“Korean, French and Spanish content present major opportunities in the voice-over and dubbing business”

Uzma Khateeb Nawaz: When was Media Menderz Production formed?
Hammad Hussain: We beganoperations in June 2024. Weare Pakistan’s first voice actingtraining centre.

UKN: What prompted you to set up a voice actingtraining centre?
HH: I realised that there wasno dedicated training institutewhere aspiring professionalscould learn the craft of voiceacting. Although many individualshave the talent and the potential,they often lack the requiredguidance to help them advancetheir careers in this field. AtMedia Menderz, we are drivenby three core missions: to createawareness about the powerof vocals; to help individualsbecome more expressive; andto expand the voice-over anddubbing segment by nurturingtalent and providing peoplewith opportunities. A commonmisconception is that a goodvoice is acquired naturally, butthat is not the case. Most peoplecan be trained to excel in dubbingand voice-overs – be it singingor acting. One of our goals isto demonstrate how everydayspeech patterns are shapedby a person’s experiences. Forexample, people’s professionsinfluence the way they speak –customer service professionalstend to speak in soft and politetones, salespeople often speakquickly, and teachers generallyproject high-pitched voices.Backgrounds, personalities,and professions all impact vocalexpression – and although wepay attention to our physicalappearance, we often overlookthe significance of our voices. AtMedia Menderz, we emphasisethat no matter what career pathyou choose, your voice is a vitalaspect of your personality – andwith proper training, it can berefined and enhanced.

UKN: What is your backgroundin this field?
HH: I have been involvedin dubbing and voice-overprojects for almost 15 years. Istarted as a dubbing artist for acharacter in the Turkish dramaMera Sultan and my majorbreakthrough voice role wasin Kosem Sultan, as the leadvoice actor for the character ofAhmet Sultan. I have also donemany commercials and I am the‘voice’ for multiple brands. I haveworked in radio as well.

UKN: What was the biggest lesson that you learnt from your experience in voice acting?
HH: That without proper training,a voice-over artist remains a ‘mechanical’ performer –improving through practice rather than an understanding of vocaltechniques. I learnt that althoughmy voice pitch and delivery wereimproving, I lacked the technicalinsight to understand what wasdriving that improvement. Forinstance, the way we speak canbe modified by using the voiceresonators that are located invarious parts of our bodies, beit the nose, chest or abdomen.Resonance is what gives thevoice a rich, full quality, andit is shaped by vibrations inthese areas. Interestingly, 90%of people rely on their throat tospeak, unaware that the chestand abdomen play a crucial rolein voice projection and resonance.These are just some of the thingswe teach in our classes.

UKN: Are you the primarytrainer at Media Menderz?
HH: Yes, in addition to guestspeakers with experiencein dubbing and voice-overprojects. So far, we havetrained more than 50 peopleand currently 60 students areenrolled in our classes.

UKN: What training modulesdo you offer?
HH: We offer a three-monthbasic course which is held overweekends and comprises 24two-hour classes. The coursefocuses on improving vocal skillsand helps students understandhow their voices can be used fordramas, narration, commercials,and animation. Our advancedcourse is a six-month programmeto help students gain an indepth understanding of dubbingand voice-over techniques.

Our courses also focus on otherfunctions, such as subtitling,script writing and editing. Throughthese courses, our students gainexposure, build their portfolio anddevelop a strong foundation invoice acting and production. Wealso offer courses to children agedfrom six to 15 to help them bemore expressive. This is importantbecause, given the amount oftime that Gen Alpha spends ontheir phones, they have becomesocially withdrawn, and althoughthey excel in understandingtechnology and using their minds,they often struggle with basiccommunication skills when itcomes to face-to-face interaction.

UKN: What is the fee structurefor your courses?
HH: We charge Rs 12,000 permonth for both the basic andadvanced courses. For children,it is Rs 10,000 per month. Withinthese fee structures, in addition toon-site training, we also organisevisits to production houses, andguest lectures by senior dubbingand voice-over artists.

UKN: How have you promotedMedia Menderz?
HH: We are focusing on socialmedia, including Instagram andFacebook, as well as word-ofmouth. We also organise freeworkshops to help potentialstudents understand what ourcourses offer – we plan to holdworkshops at schools, collegesand universities as well.

UKN: Do you facilitate yourstudents in acquiring dubbingand voice-over projects afterthey complete their course?
HH: Definitely. Having been inthis industry for so long, I amwell-connected with productionhouses, and they are alwayslooking for new voices. Onceour students have completedtheir training, we arrangeauditions for them at productionhouses, and many of them havealready embarked on careersas voice-over artists.

UKN: What is the future ofvoice-over and dubbing
in Pakistan?
HH: Although it has grownwith time, it remains largelyuntapped, and until 2010,dubbing was virtually nonexistent. However, today,eight to 10 production housesare working on projects thatrequire dubbing and voiceacting – as do channels thatair dubbed content, such asGreen Entertainment, GeoEntertainment, Hum TV andAan TV. Korean, French andSpanish content present majoropportunities in the voiceover and dubbing business,although at the moment, thebulk of dubbing work revolvesaround Turkish content, followedby cartoons. The Kids Zonechannel, for instance, solely airscontent that has been dubbedin Urdu.

UKN: What are your future plans?
HH: We plan to open multiplebranches in Karachi in additionto Islamabad and Lahore, as wehave received positive feedbackfrom these cities.

For feedback: aurora@dawn.com