Spoilers 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' series [Spoiler Discussion]

[Reverend]

It doesn't sound like they used anyone for the basis of the Vader audio based on the article I linked above.

It was pure AI based off archived recordings, JEJ didn't even record anything new.

So far as I'm aware, that's not how the software works. Just as deepfake needs a face and a performance to overlay on top of, respeecher needs a vocal performance to act as the foundation of the generated overlay. Computers can't act, or dynamically inflect or emote to anything close to that degree.
The article just didn't mention who did the actual performance, only that Jones consulted and advised. It could have been Hayden, it could have been Matt Wood, could have been Scott Lawrence, it could have been literally anyone with some acting ability, but I think it did indeed have to be *someone*.

Plus as has been pointed out, the point of the article isn't who did Vader's "voice", it's how the final effect was achieved by a small start-up company right in the midst of an invasion of their country.

 

[Timby]

So far as I'm aware, that's not how the software works. Just as deepfake needs a face and a performance to overlay on top of, respeecher needs a vocal performance to act as the foundation of the generated overlay. Computers can't act, or dynamically inflect or emote to anything close to that degree.
The article just didn't mention who did the actual performance, only that Jones consulted and advised. It could have been Hayden, it could have been Matt Wood, could have been Scott Lawrence, it could have been literally anyone with some acting ability, but I think it did indeed have to be *someone*.

That's not how the Respeecher software works. It works by feeding as much audio as humanly possible into the system and letting the software's machine learning algorithms assimilate and train / pattern the output to match the audio samples (which is why more samples are better). For example, Luke Skywalker's dialogue in Book of Boba Fett was entirely machine-generated by Respeecher.

“Our technology applies a digital voice skin, digital vocal apparatus of that particular performance, and that gives content creators and moviemakers that full content over how it should sound and even inflections.”

...

“If a director wants a voice sounding specific, we can tweak our models to meet those expectations.”

 

[Reverend]

That's not how the Respeecher software works. It works by feeding as much audio as humanly possible into the system and letting the software's machine learning algorithms assimilate and train / pattern the output to match the audio samples (which is why more samples are better). For example, Luke Skywalker's dialogue in Book of Boba Fett was entirely machine-generated by Respeecher.

Yes, that's how it learns to generate the overlay, just like deepfake. And just like deepfake; it's still just an overlay. It can't conjure a fully emotive performance out of thin air. Running something like a text-to-speech plug-in wouldn't be suitable either since it's about more than just the words. It's cadence, inflection, tone, and emotive performance, and a million other details that a machine just doesn't know how to spontaneously generate in a natural sounding way. It needs reference to build on.

Exactly what did you think the "digital voice skin" part means? A skin is an overlay, by sheer definition it needs something under it to work. As for tweaking; of course it needs tweaking. Just about any AI output is going to have weird quirks that don't read as natural (just look at the current explosion of AI image generators.) It'd take a lot of massaging to get it to where it can pass for real (again, just like deepfake!)

 

[Dee1891]

I like Duel of the Fates and all but it is way too overplayed. Glad they opted to not in the series.

Why would they play the Duel of Fates in this series? And the tune was only used extensively in "The Phantom Menace" and the trailer for "Obi-Wan Kenobi".

 

[Tuskin38]

And the tune was only used extensively in "The Phantom Menace"

It was used in all 3 prequels and briefly in Solo during the Maul appearence.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Duel_of_the_Fates#Use

It was also used in Rebels, but that's not a movie.

 

[Dee1891]

What about "Obi-Wan Kenobi"?

 

[fireproof78]

What about "Obi-Wan Kenobi"?

I don't recall hearing it in the series. Even in the flashback scenes or the duels.

 

[The Wormhole]

Duel of the Fates was used in Obi-Wan's trailers, but not in the show itself.

 

[Ithekro]

What about "Obi-Wan Kenobi"?

"Obi-wan Kenobi. Obi-wan....A name not heard in a long time. A long time."

 

[Tuskin38]

Duel of the Fates was used in Obi-Wan's trailers, but not in the show itself.

It was also used on set, but yeah not in the final show.

 

[Gaith]

#JusticeforReva'svictims

 

[fireproof78]

Vader gets redemption but Reva does not?

 

[Set Harth]

You had one job, Obi-Wan. One job.

And instead you were gallivanting around fighting Vader. The only reason Luke even survived was his plot/continuity armor.

 

[fireproof78]

You had one job, Obi-Wan. One job.

And instead you were gallivanting around fighting Vader. The only reason Luke even survived was his plot/continuity armor.

He is the Chosen One.

 

[Gaith]

Vader gets redemption but Reva does not?

RotJ definitely goes too far with Vader's redemption by letting Anakin become a Force Ghost. And, in real-world terms, of course neither would be judged as redeemed.

But, this is a story we're talking about, and in story terms, Vader at least earns his redemption by being mortally wounded in the process, whereas Reva walks away, free to explore her own path, as Obi-Wan blithely puts it. So no, she doesn't get redeemed the way Vader did.

 

[fireproof78]

RotJ definitely goes too far with Vader's redemption by letting Anakin become a Force Ghost. And, in real-world terms, of course neither would be judged as redeemed.

But, this is a story we're talking about, and in story terms, Vader at least earns his redemption by being mortally wounded in the process, whereas Reva walks away, free to explore her own path, as Obi-Wan blithely puts it. So no, she doesn't get redeemed the way Vader did.

But one is more worthy of redemption then?

 

[Gaith]

^ Redemption isn't about worth, it's about action. Vader risked (and sacrificed) his life to kill the Emperor. Reva did absolutely nothing redemptive - nothing, zilch, nada. Deciding not to commit another murder is better than committing another murder, but it's not a redemptive act.

Maybe Reva will go off and redeem herself through a lifetime of self-sacrificing, noble acts, but she sure as hell isn't there yet - she hasn't even begun.

 

[Set Harth]

RotJ definitely goes too far with Vader's redemption by letting Anakin become a Force Ghost.

Ghosting is a Force power, not a certificate of absolution of sin.

 

[fireproof78]

Maybe Reva will go off and redeem herself through a lifetime of self-sacrificing, noble acts, but she sure as hell isn't there yet - she hasn't even begun.

Which is my preference. Vader's is too simplistic and easy.

 

[matthunter]

^ Redemption isn't about worth, it's about action. Vader risked (and sacrificed) his life to kill the Emperor. Reva did absolutely nothing redemptive - nothing, zilch, nada. Deciding not to commit another murder is better than committing another murder, but it's not a redemptive act.

Maybe Reva will go off and redeem herself through a lifetime of self-sacrificing, noble acts, but she sure as hell isn't there yet - she hasn't even begun.

Vader killed the Emperor after he demonstrated point-blank that he was trying to replace him with Luke. You can claim it was love for his son, but it could easily be a vindictive act.

The problem with redemption is it usually requires someone who can "see the heart" of the person earning it. We can't. God could, but God doesn't exist. A telepath/empath could, though. And Jedi have both abilities. So if Obi-Wan thinks Reva is genuine in her U-turn, she's either deceiving him or she IS redeemed.