Dubbing can be useful for those who struggle to keep up with subtitles, but it's jarring when the actors' mouths don't line up with the audio. Amazon is looking to solve that problem on Prime Video by using AI and visual effects to synchronize the dub with the actors' dialogue.
This lip-sync technology will appear first on Maxton Hall before expanding to other titles. It's already available on seasons one and two of the popular German series, and will also work on season three, which premieres on Dec. 9.
"Syncing mouth movements to audio, it eliminates the disconnect that can occur with traditional dubbing," Amazon says.
On Prime, searching Maxton Hall returned the original series and an option for "Maxton Hall - The World Between Us (with Lip Sync for English Dub)." The actors' mouths do appear to line up with the English words in that version.
Filmmakers might not like it, but Amazon argues the lip-sync tech will make it easier for creators' stories "to reach an even broader and global audience, all done under creative oversight to ensure the integrity of their artistic vision is preserved."
"AI and VFX technologies power the process behind the scenes, responsibly applied to deliver a better customer experience," it adds.
Last year, Amazon announced a pilot program for AI-aided dubbing on licensed movies and series that would not have been dubbed otherwise. And YouTube added multi-lingual dubbing last year.