Wait for a spoken line (voice sync)

The Wait for a spoken line… block stops the timeline until a performer has said a given line into the microphone. DreamShow recognises the voice by itself, without internet: a dialogue between a performer and a robot, or a series of effects cued on a text, can run with nobody at the desk.

To open it: drag Wait for a spoken line… from the Others list (Libraries panel) onto a track of the Scene timeline panel. Its settings window opens at once; double-click the block to open it again.

How it works

During the block, and only during the block, DreamShow listens to the microphone. As soon as the line is recognised, the timeline moves on.
Outside the blocks nothing is listened to: a voice played by the show itself (a robot's line, a sound) cannot trigger anything, provided it is placed after the block.
For a dialogue: one Wait for a spoken line… block for each of the performer's lines, followed by the blocks of the answer (Robot block “Dire” (Say), sound, light…), then the block of the next line.

Like the other waits, the block freezes the light and pauses the scene's sounds and videos while listening (see Waits (key, time, date, sun)).

The block's settings

Expected line: the text, as it will be said. If the show has a teleprompter text, the list Take a line from the teleprompter text… copies it.
Accept a line said approximately (ticked by default):
- if the end of the line is said as written, the show carries on at once (usually less than half a second after the last word);
- otherwise the gist is enough: about half of the important words, in order, including one from the end of the line. The show then carries on after 1.5 s of silence: a mere pause in the middle of the sentence does not set it off.
- Unticked: only the exact end counts.
Fallback key phrase (optional): a phrase the performer can say if the line went wrong or was not recognised, for example « voilà voilà ». It moves on at once. It must be said exactly, and its words must not appear in the line (the window warns otherwise). A new block takes the key phrase already used in the show.
Fallback delay (s): if the line is not recognised within this delay, the show carries on anyway and notes it in the log. Empty: it waits with no limit.
Microphone: the microphone listened to, the same for every block on this PC (setting kept on the PC, not in the show).
Spoken language: the actors' language (French, English, German, Spanish or Italian), the same for the whole show, blocks and teleprompter by voice. French comes with DreamShow; another language is downloaded once (40 to 50 MB) as soon as it is chosen or a show using it is opened: do it while preparing, with Internet. After that everything runs on the PC, without Internet.
Start (s): the block's position on the timeline.

On the timeline, the block shows 🎤, the beginning of the line and its fallback delay.

During the show

In the cue window, while listening, the expected line is shown under the scene name with what DreamShow hears (“listening…”, then “heard: …”) and the fallback countdown.

If the fallback key phrase is said, the show carries on and the log notes it as a warning: the lines to work on can be found afterwards.

GO releases the wait at any time: the operator can always take over. If the microphone cannot be found, the window says so (“cannot listen”) and the line waits for GO or the fallback delay.

The log (category lines) notes each listening, each recognised line (with the share of words heard, and “approximate” where relevant) and each fallback delay that ran out.

Tips

The microphone matters most: a wireless headset microphone, as close to the mouth as possible, gives the best recognition. An ambient microphone hears the audience and the loudspeakers.
Take care of line endings: they are what sets the show off without waiting. An ending with a distinct word is recognised better than one in “yes” or “eh”.
Very short lines (“Oui.”, “Ah?”) must be said as written: plan a fallback delay.
The text may contain stage directions in parentheses or brackets: they are not expected.
Rehearse with the real microphone and watch the “heard: …” line of the cue window: it shows what DreamShow understands.

Limits

Five languages recognised: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian. One language per show.
One voice is expected at a time, on one microphone.
A skipped line is not caught up: the block waits for its line, then the fallback delay or GO.