Val Kilmer’s Lost Voice Revived Entirely By AI Despite Limited Past Material
Photo ID 59697777 © Starstock | Dreamstime.com
After a surgery for throat cancer in 2014, Hollywood actor Val Kilmer lost his natural voice, a devastating end to his career. Now, Sonantic, a software firm that produces artificial voices, has returned the prospect of speaking back to him.
Five years after that surgery, Kilmer’s representatives contacted the UK-based firm to digitally restore his original voice utilizing clips from past movies he acted in.
Usually, the individual would be required to record their voices reading through a script, but in Kilmer’s case, that wasn’t possible. The team at Sonantic, therefore, had to rely on a “relatively small amount” of previously recorded material provided by his representatives.
First, they had to “clean” the audio, which entails removing background noise while preserving as much of the voice as possible. Then transcripts were generated, and the audio and text were paired in short blocks.
Thus, the Voice Engine began training the AI model with the results, which encapsulated around 10 times less data than a usual project is provided with. 40 versions of Kilmer’s voice were created, and the final was selected based on it delivering the most high-quality manner of evoking his expression.
“Once a custom voice model is produced,” the company writes, “our desktop application enables creative teams to input text and then fine-tune the performance, adjusting a range of key parameters.”
It’s a bit like Photoshop for video, John Flynn, the firm’s chief technology officer, tells The Washington Post.
There are ethical and legal concerns with voices being deepfaked to such high degrees of similarity, as it makes it easier for clips to surface of famous personalities “saying” things that they never endorsed.
While there aren’t any laws in the US against generating voices, there have been successful lawsuits regarding voice theft, such as Tom Waits’.
As shared with Sonantic, Kilmer is also grateful to have his voice back, albeit in a different way. “As human beings, the ability to communicate is the core of our existence and the effects from throat cancer have made it difficult for others to understand me. The chance to tell my story, in a voice that feels authentic and familiar, is an incredibly special gift.”
Kilmer starred in films such as Top Gun, Willow, and Batman Forever. With his voice returned to him, there is a possibility that he may be able to feature in more.
[via The Washington Post, photo ID 59697777 © Starstock | Dreamstime.com]
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