Tiktok - Always one step ahead
Tiktok is loved in many countries among the Gen Z population due to its ease of use and fancy features. TikTok has consistently been a step ahead in the innovation game, since its inception, with it being among the first platforms to introduce short-length video formats.
Tiktok empowered creators by simplifying video creation without the hassles of editing and publishing. An idea that revolutionized content creation and helped Gen Zs fulfill their dreams of making careers in movies, skits, parodies, etc.
TTS in TikTok
In late 2020, TikTok added new functionality to their app - a text-to-speech generator. You have probably seen reels where a distinctive Siri-like voice narrates a text over the video. Adding ironic AI voiceovers with TTS to funny clips has transpired into a trend.
Last year, TikTok came under public scrutiny for the unethical use of a voice artist’s voice IPin its TTS service. Soon after, it made a comeback with a brand-new TTS voice and varied features. Creators took an instant liking to the voice, and a barrage of unforeseen TTS memes and trends followed.
Advantages of TTS in videos
The union of cutting-edge AI-voice technology with video opened doors for small creators to make their content accessible. And the flood of creative content as TTS was made accessible to the general public was unforeseen.
- Accessibility
TTS helps make content inclusive and accessible for all kinds of audiences. People with visual impairments or learning disabilities benefit from the added layer of comprehension through voiceovers. In fact, the text feature in TikTok can be used to create closed captioning as well.
- Knowledge localizations and tutorials
TTS voiceovers are utilized as an assistive medium for educational content. Learning from non-native language sources becomes easier with text-to-speech translations. There are plenty of tutorials and guide videos that use TTS to reach a wider and global audience. TTS educational accounts are popping up in large numbers to cater to the open market.
- Parody and entertainment content
The combination of TTS narration and comedy clips is in vogue, a phenomenon that results in unanticipated laughs. Be it inanimate objects talking or a caustic comment in a plain AI voice, the surprise element, and its absurdity are bound to gather chuckles.
TTS in entertainment makes up for some extremely binge-worthy content. Let us see how you can add TTS over TikTok videos and become a part of this growing craze. Or craft a new trend entirely.
How to add TTS narration to TikTok videos in iOS
1. Launch the app and record your video
You need to have a recorded video before adding TTS to it. So start by launching the TikTok app and then hit the red recording button at the bottom. You might zoom in and out of the frame by moving your thumb up and down over the screen. Finish the recording by lifting your thumb off the screen.
2. Add your desired text
Click on the text (‘Aa’) button at the bottom of the app and type in the text you want to convert into speech. While at it, you can also style the text with different fonts and style choices. You might give it a bold font or make the background black and the text white.
3. Adjust the duration and placement of your text
By default, the text you type will appear for the complete duration of the video. But you can change this by long-pressing the text. A new option selector will appear- Text to Speech, Set-duration, and Edit. Tap set-duration to open the edit window where the length for the TTS text can be manipulated.
4. Turn on the text-to-speech feature
Now that our text is visually appealing and edited to the right duration, we can move to the final step. Once again, long-press the text to open up the selection menu. Select the text-to-speech menu from the list - aptly labeled “text-to-speech.”
An important thing to note is that the text-to-speech will play for the exact duration of the text over your video. If you would like your TTS narration to start from the get-go, you will have to change the duration of TTS from the set duration menu discussed in the preceding step.
5. Find your desired voice style
TikTok offers six different voice AIs with unique styles and cadences of speech. You will see an array of different voice styles in the text-to-speech module. Try these AI voices to understand which one best fits the video. Both male and female voices are provided in the selection.
Select the voice you want and hit the apply button that says - apply ‘voice bot’ to the following text-to-speech. You have now successfully added TTS to your TikTok video. Yay!!!
How to add TTS without the text
What if you don't want the text to show alongside your TTS narration? Well, there is a nifty little trick to the rescue. Decrease/zoom out the text and make it the smallest size. After that, just drag the text out of the frame to the left or right. This way, the text will become invisible, and the TTS narration will play without any hiccups.
An alternative!
There is another way to add TTS to your videos. Instead of accessing the TTS menu by clicking the text, you can add TTS directly while typing in the text as well. Tap on the ‘speaking head’ icon to activate text-to-speech while composing the text.
Word of advice - Both these features and TTS will only work when your TikTok app is up to date. So make sure you have that covered by checking the app store on your phone.
About Ananay Batra
Founder and CEO @ Listnr Inc