Entertainment

IN PHOTOS: Dubbing with Netflix, HIT Productions

Plus a quick glimpse of the Netflix PH office

Published

December 1, 2022

Have you ever been curious about how the whole dubbing process works? Netflix, along with HIT Productions, was kind enough to give us a quick tour showing how our favorite Netflix shows are dubbed in Filipino.

HIT Productions prides itself as “The Philippines’ top audio post production house and recording studio for advertising.” And they have the clientele to back up the claim. Other than Netflix, they’ve also worked with plenty of notable brands. These include but are not limited to Jollibee, Mitsubishi, Coca Cola, and many more.

They’ve partnered with Netflix on many shows and movies. For this particular tour, they showed us how they dubbed Season 4 of Stranger Things.

Different rooms for the talents and director

Dubbing Director Cheska Aguiluz

Heading in, I was fully expecting a Sound Booth like setup – you know, the ones we normally see in TV shows and movies. HIT has a different setup. They have the director in one room and the voice talents in another. The rooms are situated right across each other with sound engineers manning both rooms.

The communication between the director and talents still happens real time, and they see each other through an iPad.

Each room has a monitor that displays the scene that’s being dubbed. The talents’ audio goes straight into a computer that’s in the same room as the director.

Multiple talents will be in the same room at one time. This depends entirely on the scene that needs to be dubbed. They take turns dubbing with sound engineers adjusting the height of the mic each time to make sure it’s optimized for each talent.

Although, they did mention this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, there will be scheduling challenges, but they’re able to work through it.

The actual dubbing back and forth is fascinating. They go through each line meticulously, making sure the cadence, the breaths, the tone, and the emotion matches that of the original actors.

Recording a single episode will take days. And that’s just the recording. The next part is just as tedious.

Painstaking editing

The level of precision applied in the voice acting and directing extends to the cutting floor when the recordings go through post production.

Here, sound engineers go through each scene, switching between the original scene and the dubbed recordings to make sure they match. This includes how loud or soft the voice is as well as adding effects to mimic the room environment sound of each sound.

What makes the whole process tricky is a lot of it is guess work. I asked if they are given a cheat sheet of the effects used by the original production. They said that rarely happens. That means they rely both on their sharp ears and years of experience to make sure everything matches.

After post production, an entire episode goes through a quality check. If anything sounds off, it’s back to post processing again.

HIT says in a month, they’re able to finish roughly around three to four episodes. Of course, that depends also on the length of the episode. Stranger Things Season 4, for instance, typically lasts over an hour. With some episodes even running as long as feature length films.

Trying out dubbing

Head of Localization Rudolf Baldonado

After a look at the voice acting and post production process, HIT took us to a room where some members of the media got to try dubbing. Here, Head of Localization Rudolf Baldonado, led the way.

Baldonado explained that the most important part of the whole process is the script. Localization, as you may have surmised, is no easy task. There are so many things to consider: What words to use to match the movement of the lips, the general direction for each line, and making sure all the lines make sense when delivered together.

A couple of voice talents showed us the ropes first, recording a scene from the Don’t Look Up film. Baldonado, who also helmed localization for Trese, noted that mimicking the original actor’s voice is less important than delivering the right tone and emotion for the line and the scene.

During the recording, he also noted that dubbing is more about voice acting than actual voice quality. How well you convey the right emotion is more important than whether or not you sound pleasant or not.

Sit down with the voice talents

To wrap up the tour of the HIT Productions office, we sat down with the voice talents and the rest of the team that worked on the Stranger Things Season 4 dub. Here’s everyone who joined us:

Christian Velarde (MIKE)
Albert Silos (WILL)
Steve Bontogon (DUSTIN)
JM Canlas (LUCAS)
Steffi Bontogon (MAX)
JM Torres (VECNA)
Nelieza Magauay (ROBIN)
Ericka Peralejo (SUZIE)
Cheska Aguiluze (Dubbing Director)
Rudolf Baldonado (Head of Localization)

Many of them shared their experiences and lessons learned while working as voice actors.

A lot of the echo the same thing that Baldonado mentioned earlier. That the ability to understand the character’s emotion and act it out through your voice is the most important skill in the craft.

What stood out to me the most though, is how each of them seemed like colorful characters on their own. And they deserve just as much recognition as TV and movie actors.

Quick Netflix PH HQ Tour

After the session at HIT Productions, we were taken to the headquarters of Netflix Philippines. Some interesting things to note:

The meeting rooms are named after Netflix’s shows and films
There are areas designated for quiet time
The place is spacious with many areas for quick, breakout meeting sessions
It’s filled with books and other ornaments that have to do with Netflix shows
Free-flowing drinks!
This writer would like to spend a work day or two in the area (Thanks in advance, Netflix!)

Here’s a photo dump:

Photo c/o Netflix

Squid Game meeting room | Photo c/o Netflix

Photo c/o Netflix

Beverages | Photo c/o Netflix

Pantry | Photo c/o Netflix

Related Topics:HIT Productions Netflix specials Stranger Things

Entertainment

Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 premieres in April

The animated series is set between seasons two and three.

Published

February 3, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Stranger Things is over. After years of success, the long-running series finally reached its definitive conclusion. But if you thought Netflix would easily let its biggest cash cow go, then you’d be mistaken. Barely a month after the final episode, the franchise is back with an animated spinoff called Stranger Things: Tales from ’85.

The animated series, which oddly features a new cast to voice the characters, is not a continuation of the concluded story. Rather, it’s a midquel set during the winter between the second and third seasons. Despite closing off a gate to the Upside Down, Eleven and the gang discover that some monsters are still lurking around in their world.

Because we already know what happens up until the very end, there’s hardly any tension. That said, and based on the show’s subtitle, the animated series might be a creature-of-the-week adventure. However, Eric Robles, who will run the series, says that saving Hawkins is still a major plot point.

The Duffer Brothers, who will be executive producers, says that it was a challenge to feature monsters after the events of the main show’s second season. The show will still have a substantial story, though.

For now, we’ll have a bit of a reprieve from everything Stranger Things (or time to catch up with everything, if you prefer). Stranger Things: Tales from ’85 will premiere on April 23.

Entertainment

BTS returns with global live comeback event on Netflix this March

BTS reunites live worldwide

Published

February 3, 2026

GadgetMatch

Netflix has officially announced BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG, a global livestream event set for March 21, 2026. This marks the group’s first full reunion performance since completing South Korea’s mandatory military service.

Streaming live exclusively on Netflix, the event will air at 8 PM KST (or 4 AM PST and 7 AM EST). It will broadcast worldwide from the historic Gwanghwamun in Seoul. The performance celebrates the release of BTS’ fifth studio album, ARIRANG.

Netflix partnered with HYBE to bring the seven-member group back to the stage. This is being positioned as a landmark global comeback. RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook will reunite onstage for the first time as a complete group since their hiatus.

The live special will be directed by Hamish Hamilton and produced by Done + Dusted, with executive producers including HYBE, BIGHIT MUSIC, Guy Carrington, Garrett English, and Kevin Hermanson. Netflix confirmed that the event will be ticketed, with further details to be announced at a later date.

A symbolic return in Seoul

The choice of Gwanghwamun as the livestream location adds symbolic weight to the comeback. One of Seoul’s most historic public spaces, the setting reflects the themes explored in ARIRANG. It is an album described as deeply reflective and rooted in identity, heritage, and renewal.

The album announcement arrives alongside confirmation of the ARIRANG World Tour, scheduled to run from 2026 to 2027. The tour will span 34 regions and include 82 shows. This will happen across Asia, North and Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and additional territories.

Together, the album and live event mark the start of a new chapter for BTS. This follows years of solo activities and military enlistment. The comeback positions the group not just as returning idols, but as artists re-entering the global stage with a renewed sense of perspective.

Netflix expands its live ambitions

BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG also represents a milestone for Netflix. It will be the platform’s first-ever live global broadcast originating from South Korea, further expanding its growing slate of live programming.

The event joins a lineup that already includes live specials. These are Skyscraper Live, Star Search, Jake vs Joshua, WWE Raw, NFL Christmas Gameday, and major boxing and sports events. Netflix has also confirmed upcoming live coverage of MLB games, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and The Actor Awards.

With BTS leading the charge, Netflix continues to test the limits of live global entertainment beyond traditional sports and reality formats.

A documentary follows days later

Just days after the livestream, Netflix will release BTS: THE RETURN, a feature-length documentary premiering on March 27, 2026.

Directed by Bao Nguyen, the film chronicles the group’s long-awaited reunion and the making of ARIRANG. The documentary follows BTS as they reunite in Los Angeles. Watch as they create new music, navigating personal change, shared history, and the challenge of beginning again after time apart.

Produced by This Machine, HYBE, and EAST Films, the documentary promises unprecedented access to the group’s creative process. It explores moments of doubt, reflection, and rediscovery as BTS shape what is positioned as a defining album of their career.

Intimate and emotional in tone, BTS: THE RETURN frames the comeback not just as a pop culture moment, but as a story of resilience, brotherhood, and reinvention—one shaped by time, growth, and the weight of global expectation.

For millions of fans worldwide, March 2026 marks not just a return, but the beginning of BTS’ next era.

Entertainment

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord to premiere on April 6

New animated series on Disney Plus

Published

February 1, 2026

GadgetMatch

One of the most iconic franchise villains is making a major comeback as Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is premiering on April 6 on Disney+.

Two episodes from the all-new Lucasfilm animated series will premiere each week. The final two will air right in time for the ultimate Star Wars holiday, May the 4th.

Set after the events of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the adventure finds Maul plotting to rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire.

There, he crosses paths with a disillusioned young Jedi Padawan who could be the apprentice he is seeking to aid him in his relentless pursuit for revenge.

Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is created by Dave Filoni, based on Star Wars and characters created by George Lucas.

The series is developed by Dave Filoni and Matt Michnovetz, with Brad Rau as supervising director. The three are also joined by Athena Yvette Portillo, Carrie Beck, and Josh Rimes as executive producers, with Alex Spotswood as co-executive producer.

The voice cast includes: