’s dubbing page.

A Dubbing Studio School Outside Barcelona

La Veu de Ferro (Mataró)

La Veu de Ferro is a dubbing studio in Mataró, in the province of Barcelona, and it also has a room in the city itself. Its yearly course is for ages 16 and up, with five hours a week split over two afternoons or a Saturday morning. There are also 12-hour weekly versions, in the morning or the afternoon, and a one-Saturday intensive workshop.

If you already studied dubbing, a two-hour weekly training keeps you practicing. Under-16s have a youth course with groups by age. Groups are small, and you can take the yearly course week by week, although the school recommends finishing it. The site does not state a language. See the La Veu de Ferro dubbing school.

Online Options

Almost all the dubbing schools in Barcelona listed here teach in person. In fact, edb offers no online courses. Its reason: dubbing happens in the room, with a director correcting you live.

If you still want to start remotely, Treintaycinco mm, which has an office on Carrer de Balmes, runs a blended dubbing course. It combines 800 online hours, up to 24 months to finish and 80 hours of optional in-person workshops in recording studios. Its page does not mention Catalan.

After Training: Your Demo and the Studios

A course does not guarantee work. What you need next is material to show: a demo with short scenes and contrasting characters, ideally in both languages. Eòlia, for example, gives you what you dubbed in class.

To approach studios, follow what each one says on its site. Sonilab, a studio in Sabadell, invites people who want to join its team to attach a résumé on its contact page. Above all, never pay for a promised job. Our guide on how to spot a fake casting call lists the warning signs.

For next steps, read about voice acting jobs and how to get auditions in Spain, and browse casting calls in Barcelona. To compare cities, see our guides to dubbing schools in Madrid and in Mexico. For broader training, there is also our list of acting schools in Spain.