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AI Tools For Dubbing And Lip Synching Poised To Transform Global Film And TV
Scarlett Johansson attends the 2023 God's Love We Deliver Golden Heart Awards at The Glasshouse on Oct. 16, 2023, in New York City.
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Theo Wargo
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Last month’s conflagration between the actress Scarlett Johansson and OpenAI over whether it used her voice to train a conversation chatbot misses the bigger Hollywood story of how AI tools for dubbing and lip synching are poised to transform global film and TV.
Why it matters: Localized content that’s been dubbed into the local language is more popular, it allows for creative work to find a larger audience and for content owners to increase the value of their holdings. For actors, there’s potential to generate revenue from their voice work without even being present. But the unlock that AI tools provide do still come with unresolved legal issues, as well as questions about consent and compensation of the actors whose voices help train the AI speech models.
State of the AI art: The best AI voice dubbing tools can capture a complete range of an actor’s performance with about an hour of training data. This input can be blended with other data to create a wholly synthetic voice, thereby avoiding one actor having their aural “persona” appropriated. Lip-synching tools, which are just now emerging, can affordably match the words with the actor’s mouth movements. The premier companies in this space, which are working directly with studios, guilds and news organizations, emphasize their focus on always having permission to use a voice or modify lip movements and paying for their efforts.
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Ethical concerns: Of course, not every company in this burgeoning space is upstanding, and the internet is rife with ways to produce unauthorized dubs of a person’s voice. Even if all the participants in AI voice work are properly compensated, there remain questions about the actors who previously provided localized performances, as well as the visual effects and audio engineers who have performed the traditional work of localizing content.
For more . . . read the full story on The Ankler.
This story is published in partnership with The Ankler, a paid subscription publication about the entertainment industry.
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But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
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