Why Listen to Me? Understanding AI Voice Cloning

As a multimedia producer with over a decade of experience, I’ve faced countless post-production challenges. AI tools like Adobe Podcast and ElevenLabs have transformed the way we handle audio problems, making what was once a tedious task more efficient and seamless with their advanced features. Whether you’re working on a large-scale project or a smaller production, these tools can be your go-to solutions for cleaning audio with minimal effort. We’ve all been there. You’re filming an event, capturing an interview, or shooting a short film, and despite your best efforts, the audio isn’t perfect. Background noise creeps in, the source wasn’t as clean as you’d hoped, or worse—someone coughed or talked over the moment you absolutely needed. In the past, this meant hours of frustrating tweaks with filters and EQ settings, often leading to inconsistent results. Sometimes, after all that effort, your audio still sounded like it was recorded inside a tin can. But never fear—AI is here! Below, I’ll walk you through a few steps you can take to make it sound like your recording went off without a hitch. The conditions were perfect, no one coughed, and that waterfall behind your interview? Silent as a whisper.

The Power of Your Own Voice

Imagine having a digital twin of your voice that can handle all your audio tasks with ease. That’s the power of your own voice! This revolutionary technology allows you to create a digital replica of your voice, making it possible to automate various tasks and enhance your content creation. With the power of your own voice, you can produce consistent and personalized audio recordings that sound just like you. Say goodbye to background noise and hello to high-quality speech synthesis. Whether you’re recording a podcast, creating a video, or just need a clean audio file, your digital voice can make it happen effortlessly. It’s like having your own personal audio assistant, always ready to deliver perfect speech.

What is Voice Cloning?

Voice cloning is like having a digital doppelgänger that can speak just like you. Using advanced artificial intelligence, this technology analyzes and mimics the unique characteristics of your voice, creating a digital copy that can be used for various applications. Whether you need a voiceover for a video, an ad read, or even a podcast, voice cloning has got you covered. It’s a game-changer for content creators, allowing you to produce high-quality audio content without the need for expensive recording equipment or professional voice actors. Imagine the possibilities—your voice, perfectly replicated, ready to be used in any project you can dream up.

Step 1: Run Your Dialogue Track Through Adobe Podcast

“What is Adobe Podcast?” you ask. Crazy—I heard your question through time and space. It’s an amazing tool that takes your dialogue track, clones the voice of your subject, and creates a clean, perfectly balanced version of your dialogue track. You can then mix this with the original recording until everything sounds exactly how you envisioned. High-quality voice data is crucial for creating realistic voice models through AI voice cloning technology. Background noise? Gone. Here’s where you can check it out: Adobe Podcast Enhance.

Step 2: AI Voice Cloning with ElevenLabs

Sometimes Adobe Podcast doesn’t quite cut it. Maybe there’s a persistent cough, or someone else was chatting in the background, and Adobe Podcast has trouble distinguishing between voices or worse, interprets a cough as your subject talking, which is terrifying to the ear. Enter ElevenLabs, a lifesaver when you need more control. Here’s how ElevenLabs can save the day: High-quality voice data is crucial for effective AI voice cloning, ensuring realistic and accurate voice models.

1. Text to Voice – This feature lets you type anything, and it’ll be spoken in the voice of your subject. While this might not always apply to your audio-cleaning needs, it’s perfect for creating additional content. If you want to learn more, let me know—I might write a whole post on this!
2. Voice to Voice – Here’s where the magic happens for audio cleaning. Record your own voice, delivering the line the way you want, and ElevenLabs will generate your subject’s voice, perfectly mimicking your delivery. This allows you to fix pesky issues like awkward sentence endings or peaks in the audio—without compromising the integrity of what your subject intended to say.

Pro tip: If your subject’s audio peaked beyond the point of recovery at any point, export the section, upload it to ElevenLabs’ voice-to-voice feature, and voilà—a clean, consistent result that sounds like the levels were perfect from the start. Here’s where you can check it out: ElevenLabs

Step 3: Patch Up With a Creative Workaround

Sometimes your original audio is too damaged to effectively generate a clean version of your subject’s voice. In that case, here’s a more labor-intensive but effective method:

• Record yourself imitating your subject while listening to the original audio. Try to match their delivery as closely as possible. The closer you get, the better the software will work when you upload your recording for voice-to-voice cloning. I’ve used this method with excellent results when other options just didn’t cut it.

The Benefits of Voice Cloning

The benefits of voice cloning are nothing short of amazing. Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Create Consistent and Personalized Audio: Your cloned voice will sound virtually indistinguishable from the real thing, ensuring consistency across all your recordings.
• Eliminate Background Noise: Enjoy high-quality speech synthesis that cuts out unwanted noise, leaving you with crystal-clear audio.
• Automate Complex Edits: Save time and effort by letting AI handle intricate audio edits and tasks.
• Enhance Content Creation: Produce top-notch audio content that stands out, whether it’s for videos, podcasts, or any other medium.
• Avoid Legal Issues: Use your own voice without worrying about copyright or usage rights.
• Versatile Applications: From videos to audio recordings, your cloned voice can be used in a variety of ways.
• Affordable Options: Take advantage of free and budget-friendly plans that suit your needs.

Voice cloning is a powerful tool that can revolutionize your audio production process. With its ability to mimic your unique voice characteristics, eliminate background noise, and produce high-quality speech synthesis, it’s an essential asset for content creators, marketers, and anyone looking to elevate their audio game.

TLDR? Follow These Steps – How to Fix Background Noise

In this section I’ll go over how to take care of a common issue everyone has experienced using the above steps. Some of this will be a repeat of the above but I’ll go into more detail on each step. Let’s say you’ve recorded an interview and the soundbite is great, but there’s a cough in the background. Here’s a step-by-step solution:

1. Run the clip through Adobe Podcast. Often, this alone will remove the offending noise, and you’re golden.
2. Export the clip and a one-minute sample of your subject’s voice. Use ElevenLabs to clone the voice, export the section with the cough, and use the voice-to-voice feature to generate a clean version.
3. If that doesn’t work, try recording yourself doing an impression of your subject while listening to the original audio. Upload that to ElevenLabs for a cleaner clone.

By now, you’ll have a pristine audio file with no background distractions. From coughs to waterfall noise, these tools make your life a lot easier when audio issues arise unexpectedly. Is your audio causing headaches? Let me know how these tools work for you, or reach out for help—let’s fix those hiccups!