History Main / LipLock

* Music/BadLipReading makes something of an art form of dubbing over music videos, although they purposely [[{{Macekre}} alter]] the actual footage and their 'translations' [[WordSaladLyrics don't entirely make sense]].

* Editing the footage to make the MouthFlaps match the new dialogue. This is expensive in animation so it's ''very'' rarely used. It's also ''never'' used in live-action dubbing, because it's well-nigh impossible. In video games this depends on how the game handles its animation. If these are handled by the game's programming directly, it can be relatively easy, since all you need to do is edit the facial animation instructions (and the timing of events in a scene in-case the translation is shorter or longer than the original line). However, if the animation is done by manual 3D animation or even motion capture, then it's effectively just like redoing an traditional animated production. Mouth flap editing is also typically frowned upon in the dubbing industry, in part because it can compromise the artistic integrity of a work for multiple reasons.[[note]]It can very easily mess with the timing of the overall scene, and very often modifying the lip flaps isn't enough, and you have to account for the character's entire body language as well.[[/note]] In fact, it is considered so taboo that most anime rights-holders explicitly forbid the use of it when licensing out dubs. The practice ''is'', however, used in [[TheAbridgedSeries abridged series]] like Team Four Star's ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''.
* The translator/writer getting creative with the translation so that the lines fit the MouthFlaps better. This is what usually happens, sometimes leading to meaning being lost, or useless fluff being gained. The degree to which it's done varies but most translators try to find a compromise to match the lip flaps but also get the meaning across... Unless they are short on time or just don't care. That being said, if the translators are skilled enough, they'll take these situations as opportunities to add some {{Woolseyism}} to elevate their version.

* FilmingForEasyDub: when there's no lipflap to mouth to, say the character is talking off-screen or standing with his back to the camera, the script writer's work is a lot easier. ''Forcing'' a dialogue off-screen, however, isn't really doable; even if it can be done, it screams of cost-cutting, despite the intention, and [=4Kids=] and 1990s American anime dubs can once again demonstrate that it doesn't always work and why you shouldn't add dialogue in these scenes just because you can.
** A related and largely more effective method is when the character has NoMouth, so the translator just needs to match the length of time. (Lord Zedd from Power Rangers is an example of this, and was voiced by a scriptwriter.)
** Also often used in movie dubs to great efficiency when the camera is focused on something written. Instead of just subtitling it, sometimes the line will be voiced by a character off-screen, when it makes sense in context. If used well, you won't even notice the voicing of line wasn't in the original version.

* Besides the normal edits to the dialog necessary for timing, the North American dub of ''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'' used an audio editing system called [=WordFit=][[note]]which was used in nearly every other dub by Creator/TheOceanGroup, as well as a few cartoons like ''WesternAnimation/StoneProtectors''[[/note]] to match the dialogue to the mouth-flaps.

* (Almost all) Early UsefulNotes/PlayStation games with voiced cutscenes suffered from this. With NoBudget or space to modify the scenes, and no budget to hire experienced voice actors, lip lock was either ignored (leading to a HongKongDub) or the delivery was completely ruined. Examples include Zero's "[[{{Narm}} [=WhatamIfightingFOOOOOOOOOOOOR=]!]]" in ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'' and ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' (all of it.)

--> �You have a son--you hear?�

* Happens from time to time in ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', given they're adapting a [[Franchise/SuperSentai Japanese series]]. Typically it happens via HeadBob (where what they're saying doesn't quite match the nodding in the helmets). For the entire first season of ''Mighty Morphin'', this happened to Rita and other various villains, as they only had the Japanese footage to dub for them (new actors wouldn't be hired to portray them until season 2).

* The English dub of ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' was a hallmark offender. Not only did the characters often have long, awkward pauses between most of their lines, occasionally rushed and abnormal dialogue, and flat-out not having the words sync up properly, but there are numerous instances (most notably, whenever the Student Council rides the elevator to the top of the school) where entire lines of dialogue are just cut-and-pasted from episode to episode. [[BigBudgetBeefUp They did manage to improve somewhat for the movie.]]

* In the seventh ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' game, ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', the characters' mouth movements are animated completely differently depending on whether the game is set to the English dub or the original Japanese audio, ensuring that they match regardless of audio setting.

** A particularly Narm-ful example shows up early in the series, when Ash's response to all the Joys looking alike is "Yeah, it's a [[IncrediblyLamePun Joy-ful]]... world" but the pause, combined with the actress' unenthusiastic delivery, makes it sound like he's doing a WhoWritesThisCrap in his head.

* In ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}'', this actually resulted in the somewhat trite "Wait and hope!" of the original ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' being rendered into a memorable CatchPhrase uttered at the end of each OnTheNext Week's Episode teaser: ''"Bide your time, and hold out hope!"''

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' got it easy. Since [[PokemonSpeak Pokemon only say their names or unintelligible noises]] (generally the former in the dub), all the dubbers had to do was play with how the Mons used the syllables of their names. Of course, some of them have the same name (Pikachu being the best-known example), which means no dubbing of their lines has to be done at all.

* For varying reasons (LimitedAnimation, faces that don't re-draw well without a full reanimation, the possibility that the animations were done before the voice lines were recorded, etc.) ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'' has absolutely horrific syncing. Even in the Italian dub (funnily enough, although this show comes from Italy, it happened to have English voice tracks first and the Italian one after, but even there the lip-syncing still does not match up). Characters often express words or even full sentences with barely any facial movement. The show's villainous kitten is a particular noteworthy example, as she can apparently deliver virtually all of her lines with a clenched jaw.

* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts II'' eliminates liplock in cutscenes by having the characters ad-lib or grumble for or in-between certain lines. The effect makes the dub sound much more natural than in most video games. Despite this, many lines still seem to come just before or after the mouths move.

* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', when Mohammed Avdol returns from what seemed like death, we have this conversation in the original Japanese version.

*** Leading to a CaptainObvious.

* The dubbed dialogue in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games that have pre-rendered cutscenes tends to feel awkward, compared to the games with the usual game-rendered ones, since redoing the lip-syncing for the former is more expensive. And yet, they did it in some rare instances of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 358/2 Days]]'' anyway: Namely, when [=DiZ=] says "She?" (referring to Xion), which in Japanese had the three-syllables lip moves of "Kanojo?"
** For ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' they didn't bother to change the lip movements for the flashbacks to the first game.

* For varying reasons (LimitedAnimation, dialogue differences, faces that don't re-draw well without a full reanimation, etc.) ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'' has absolutely horrific syncing. Even in the Italian dub (funnily enough, although this show comes from Italy, it happened to have English voice tracks first and the Italian one after, but even there the lip-syncing still does not match up). Characters often express words or even full sentences with barely any facial movement. The show's villainous kitten is a particular noteworthy example, as she can apparently deliver virtually all of her lines with a clenched jaw.

* For varying reasons (dialogue differences, faces that don't re-draw well without a full reanimation, etc.) ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'' has absolutely horrific syncing. Even in the Italian dub (funnily enough, although this show comes from Italy, it happened to have English voice tracks first and the Italian one after, but even there the lip-syncing still does not match up). Characters often express words or even full sentences with barely any facial movement. The show's villainous kitten is a particular noteworthy example, as she can apparently deliver virtually all of her lines with a clenched jaw.

* For varying reasons (dialogue differences, faces that don't re-draw well without a full reanimation, etc.) ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'' has absolutely horrific syncing. Characters often express full sentences with barely any facial movement. The show's villainous kitten is a particular noteworthy example, as she can apparently deliver virtually all of her lines with a clenched jaw.