This One Might Be A Little Controversial
Added 2023-02-19 01:51:45 +0000 UTChaha clickbait title now you're trapped and have to read the post :^)
You've probably heard of ElevenLabs in some form by now. Whether for it's intended use of serious-faced "Content Creation™️", or watching Joe Rogan discuss Super Mario's circumcision status with his pals Ben and Jordan. Whatever the case may be, viable text-to-speech is here and will only be getting more advanced/prevalent as time passes. I'll need to address it at some point, so might as well do so now.
I made a short demo with it as an example. It's kinda shitpost-y and rough around the edges, but you get the general idea. Some retakes and editing should get it up to a level where it's near-indistinguishable from a regular voice. There're also a couple more samples on ElevenLabs' YouTube channel.
Which brings us to myself. Constructive criticism for my stories is hard to come by, but when I do find some, it's typically something along the lines of "I don't understand what's happening in the story/you should include more narration". Narration is something I would like to include more, but it has the tendency to get very wordy (and much more expensive to have voiced as a result). And as you've likely noticed, narration is something ElevenLabs is particularly good at...
...so. I am considering using it for narration (read: only for narration), with character dialogue voice-acted as usual. Basically, you'd be getting more stories along these lines: [link 1], [link 2].
Pros:
- I would be able to pay voice talent higher rates for dialogue. Right now, I pay $0.175 to $0.200/word, which is considered middling.
- Likewise, being able to afford higher rates means I'm able to ask a much wider selection of VAs for roles.
- Easier to convey visual concepts (e.g. "she had brown hair") with narration.
Cons:
- Labels itself as "AI". Which I don't personally have an issue with... but others might. Partially the reason why I'm asking you all in the first place.
- To clarify, none of the VA's recordings would be sampled. The option is "there" in the same way one has the option of driving their car into a lake.
- The voices sound a little stilted at times, but again: this is something that can be ironed out with editing.
There are 200 of you here (holy hell), so I figure you're the go-to guys for this type of question. Please leave your thoughts below 🙏
Comments
I personally am not a fan of ai's use in art as it is unable to make intentional artistic decisions, but I understand why you would want to use it. As long as you: 1. clearly cite what voices are ai 2. source your voice samples from someone consenting to being samples in fetish content I would still be happy to support you
Winter
2023-02-19 16:11:16 +0000 UTCI want a fetish video narrated with the "missile knows where it is" guy. The future is now. This is really succinct, and I wouldn't have an issue with the way you've proposed to use it.
Yes Man
2023-02-19 04:30:47 +0000 UTCI was leaning toward either the default libraries (edited/tweaked here-and-there to avoid sounding too same-y) or other material that I know wouldn't cause any issues. Such as the fitnessgram guy used in the "11_demo" link I posted- can't imagine that'd be any more problematic than when I use video game and anime BGM in my stories. The main thing I'd want to avoid is using samples from VAs I've commissioned. It's a grey area for sure, but I'm optimistic that I'd be able to navigate it. Thank you for your feedback 🙏
Swell Reads
2023-02-19 02:34:25 +0000 UTCNo matter what, I don’t see a satisfactory answer as to WHO is gonna narrate for the samples. I don’t know if there’s some alternative, but the only ones I can think of are either using default samples or hiring someone willing to lend a sample but not act, which don’t seem all that appealing either way. Until I hear a better way to get the voices for the samples, I’m gonna say a strong “no” for now, but if there’s a solution that can both use unique voices for samples and remain completely cost-effective, then I would gladly support any endeavors with it.
Scary Meunster
2023-02-19 01:59:15 +0000 UTC
