Actor Val Kilmer, who lost his voice due to cancer, returned the ability to speak
American actor Val Kilmer, who lost his voice to laryngeal cancer in 2014, has been given back the ability to speak. Due to a serious illness, he had to undergo several operations, after which the people around him practically ceased to understand his speech. However, modern technology has been able to do the impossible. This was made possible thanks to artificial intelligence and old films with Kilmer, reports The Washington Post .Pomogla British company Sonantic, which appealed to the representatives of the actor. The firm specializes in creating synthetic voices using the power of artificial intelligence, and often partners with video game studios.
To develop any model, the company takes recordings of the voices of professional actors who read the texts according to the script. After that, the Voice Engine program processes everything and generates a voice model. Then a text is entered in a special application, and the voice speaks it out. The result can be corrected.
In Kilmer's case, this model of work was not possible because he could not read the text. Therefore, the company used old films with his participation. The tapes were cleared of background noise, audio and text were tied into small fragments and processed using the Voice Engine.
Another problem that the company had to face was the lack of recordings with the voice of the actor. Due to licensing restrictions on paintings with his participation, the company managed to collect only half an hour of recordings. But in the end everything worked out. Kilmer liked the result, he thanked the company for making communication available to him again.
Recall that Val Kilmer has long denied that he has cancer. But in 2017, he admitted that he had goal cancer. Prior to this, the actor's relatives said that he did not want to be treated, because he went to a sect, and got rid of the disease with prayers. Kilmer himself did not comment on this information for a long time. He noted that it was difficult for him to speak, his tongue was swollen and the timbre of his voice changed.
