2024-09-24 19:32:59
He would be worth millions of dollars if he revealed the plot of an upcoming film or series. That’s why it’s said to be much easier not to say what he’s currently working on, Disney+ film and series translator Vojtěch Kostiha claims in Spotlight. Just as mysterious as his work is the new witch series Agatha Hidden Behind Everything, which premieres on the platform. “It’s a well-written and also very strange series,” he entices viewers.
Spotlight Aktuálně.cz – Vojtěch Kostiha | Video: Jakub Zuzánek
“Usually we start work three or four months before the premiere. We get rough drafts that aren’t quite finished and sometimes they’re even intentionally damaged so we can’t give away the plot.
Serial Agatha hidden behind everything he was just one of them,” Kostiha describes how such a translation of films and series takes place. As a fan of Marvel movies, he praises the work on the wizarding series and, according to him, fans of the comic publishing house will not be disappointed.
“I love Marvel movies because, unlike other superhero competitors, its heroes are good people themselves and you care about each of them as a person. For example, with Spiderman, you care not only if he defeats all the villains, but also if he manages to invite his dream a girl at the prom,” assesses the translator, adding that today superhero movies and series are watched especially by children, for whom quality dubbing is particularly important.
According to Kostiha, of course, many things can go wrong with dubbing. If the translator doesn’t understand something well, it takes away from the viewer’s experience. If he adds something that does not belong to the original wording, he can spoil the author’s intention. “But you can also improve the dubbing, for example, by making the film or series more understandable for the target group,” he demonstrates using the example of the cult American series The Simpsons, where, according to him, it is often necessary to translate the reality of the United States into a context closer to the Czech viewer.
“Humour is universally valid, but sometimes something can appear that is incomprehensible to us. Then the role of the translator is to bring it closer and get it where the Czechs will like it,” Kostiha explains, admitting that the Simpsons, for example, are far from the original more vulgar than in the Czech version.
“In our country, it is mistakenly considered a children’s series,” Kostiha laughs and even reveals that the character of Homer Simpson, who has problems with alcohol, is not so sympathetic to him. “I probably like Liza Simpson the most. She wants to save the planet and I would like that too,” reveals the translator, who has been lending the Czech language to the series for almost fifteen seasons.
The interview was created with the support of Disney+.