Kapamilya actress Liza Soberano has found an ally against bashers and critics of her dubbing for the animated series “Trese” through voice actor Inka Magnaye.
Magnaye, who is the voice behind famous brands including the Philippines’ flag carrier Philippine Airlines, Soberano actually fit the role of Alexandra Trese.
It comes after Soberano received criticism from a voice actor who said the actress dubbing was monotonous and her distinct accent would slip through her speaking some Tagalog words.
In a Twitter thread, Magnaye defended Soberano from netizens who are telling the actress she fell short from voice acting.
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“Liza Soberano’s voice is perfect for the character. It’s got a great balance of youthfulness and grim,” she tweeted acknowledging that there’s still room for improvement for the actress.
“A bit more exaggeration could have added more dimension, even an exaggeration of a deadpan delivery,” she furthered.
The voice actor also said the Kapamilya actress is not monotonous.
“Liza Soberano isn’t monotonous. She has dynamics in her delivery. However, she tends to deliver her lines in almost the exact same cadence, and people confuse that with monotony,” she clarified.
Meanwhile, she praised American actress Shay Mitchell’s deadpan badass delivery of lines for Alexandra Trese in the American dubbing of the series.
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Karen Lee Viudez-Panela, a lecturer at FEU Communications, said that Soberano might have experienced challenges in dubbing due to two factors: Low pitch level, Multi-tasking, and Vocal restraint.
“Now why was Liza’s performance regarded as “bland”? I think it’s the vocal restraint she had. She could have restrained her physical movements because of the studio’s (limited) space. She could have controlled her body movements because of the misnomer that voice acting will only entail the use of the voice and acting from the neck up. Perhaps she recorded alone, without any co-dubbers with her. You know, group dubbing with experienced voice actors can help Liza improve her voice acting because she can act and react to dialogues with more naturalness and believability.
She also recommended Soberano to have a professional coach so she can add more dramatic nuances to her voice acting.
“With a dubbing director and coach, Liza can add more vocal and emotional nuances to Alexandra without affecting how the character was designed and imagined by its creator. Adjust her mic distance. A wider microphone distance forces her to be more physical without the fear of popping and vocal restraint. Vocal expressiveness can be richer,” advised Viudez-Panela.
“Trese” is a Netflix animated series based on the award-winning Filipino comic book series by writer Budjette Tan and artist Kajo Baldisimo. The series follows the adventures of investigator Alexandra Trese who specializes in cases that involve supernatural beings in Philippine mythology and folklore. (RA)
