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I think we're at least near the point where it's better to get the text and feed it to an AI reader app, that can be customized in various dimensions, like acto

I think we're at least near the point where it's better to get the text and feed it to an AI reader app, that can be customized in various dimensions, like actor(s) and pace. I have some favorite audio book narrators, like Patrick Tull, Stephan Fry and Stefan Rudnicki. Sure I'd rather have them read for me, but I'm not going to be able to afford that. I maybe could afford for their licensed AI mimic to read it, and that is an improvement over many random amateur contributors. With AI "personalities" it may become as simple as "have personality X read me text file Y, moderato". Also it would be great to be able to conversationally control the narration. "Pause, hey what does that big word mean, go back two sentences and restart, stop, who is this Watson guy?, ok keep reading but adagio."

manquer 1y ago
It is not just about the having a good voice, whilst that is important, you also need voice acting skills to show in the voice, as in a good voice actor would change their accent, tone, language, style for every character and seed it with emotion and so forth. A lot of thought (and skill) goes into it[1] Stephen Fry is good for audio books because he is a talented voice actor amongst his many other skills. Attenborough is a treasure and known for his audio work, but he is not a voice actor - or at least doesn't do that kind of work which requires lot more range rather than one specific one we all recognize. I wouldn't like his voice style to narrate a fiction book for me. A planned production with editing and nuanced prompting even with just AI voice actors will still vastly better for immersion than just an app doing it real time. [1] https://www.youtube.com/@tawnyplatis7866/shorts https://www.youtube.com/@tawnyplatis7866/shorts
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bayouborne 1y ago
I am such a fan of Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander" series of books that I could not let myself even consider the possibility of listening to audio book narrated version. I felt O'Brian's prose voice on the page was so powerfully distinctive that any attempt at putting a real voice to his material would be awful. Imagine my surprise when I found Patrick Tull's work shockingly good.

manquer 1y ago

It is not just about the having a good voice, whilst that is important, you also need voice acting skills to show in the voice, as in a good voice actor would change their accent, tone, language, style for every character and seed it with emotion and so forth. A lot of thought (and skill) goes into it[1] Stephen Fry is good for audio books because he is a talented voice actor amongst his many other skills. Attenborough is a treasure and known for his audio work, but he is not a voice actor - or at least doesn't do that kind of work which requires lot more range rather than one specific one we all recognize. I wouldn't like his voice style to narrate a fiction book for me. A planned production with editing and nuanced prompting even with just AI voice actors will still vastly better for immersion than just an app doing it real time. [1] https://www.youtube.com/@tawnyplatis7866/shorts https://www.youtube.com/@tawnyplatis7866/shorts

deleted 1y ago
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bayouborne 1y ago

I am such a fan of Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander" series of books that I could not let myself even consider the possibility of listening to audio book narrated version. I felt O'Brian's prose voice on the page was so powerfully distinctive that any attempt at putting a real voice to his material would be awful. Imagine my surprise when I found Patrick Tull's work shockingly good.