Pre-requisite reading
Introduction
Ideally base videos should be 1 to 2 minute long so that the AI can generalize and produce lip + facial expressions that were not in the original video you recorded. If your content is not that long, such as in the case of a 30 second personalized Christmas greeting, you can do the following.
Repeat with different variations
Repeat more than one instance of the key variables you were thinking of replacing. Add different variations as you wish. The more varied the better. For example
"Hi {{John}}, we connected back in {{February}} and I hope you are doing well at {{Facebook}} (if you are still there!). I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let me know if I can help you in any way."
[3 second pause with closed lips]
"Hi {{Marcus}}, we connected back in {{March}} and I hope you are doing well at {{Microsoft}} (if you are still there!). I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let me know if I can help you in any way."
[3 second pause with closed lips]
"Hi {{Emilio}}, we connected {{last year in December}} and I hope you are doing well at {{Google}} (if you are still there!). I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let me know if I can help you in any way."
Recite phonetic passages
You can add the Rainbow Passage and/or the North Wind and the Sun (pasted at the end of this article). Note that you should recite these passages after the main message you are recording. You can perform any combination of these passages to your liking. For example
"Hi {{John}}, we connected back in {{February}} and I hope you are doing well at {{Facebook}} (if you are still there!). I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let me know if I can help you in any way."
[3 second pause with closed lips]
[Rainbow Passage]
[3 second pause with closed lips]
"Hi {{Marcus}}, we connected back in {{March}} and I hope you are doing well at {{Microsoft}} (if you are still there!). I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Let me know if I can help you in any way."
[3 second pause with closed lips]
[North Wind and Sun Passage]
If you are reciting phonetic passages, try your best to recite them in the same tone as your original message requires. In our experience, speakers tend to become monotonous when reciting these passages. Practice in a mirror or just with the microphone.
What produces the best results?
A mix of phonetic passages together with repeats of the original message (with variations) produces the best results.
Maximum duration
Take note that the total duration of your base video should not exceed 5 minutes.
Phonetic passages
Rainbow Passage
When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act as a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colors. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
North Wind and the Sun
The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveller take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other. Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveller fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt. Then the Sun shone out warmly, and immediately the traveller took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.