What a dub pack is
A dub pack is one scene, ready to be voiced. It holds the video with the dialogue taken out, the music and effects that stay underneath, and for every line a short recording of the original delivery and a note of when it starts. A dubbing game plays the picture, cues you line by line, records you, and puts your voice where the actor's was.
The format was defined by Dub Mode in The Choicer Voicer, a voice impression game for Windows and Linux. Its players have built up a large library of packs from films, series, anime and games. Dubloon reads that same format on the iPhone and the Mac, so those packs work there without being converted or repackaged.
Four scenes come with Dubloon so you can start straight away: Camp Rules from Sprite Fright, Awesome in Space from Tears of Steel, A Kindred Spirit from Sintel and Stuck Up from The Outsider (1951). You can dub two lines of Camp Rules in your browser to see how it feels.
Import a dub pack on an iPhone
- Find a scenePlayers share packs on GameBanana, under The Choicer Voicer's Dub Mode category. Pick one you like and open its page.
- Download itTap Download and choose the file: a
.zip,.7zor.rar. Safari saves it to the Files app, in Downloads. - Let it finishWait for the download to complete. If the file is in iCloud Drive, open it once in Files so it is really on the phone.
- Import itIn Dubloon, open Movie Scene Dub, tap + and pick the file from Downloads. Dubloon unpacks it and the scene appears in your list.
You can also send a pack straight to Dubloon from the Files share sheet or by AirDrop from another device. There is no need to unzip anything first.
Import a dub pack on a Mac
- Download the packSave the folder or archive anywhere, Downloads is fine. Leave archives as they are.
- Bring it inChoose File ▸ Import Dub Pack… or press
⌘Oand select it. Or drag the folder or archive from Finder onto the Dub Packs list in the sidebar. - Open the sceneIt appears in the sidebar, with its lines in a list, the picture in the viewer and a timeline for your takes.
What Dubloon can read
Packs in the wild are not uniform. Different tools write different files, and Dubloon accepts the variations it has met so far.
| Part of the pack | Accepted |
|---|---|
| Container | A plain folder, or a .zip, .7z or .rar archive. Zip files that were cut off at the end are recovered where possible. |
| Line recordings | .wav, .mp3 and Ogg Vorbis .ogg. Ogg is converted on the device during import. |
| Line notes | One .txt or .ini file per line with its start time, character and caption. |
| Video | .mp4, and Theora .ogv, which is converted on the device. The conversion takes about a minute for a typical scene. |
| Backing track | The scene's music and effects as .wav, .mp3, .m4a or .ogg. |
Password-protected archives cannot be opened. Everything is unpacked and converted on your device, and nothing is uploaded.
If a pack won't import
Dubloon says what went wrong rather than failing silently. These are the usual causes.
The file is still in iCloud
A file with a cloud icon in Files has not been downloaded. Open it once in Files so it arrives on the device, then import it.
The archive has a password
Ask whoever made the pack for a copy without one.
The archive will not unpack
Unpack it on a computer and save it again as a .zip, or import the unpacked folder.
Dubloon says it is not a dub pack
A dub pack needs a text file and a recording for every line. Downloads from the same sites that are other kinds of mods, such as voice packs or skins, have no lines to perform.
Your dub is out of sync with the picture
Bluetooth headphones add a delay, so you hear the original late and come in late. Wired headphones, or none, fix it.
Inside a pack
If you want to make your own, this is the whole of Camp Rules, one of the scenes that ships with Dubloon. The files sit at the top level of the folder or archive.
_pack_info.ini title, authors, rights dub_video.mp4 the scene, without its dialogue _backing_track.m4a music and effects 001_Rex.txt line 1: start time, character, caption 001_Rex.wav line 1: the original delivery 002_Ellie.txt 002_Ellie.wav …one pair per line
The pack file names the scene and says who made it and under what terms:
[pack] title = "Camp Rules" authors = ["Blender Studio", "CC BY 4.0"] icon = "shot_rex.jpg"
Each line file says when the line starts, in seconds from the start of the video, who speaks it and what they say:
[data] dub_timestamps = [0.350] dub_characters = ["Rex"] caption = "Oy, fungus freak! Make yourself useful and fix the tent."
Number the files in the order the lines are spoken. Keep each recording to the one line, starting where the speech starts, and leave the dialogue out of the backing track so the dub does not fight the original.
Rights matter. Dubloon does not host, include or sell films beyond its four scenes, which are Creative Commons or public domain. Only make and dub packs from material you have the right to use, and follow the copyright rules where you live.
Dubloon and The Choicer Voicer
They are two separate products from two separate makers that happen to read the same packs.
| The Choicer Voicer | Dubloon | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Windows and Linux | iPhone and Mac |
| Made by | YeahMaybe | False Peak |
| Get it from | itch.io | App Store and Mac App Store |
| Dub packs | The original home of the format | Imports the same packs |
On a Windows or Linux PC, The Choicer Voicer is the game the packs were made for, and it has party modes that Dubloon does not try to copy. On an iPhone or a Mac, where it is not available, Dubloon is how you dub those scenes. Dubloon marks every line on timing, pacing and delivery, exports the finished scene as a video, and has Booth Cam to film yourself while you perform.
Dubloon is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to The Choicer Voicer or YeahMaybe.
Questions
Is there a Choicer Voicer app for iPhone or Mac?
The Choicer Voicer is available for Windows and Linux only. Dubloon is a separate, independent app for iPhone and Mac that imports the same Dub Mode packs, so you can dub those scenes there.
Do dub packs need converting before Dubloon can open them?
No. Import the pack as it was shared: a folder, or a .zip, .7z or .rar archive. Dubloon converts Ogg audio and Theora video on the device during import.
Do I need Dubloon Pro to import dub packs?
Yes. Movie Scene Dub, including the four built-in scenes and every pack you import, is part of Dubloon Pro. Pro is a one-time purchase or a subscription and unlocks on iPhone and Mac. Reverse Singing and Home Video Dub are free.
Why won't my dub pack import?
The usual causes are a file that is still in iCloud and not downloaded, a password-protected archive, an archive format other than .zip, .7z or .rar, or a download that is not a dub pack at all. A dub pack has a text file and a recording for every line.
Is it called The Choicer Voicer or Voicer Choicer?
The game is called The Choicer Voicer. People often search for it as Voicer Choicer, and they mean the same game and the same dub packs.