What are alternatives to voice actors?
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What are alternatives to voice actors? There are a few methods you can use to get high-quality voices in no time. Here’s all you need to know about TTS tools.
Voice actors are necessary for video games, documentaries, narrations in movies and TV shows, cartoons, and so much more. But did you know that there is an alternative? In fact, you can easily do all of this on your own in just a couple of steps.
What is a voice actor?
A voice actor is a person that does narration or voiceovers. These are common for animated movies, cartoons, video games, audiobooks, documentaries, commercials, and so much more. This means that voice acting is focused on what the audience will hear.
And in some cases, voice-over artists will do live-action movies as well. Furthermore, they are common for countries that dub movies and other video content if it is another language. Audio engineers will hire local artists, and they will do voiceovers in their native language.
There are plenty of options for voice talent, and it can be a fun job. But if you are a startup company, a content creator, or anyone else that can’t afford to spend a ton of money on a professional artist, there is an alternative worth checking out.
Some apps will even give you the option to use your own voice in post-production, but the feature might be more expensive.
Alternatives to voice actors
Being a voice-over talent requires a lot of work and dedication. People who are experienced in the field are irreplaceable, and having a famous VA on your team can make a world of difference.
But at the same time, the entire experience can be too expensive for some people. Especially if they would like to go for an A-tier actor. If you are working on a budget, this will be impossible.
Furthermore, hiring a voice actor means that you might need to shift your plans, and work on a different schedule. Those that plan on finishing everything quickly will need to look for an alternative.
If you are unlucky, the actor you wanted to hire might be in another city. They could be in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, or any other city in the world, and you can’t really record anything via Zoom.
And fortunately, there is a great option. They can always check out text-to-speech tools. These are voice generators or speech synthesis programs that can convert any type of on-screen text into an AI voice in real time, and it will sound lifelike.
Text to speech - Speechify
Speechify is one of the best TTS apps you can find today. It is a perfect option for those looking to make their own audiobooks and podcasts, but can also help with dubbing and narration.
The app will work on any type of device, and it supports different languages, accents, and types of voice or voice skins. Once you start the app, all you need to do is open the text, and choose the voice you like. Speechify will do the rest.
NaturalReader
NaturalReader is another popular option, and it has several pricing plans you can check out. If you are curious to discover what this app has to offer, you can check out the trial version. While it is a bit too limiting, it will give you a nice idea of what to expect.
This TTS tool also comes with several different plans, and the most expensive ones will give you all the features and functionalities NaturalReader has. The problem is, it might be too expensive for some people.
The app can easily convert text to AI voice recording, and it is possible to download audio files in either mp3 or wav formats. After that, you can edit the material as you please using Audacity or other similar programs.
Murf.ai
Murf gives you plenty of options to experiment with different voices and accents, and it’s quite good. The main downside of the free version is that you will be able to use the app for ten minutes only, which is hardly enough for anything.
But if you like what you hear, you can choose one of the other subscription plans based on your needs. It is a great tool if you want to make custom voices, and it can be quite versatile. And when it comes to re-recording and overdubbing, the voices are natural-sounding.
Resemble.ai
Resemble can be a decent choice for e-learning, making audiobooks, various audio content, narration, movie trailers, dubbing, and so on. Unfortunately, the app doesn’t have a free version you can check out, and you will need to go for the Basic or Pro subscription plan.
With Basic, you will pay-as-you-go, which can be a great option for some users. But if you plan on using the app for a longer period of time and becoming a subscriber, the best option is to contact the provider and ask for the price of the Pro package.
How to use Speechify for your voice over needs
To avoid overcomplicating things and spending more money than needed, Speechify is a one-stop place for you to get all you need from a text to speech tool. The narration can be a perfect option for your videos, and the process is quite simple.
Thanks to the intuitive user interface, even inexperienced users can make professional-looking content. You will have unlimited voice-over work at your disposal, and the app will work on any device.
You can also use it for any type of text, email, or transcription, and it’s also available as a Chrome extension. If you are looking to make your own home studio, Speechify will help you every step of the way.
There is no need to spend thousands on a recording studio when you can get the same quality from Speechify. It is more than obvious that text-to-speech apps will change how the voice-over industry works, and any sound engineer will appreciate what they have to offer.
Text to speech apps are quite common for trending YouTube and TikTok videos, and they sound quite good. So, if you want to get one of the best TTS tools on the market, avoid looking for voice-over jobs, and create incredible content, Speechify is the answer.
Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.