Handing a dubbing project to a studio in Morocco often raises the same questions for our clients. How do you follow sessions without traveling? Who approves the voices? Which files should you send? Here is how a typical project runs, the way we do it at dB PROD·FACTORY in Casablanca.

One point first: we dub into French only, from English, Chinese, Spanish and other languages.

Before the project: what to send

A good start prevents most delays. The studio needs:

the program video, in its final version;
the M&E track (music and effects without voices), if there is one;
the script or dialogue list;
the production’s or platform’s guidelines: formats, standards, deadlines;
any references: glossary, proper names, voices already used on a previous season.

If the M&E track is missing, say so early. It changes the mixing work.

Adapting the text

The text is translated and adapted into French. The adaptation respects line length and lip movement. On a series, a shared glossary keeps terms consistent from one episode to the next.

Reviewing the adaptation before recording is worthwhile. It’s the right moment to fix a vocabulary choice.

Casting and voice approval

We suggest voices for each role, drawn from a pool of more than a hundred French-speaking voice actors. The client listens to the auditions and approves.

This approval happens before sessions, not during them. Changing a voice after several episodes costs a lot of time.

Remote sessions

This is the most common question. Sessions can be followed live, remotely. The client hears takes as they are recorded. They can ask for a different intention or approve a scene on the spot.

The time difference with France is one hour at most, so session hours are easy to arrange. For a visit, the studio is less than a three-hour flight from Paris.

Mixing and delivery

Once the voices are edited, the program is mixed in stereo, 5.1 or Dolby Atmos. Levels comply with the EBU R128 standard. The client receives the files in the formats requested by the production or the platform.

If subtitles are needed, they can be delivered at the same time: French, French SDH, English, and Arabic on request.

Common mistakes to avoid

A few mistakes come up often on first projects, whatever the studio:

sending a video that isn’t the final cut, then having to re-sync the voices;
forgetting to flag proper names or technical terms to respect;
approving voices too late, when episodes are already recorded;
specifying delivery standards only at the end.

Each one can be fixed with a few minutes of discussion at project kickoff.

Questions to ask a studio

Before choosing a studio, in Morocco or elsewhere, a few questions help you get a clear picture:

Are the booths closed and acoustically treated?
Does a voice director run the sessions?
Can sessions be followed remotely?
Which mixing formats are offered, and to which standard?
Which references can the studio name?

For our part: four closed, treated studios since 2020, directed sessions, remote follow-up, and stereo, 5.1 and Atmos mixing to EBU R128. Our clients include Hiventy, TransPerfect and Content Lab.

In short

Working remotely with a dubbing studio in Morocco comes down to good preparation, early voice approval and remote session follow-up. The rest works like any other studio.

Want to try this setup on a first program? Contact us.