Bringing a visionary biopic to life requires more than just compelling storytelling. It demands authenticity in every aspect, including the sound. When the team behind Better Man sought to recreate iconic moments from the life of Robbie Williams' - who was portrayed by a CGI chimpanzee - they turned to Respeecher.
Our latest developments in AI voice technology, coupled with amazing cinematic AI solutions, were pivotal in ensuring the film maintained the emotional depth and realism needed to capture the essence of Mr. Williams' legendary voice. Let's talk about the Better Man case study in detail.
How It Started
A go-to company for voice AI in cinema, Respeecher, has been deeply involved in the Better Man project for over two years, demonstrating a strong commitment to innovation and precision. We started working on it in the spring of 2022, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine had just begun, and the future of all Ukrainian-rooted businesses was uncertain.
Despite all the hardships, the Respeecher team was excited when we first heard about the project. The scale and ambition were significant, but the company enthusiastically embraced technological challenges to deliver an immersive, realistic sound to fit modern cinematic AI voice solutions.
Alex Serdiuk, CEO at Respeecher, recalls his first impression:
"When I first met Michael Gracey and read the script the night after the meeting, I thought, 'It has all the chances to be a massive success, and the new page in musical biopics.' I was excited for us to be a part of it and contribute to making those words on paper become the Better Man movie."
Better Man is not the only Paramount biopic we’ve worked on - we’ve also helped revive the voice of a legendary basketball player Wilt Chamberlain for Goliath.
What Needed to Be Done
Our primary objective was to create a memorable voice for the film that complements the masterfully made CGI protagonist and preserves Robbie Williams’ unique speech and singing style. It was necessary as the film aims to show Williams' popularity and the personal difficulties and contradictions that shape his true personality.
Another task we worked on was singing conversions for the official soundtrack. The musical accompaniment includes Robbie's most famous hits, making the film even more addictive and emotional. These elements combine perfectly and allow you to immerse yourself in the hero's story.
All this work required extensive precision in innovative filmmaking technologies to maintain the nuances of each note and phrase, ensuring the audience experiences the most natural and engaging sound possible.
Vitalii Knyr, Chief Operating Officer, describes the approach:
"The scope of work sounded very ambitious, but we aren't afraid of challenges. We thrive on pushing our technology to new heights while keeping the essence of each performance intact."
How We Worked
Our expert sound engineers worked closely with the Better Man production team throughout the process. Voice conversion is far from an automated, one-click solution—it requires meticulous human effort, including brainstorming, multiple iterations, feedback integration, and constant refinement to get a perfect sound.
Valerii Zablotskyi-Drohan, the Delivery team member responsible for speech conversion, shared:
"The most challenging thing in this project was capturing and preserving the full spectrum of emotions. Through innovation and determination, we crafted audio that truly embodied the essence of the performance."
To achieve the best results, we processed an extensive range of recordings from Robbie Williams to train our model. Some existing data was heavily compressed, so our team worked tirelessly to enhance the quality.
At times, when we needed extra emotional depth, we requested additional recordings of Williams laughing, crying, and screaming to ensure the final output of artificial intelligence in film production was as authentic as possible.
Igor Isakov and Serhii Dvornik, Respeecher’s synthetic speech artists who helped refine the movie soundtrack, remember their experience:
“We got about a half discography of Robbie's vocal-only tracks recorded with different microphones and with varying amounts of noise, in the studios and at home. With the help of AI-powered tools and thorough manual processing, it was possible to take a certain amount of control over the recording conditions and the performance "style" for the film”
“The hardest part was to get AI to generate Mr. Williams' one-of-a-kind vocal fry, its different tints & colors, and come up with a "knob" to control the amount of raspiness - that's one of the components in Rob's voice that makes fans crazy about his songs,”
adds Anton Prykhodko, the synthetic speech artist responsible for singing voice conversion.
What We Did
Ultimately, we successfully generated high-quality audio that played a crucial role in this unique and critically acclaimed biopic. Better Man has won 10+ awards and got just under 40 nominations, including one for an Academy Award.
The movie was praised by critics for its unique charm. Clint Worthington from RogerEbert.com wrote:
"You won’t see another music biopic quite like “Better Man,” regardless of your level of familiarity with its subject.[...] It’s brash, in your face, and on the nose. But that’s Robbie Williams. Could a biopic of him play out any other way? C’mon. Let him entertain you.”
Michael Gracey was very satisfied with our work:
"We were thrilled with the voice conversions from Respeecher. They kept us in the loop at every stage, refining the audio through multiple iterations and feedback rounds. Their dedication and problem-solving ensured we got results that me and Robbie Williams himself was happy with."
Your Turn
Respeecher and its cinematic AI voice solutions are here to help bring your creative visions to life. We can provide flawless, Hollywood-quality voiceovers in film, animation, or video games. Our technology enables seamless localization while maintaining the original actor's voice. and can generate speaking, whispering, crying, laughing, and even singing performances, as the Better Man case study proves.
For Respeecher, there's no such thing as a "bad recording." Our team excels at AI-powered voice synthesis, extracting the best from any audio with our voice restoration with AI technology, ensuring your project sounds exceptional. At Respeecher, our goal is to elevate human creativity and redefine the possibilities of voice technology. Want to know more about AI-driven storytelling? Contact us today!
Respeecher: Changing Filmmaking with AI Voice Synthesis – A Better Man Case Study
Respeecher's sophisticated cinematic AI solutions made it possible to restore Robbie Williams' voice in the biopic Better Man. Applying voice restoration with AI, the team created AI-powered voice synthesis that well captured the emotional depth and uniqueness of his voice. This case study illustrates how AI in cinema is transforming filmmaking by enhancing the authenticity and emotional depth of performances, setting a new benchmark for artificial intelligence in film production.
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Respeecher's AI Approach to Film
The scale of work on Better Man was about the limits of the technology that the AI voice synthesis is made as real as it possibly can be. Chief Operating Officer Vitalii Knyr states, "The scope of work sounded very ambitious, but we aren't afraid of challenges.". We exist to continue pushing our technology to new heights of greatness while maintaining the personality of each performance." This dedication led to the creation of a groundbreaking solution for AI-driven storytelling, combining the innovative power of AI with the emotional richness of human performances. The process of Respeecher's audio engineers communicating with the Better Man production team involved accurate and diligent fine-tuning to ensure every aspect of the voice synthesis would adhere to the intention of the original performer.
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The Challenge of Voice Restoration with AI
Respeecher's team didn't make light work of restoring Robbie Williams' voice using voice restoration with AI. They went the extra mile in addressing a considerable body of recordings, some of which were significantly compressed. Creative AI tools for movies were critical to enhancing these recordings and keeping the emotional richness of Williams' voice. Valerii Zablotskyi-Drohan, director of the speech conversion process, said, "The most challenging task in the project was maintaining and recording the entire spectrum of emotions." Adding additional audio recordings of Williams laughing, crying, and screaming, the team made the AI-powered voice synthesis as emotionally rich and realistic-sounding as possible.
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AI-Powered Voice Synthesis: Enhancing Film Scores
The most impressive aspect of this project was probably the tuning of the voice restoration with AI to the specific characteristics of Robbie Williams' voice. As Respeecher's voice synthesists, Igor Isakov and Serhii Dvornik, recall, "We got more or less half a discography of Robbie's vocal-only performances recorded using different microphones and different levels of noise." Respeecher took this vast data set and perfected the voice model to ensure even the subtle aspects of Williams' voice—his characteristic vocal fry, say—were preserved, bringing an unprecedented sense of authenticity to the AI-generated speech.
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Your Turn: Let Respeecher Enhance Your Creative Vision to New Heights
The success of the Better Man case study indicates how artificial intelligence in film production is transforming the use of sound and voice creation in films. With the assistance of advanced video and audio technologies, Respeecher has opened up a new era where filmmakers are able to produce voices with precision that was unattainable earlier. Director Michael Gracey was also satisfied with the process: "We were delighted with the voice transformations from Respeecher. Their enthusiasm and fix-it approach meant that we received results that Robbie Williams himself was satisfied with." This success is a testament to the growing impact of digital innovation in filmmaking, showing how AI-driven storytelling can push the boundaries of traditional cinema.
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Your Turn: Let Respeecher Enhance Your Creative Vision to New Heights
Respeecher is at the forefront of AI in cinema, delivering cinematic AI solutions that are purpose-built to help you bring your creative vision to life. From biopic through animated feature and video game, Respeecher can offer AI voice synthesis and voice restoration with AI to create high-fidelity, high-energy sound for your movie or game project. With the Better Man case study as evidence, our team is committed to delivering the highest quality outcomes through teamwork, creativity, and precision. Ready to discover how AI-driven storytelling can take your next project to the next level? Get in touch with us today!
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