Tel Aviv-based startup Deepdub offers technology to automate part of the duplication process using artificial intelligence technology. It reduces the time required for dubbing, allowing content owners and studios to receive a finished voiceover product in weeks rather than months. Amid growing demand for dubbing, the startup has already raised $20 million in investment.

Deepdub has been backed by investors Booster Ventures and Stardom Ventures, as well as several angel investors, including Emiliano Kalemzuk, former president of Fox Television Studios; Kevin Reilly, former commercial director of HBO Max; Danny Grander, co-founder of Snyk; Roy Tiger, Vice President of Engineering at Meta.

Deepdub's goal is to break the language barrier in entertainment by using cutting-edge AI technology with a comprehensive platform for content creators. The startup supports all aspects of the duplication project, including translation, adaptation and mixing.

Deepdub uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.

While a traditional dubbing process can take 15 to 20 weeks for a two-hour film, a startup can complete the same project in as little as four weeks. To do this, Deepdub first takes two to three minutes of the actors' raw voice data and uses it to create a model that translates the characteristics of the voices into the target language. The startup does not disclose the details of how its technology works.

Deepdub recently partnered with streaming service Topic.com to dub their catalog of foreign TV shows into English. Deepdub also became the first startup to dub a feature film into Spanish using AI-synthesized voices.

Deepdub is now working on projects with both small and large Hollywood studios.

However, there is a lot of debate about whether viewers should watch films and shows in their original language with subtitles, or settle for the dubbed version. For example, in the case of Netflix's The Squid Game, there was controversy over the fact that the dubbed version failed to accurately convey the content of the Korean dialogue. Even the creator of "Squid Game" encouraged viewers to watch the subtitled version.

One problem is that the dubbed versions try to match the actors' speech and lip movement so as not to detract from the viewing experience. The content sometimes suffers because of this, as words and phrases have to be cut to match the voice of the actor's mouth.

Meanwhile, film industry companies are already resorting to deepfakes. For example, Industrial Light & Magic, a subsidiary of Lucafilm, has hired a team of creators from the YouTube channel Shamook, who use defakes to update digital versions of actors in popular films. Shamook fixed the rejuvenated face of Mark Hamill's Luke in The Mandalorian to make it look more natural. The studio also deepfaked the characters of Princess Leia and Wilhuff Tarkin in Rogue One and superimposed the face of Sebastian Stan on a young Luke Skywalker.

And in the film Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, about American chef Anthony Bourdain, a neural network utters several phrases in the voice of the deceased. This technique caused a mixed reaction from users.

bbabo.Net