¶ 👤 Characters
Characters define who speaks dialogue lines in Frostune:VO.
Each character can have:
- A display Name
- A unique Tag used by exports and engine integration
- A selected Voice Model for TTS / preview generation
- Optional Actor information for casting, recording, or ADR tracking
Characters are especially important for:
- Dialogue writing
- VO Manager filtering
- Recording sheets
- Worksheet imports
- TTS generation
- Unreal / engine exports
- Speaker mapping in runtime playback
¶ 1️⃣ Open the Character Database
Click the Character Database button in the Frostune:VO top toolbar.
This opens the Create New Character window.
Note: Frostune:VO includes default voice packs that can be assigned to characters. Imported voice packs also appear in this window.
¶ 2️⃣ Create a New Character
To create a character:
- Open the Character Database window.
- Enter the character Name.
- Review or edit the generated Tag.
- Optionally add one or more Actors.
- Choose a Voice Model & Gender.
- Click Add.
The character is added to the project and becomes available for new dialogue lines, VO Manager filters, worksheet imports, and exports.
¶ 3️⃣ Character Name
The Name is the readable character name shown in Frostune:VO.
Examples:
Alice
Prince
Guard Captain
Merchant
Radio Operator
Character names are used in the editor and can also appear in exported documents.
¶ Name Rules
- The name is required.
- The current character name limit is 30 characters.
- Names should be clear and production-friendly.
Recommended examples:
Alice
Bob
Village Elder
Drone Pilot
Avoid vague names when possible:
Guy
NPC 1
Temp Voice
¶ 4️⃣ Character Tag
The Tag is a short technical identifier generated from the character name.
For example:
| Name | Suggested Tag |
|---|---|
| Alice | ALICE |
| Guard Captain | GUARD_CAPTAIN |
| Radio Operator | RADIO_OPERATOR |
Tags are used for stable speaker identification in exports and engine workflows.
¶ Tag Rules
Character tags must:
- Be unique in the project
- Use uppercase letters, numbers, and underscores
- Start with a letter
- Stay within the configured tag length limit
Examples of valid tags:
ALICE
PRINCE
GUARD_01
RADIO_OPERATOR
Examples of invalid or risky tags:
1GUARD
Guard Captain
ALICE!
Best practice: keep tags short, stable, and readable. Avoid changing tags after the character has been used in many lines unless you intentionally want to update existing lines.
¶ 5️⃣ Voice Model & Gender
Each character can be assigned a Voice Model & Gender.
This voice is used when Frostune:VO generates TTS or preview voices for lines spoken by that character.
The voice list includes:
- Default voice packs included with Frostune:VO
- Voice packs imported through Settings
- Custom voice packs added to the project
To assign a voice:
- Open the Character Database.
- Select or create a character.
- Choose a voice from Voice model & gender.
- Click Add or Update.
¶ 6️⃣ Actors
Actors are optional casting / ADR metadata attached to a character.
You can use actors to track:
- Actor name
- Availability
- Studio notes
- Union or production notes
- Microphone chain notes
- Phone patch / remote recording details
- Alternate performers
To add an actor:
- Click + Add in the Actors section.
- Enter the actor name.
- Optionally enter actor notes.
- Optionally mark one actor as Default.
Example:
Actor name: John Smith
Actor note: Remote session, available afternoons, prefers SM7B chain
¶ Default Actor
Only one actor can be marked as the default actor for a character.
The default actor is useful when a character has multiple possible performers, but one is the preferred or primary performer.
¶ 7️⃣ Existing Characters
The Character Database also shows existing characters at the top of the window.
Each existing character displays:
- Name
- Tag
- Actor count, if actors are assigned
- Edit button
Click the edit button to modify an existing character.
¶ 8️⃣ Edit an Existing Character
To edit a character:
- Open the Character Database.
- Find the character in the Existing list.
- Click the edit button.
- Update the name, tag, voice, or actors.
- Click Update.
When editing, Frostune:VO may show an option:
Update existing lines
When enabled, changes such as renaming a character can be propagated to existing dialogue lines.
¶ 9️⃣ Updating Existing Lines
When editing a character, the Update existing lines option controls whether existing dialogue lines should be updated to use the new character information.
Use this when:
- You renamed a character
- You corrected a spelling mistake
- You changed the production naming convention
- You want existing lines to follow the new character name
Disable it when:
- You are creating a new variant but do not want old lines changed
- You are experimenting with character metadata
- You do not want existing dialogue ownership modified
¶ 🔟 Importing and Creating Voice Packs
Frostune:VO can use voice packs as character voice models.
Voice packs can be:
- Included by default with Frostune:VO
- Imported from the Settings → Voice Packs section
- Created with the included Frostune Voice Designer Tool (FTVD)
Note: Frostune Voice Designer Tool is currently an early version and its name or workflow may evolve.
¶ Importing an Existing Voice Pack
To import a voice pack:
- Open Settings.
- Go to the Voice Packs section.
- Import the voice pack.
- Reopen the Character Database if needed.
- The imported voice should appear in the Voice Model list.
Once imported, the voice pack can be assigned to any character.
¶ Creating a Voice Pack with FTVD
Frostune:VO currently includes an early version of FTVD — Frostune Voice Designer Tool.
FTVD allows you to create a local voice pack from your own recordings.
The tool exports a voice pack that includes:
- Voice model metadata
- Voice configuration data
This voice pack can then be imported into Frostune:VO and assigned to characters through the Character Database.
¶ Typical Workflow
- Prepare or record your voice reference material.
- Open the Frostune Voice Designer Tool.
- Create/export a voice pack.
- Import the exported voice pack in Settings → Voice Packs.
- Open the Character Database.
- Assign the new voice model to a character.
¶ Custom Voice Packs
Custom voice packs can also be created on demand from your recordings.
Contact Frostune for more information if you need help preparing a custom voice pack for a project.
¶ 1️⃣1️⃣ Characters and Worksheets
Characters are important for Worksheet Import.
When importing new dialogue rows from a worksheet, the Speaker column must match a character name or provide a valid speaker name.
In source-language Worksheet Import, Frostune:VO can create missing speakers from valid worksheet rows.
However, for clean production data, it is best to create and validate characters before large imports.
Recommended workflow:
- Create or verify characters in the Character Database.
- Export or prepare the worksheet.
- Make sure the Speaker column uses the correct character names.
- Import the worksheet.
- Review skipped rows / TXT report if needed.
¶ 1️⃣2️⃣ Characters and Recording Sheets
Recording Sheets use character information to organize lines for recording.
When exporting a Recording Sheet, characters may be used to:
- Filter VO Manager results
- Group lines by speaker
- Create one sheet per character
- Help recording teams identify who speaks each line
Before creating a recording sheet, make sure character names and tags are final enough for production use.
¶ 1️⃣3️⃣ Characters and Unreal / Engine Integration
Character tags help identify speakers during engine integration.
In Unreal workflows, speaker tags may be used to:
- Map dialogue lines to speaker actors
- Route VO through speaker components
- Help organize generated assets
- Improve readability in the Content Browser
- Support runtime dialogue playback systems
Best practice:
Use stable character tags before pushing large amounts of dialogue to the engine.
Changing tags late in production can require re-exporting or revalidating downstream data.
¶ 1️⃣4️⃣ Best Practices
- Create characters before importing large worksheets.
- Use clear character names.
- Keep tags short, unique, and stable.
- Use actor rows for casting and ADR tracking.
- Mark a default actor when a character has multiple performers.
- Assign a voice model before generating TTS.
- Import custom voice packs through Settings before assigning them.
- Avoid changing character tags late in production unless necessary.
- Use Update existing lines carefully when editing characters.
- Keep character naming consistent across Frostune:VO, worksheets, recording sheets, and Unreal.
¶ ✅ Summary
| Task | Where to do it |
|---|---|
| Create a character | Character Database |
| Edit a character | Existing character list → edit button |
| Assign a TTS voice | Voice model & gender dropdown |
| Add casting info | Actors section |
| Mark primary actor | Default actor radio button |
| Import new voices | Settings → Voice Packs |
| Use character in dialogue | Speaker field on dialogue lines |
| Use character in Worksheet Import | Speaker column |
| Use character in Recording Sheets | VO Manager export filters / character sheets |