How Respeecher's AI Voice Synthesis Technology Perfected Singing in “Emilia Pérez”

"Crazy," "daring," and "amazing" are the most common epithets critics use to describe Emilia Pérez. The film features unforgettable musical numbers, and they must sound as captivating as possible. This Oscar-winning musical crime film collaborated with Respeecher and its innovative voice synthesis technology. 

About The Movie

Jacques Audiard's gripping musical crime film Emilia Pérez tells the compelling story of a Mexican cartel leader who enlists a lawyer who helps her transition into the woman she's always been. 

Adapted from an opera libretto, Emilia Pérez features over ten original musical numbers that add depth to its characters and elevate the storytelling experience. The film's powerful songs were composed by renowned multi-instrumentalist and composer Clément Ducol, collaborating with acclaimed singer Camille.

The world premiere of Emilia Pérez took place at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024. The film won over critics and the festival jury and received three awards - the Jury Prize, the Cannes Soundtrack Award, and the Best Actress award for the ensemble cast.

What Needed to Be Done

Our task was to enhance the film's musical numbers while preserving the integrity of the original performances. As Respeecher voice technology is designed to augment talent, not replace it, we do our best to ensure that the essence and authenticity of the actors' voices remain intact. As the role of AI in the film industry is growing, we want to keep it a useful and empowering tool that’s indispensable in film post-production technology.

For Emilia Pérez, we worked on refining the singing voice of Emilia Pérez, the titular character portrayed by Karla Sofía Gascón. This required meticulous focusing on pitch accuracy and pronunciation to maintain the performance's musicality and linguistic nuances - things that are often done as a part of voice enhancement for movies. Our AI voice synthesis approach ensured that the result felt natural and immersive. Our intervention acts as a sound post-production tool, among the others used in the film.

Natalia Statyvka, Head of Delivery at Respeecher, said:

"This isn't the first time Respeecher has been tasked with synthesizing or polishing a singing voice—previously, we helped generate a posthumous track for Riky Rick and create a tribute song to Avicii by Aloe Blacc. We know how important it is to hit all the right notes, especially in such a unique genre mix that combines elements of noir, melodrama, comedy, and musical."

The Process

Respeecher's experienced sound professionals collaborated closely with the movie production team to ensure the best possible outcome. Since our involvement began early in the production stage, we had to adapt our work as some songs evolved, making necessary refinements to align with the director's and composer’s vision.

Achieving perfection took time, as we trained multiple models using our advanced voice synthesis software to capture the precise vocal qualities required. Our process is never just about “pressing a button”—it involves brainstorming, leveraging expertise in sound editing for film, gathering feedback, and continuously improving the final output.

Igor Kaniuk, one of our sound engineers, described the process:

"The Spanish language that all the protagonists speak in the movie adds a unique temperament and drama to all the musical and dance numbers.

Getting the most out of every recording we work with is something we've been proudly doing for over six years now. Our goal is to make sure that the voice we help polish is indiscernible from the original because, for the true magic of cinema to happen, the viewer should be immersed in the picture, not distracted from the story about a person who challenges several stereotypes at once."

The Result

Respeecher voice technology helped refine and perfect specific notes and sounds in the AI voice for the singing of one of the characters, contributing to Emilia Pérez's exceptional singing voice enhancement and making the movie’s musical numbers the masterpieces they are.

The film has received over 240 award nominations, including two Academy Award wins from over ten Oscar nominations. It also earned a BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language, and over 100 other prestigious awards.

Cyril Holtz, sound mixer of Emilia Pérez, praised the collaboration with the Respeecher:

"I am delighted with the result—the songs sound exactly as I envisioned them, adding new shades and hues to the story. Respeecher's sound team has proven to be both diligent and professional when it comes to dealing with very subtle aspects like pitch and accent peculiarities. “Emilia Pérez” turned out great, and I am grateful to the Respeecher's engineers."

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Respeecher voice technology can help you create a flawless, Hollywood-quality voiceover for your film, animation, video game, and more.

We offer voice cloning for films and TV series, producing realistic AI voices for singing performances. Our voice synthesis, voice enhancement, and voice cloning services ensure authentic performances, preserving emotional depth.

With our state-of-the-art AI voice technology, we can fine-tune singing voices while maintaining their natural tone, ensuring immersion and authenticity.

Do you need movie voice editing or cinematic voice cloning? Our team of experienced sound engineers and deep learning specialists can help take your project to the next level.

At Respeecher, we aim to elevate human creativity through cutting-edge voice synthesis technology. Let us bring your vision to life with the highest-quality audio post-production solutions available today - contact us to learn more.