Release 2 Update 20

This week I did no image renders. I provided images above that are ones I've done for Release 2 in previous weeks, but haven't shared them here yet. Wanted to make sure you were getting something other than just my words!

I've focused heavily on VOICE. I've now completed all AI voice work for Release 2, except for voice files to go with the (40 or 50?) renders I have left to do. Release 2 will be FULLY voiced... and in fact I've now decided to go back and fill in ALL the voices in Release 1 (that is: the first two chapters of the VN). You may recall that while there are a few scenes that have voice, it's far from complete. I've completed the first scene (which is all Chloe) and done some prep work for the rest. There are 339 AI "lines" left for me to do. I've partially decided to do this because I hate not being thorough, but mostly it's because there are now so many existing voices in the ElevenLabs voice library that it's do-able without me having to create the voices from scratch. I have two human voiceover artists to get files from. One of them (for Aubrey) I've emailed with my full list of needs. The other one (for Olivia) I've still got to create the customized script for, to send out to her. I'll get that out today.

The only lines that aren't voiced are the "narrator" lines and the MC's "thought" lines that appear in parentheses in the dialogue. I've considered voicing the thought lines, but for now at least I won't. If I do them in the future, I'd probably process them a little to make it clear they were thoughts in his head (likely by reducing the volume a bit and adding reverb).

it's an education working with AI voices. All sorts of tricks you have to use to fool the AI engine into creating the inflection or feel you want from a line. Some voices, you just CAN'T get certain effects from, or you can but only after a LOT of wrangling and many, many tries. Laughter is very hard, but thankfully it's getting easier. I've now started a library of laughs for each main character, to use here and there in the future. Every once in a while ElevenLabs surprises me and adds a wonderfully appropriate laugh when I haven't even asked for it. Usually however I've got to send it something like "Oh my GOD, that's FUNNY!!! Hahaha!" a number of times, to eventually get a usable laugh or two. Then I edit out the "Oh my god that's funny" seed, and add the laugh alone to whatever dialogue line I've already created that needs the laugh appended. And though it's nowhere in their "user guide" I've also found that often preceding a line with the tag "(angry yelling)" eventually gets the results I want in tense dialogue situations like arguments. really happy with the performance of some of the voices I've been using. I already mentioned Nina's (which I created), which is great for a "cold bitch" vibe, but the one I chose for Chloe from the voice library is also great. Unfortunately the MC's voice is a pain in the ass usually!