i wanna get started with getting into this kind of gear and collecting physical media ever since my mom bought me a record player and that ive always loved to have cds, especially ones that ive made
any tips and suggestions would be appreciated!
horah
she be slandering my favourites like that
do we like him 🥹🙏
Hi, everyone!
I really appreciate the response on my last post, you are all so helpful and kind!
Despite not expecting a response from the voice provider behind the “Microsoft Mike” text-to-speech voice, lo and behold, I got one!
I now only have a missing link, that being the possible voice provider for Microsoft Sam (if it even has one.)
I now have to re-edit my video haha, but anywho, here’s his response below for you readers!
———
“Thanks for your email. And yes, I was the male voice for that project with Microsoft. I didn’t know it was nicknamed Microsoft Mike.
I recorded it all over at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, WA. They had studios in one of their buildings on what was called the C campus. A few years later they created the Microsoft Studios with full sound stages and audio production facilities, where I have recorded countless times since. And been in a few on-camera projects.
As I remember, most of the recordings were in early and mid 1996. They auditioned dozens and dozens of people, both male and female. They cast both of us based on whose voices the software could best understand. Not about acting ability at all.
I would go over and record 4-5 hours a day for 3 or 4 days at a time. Then would go back a month or two later and do more or the same material. I probably did at least 4 or 5 different "sessions" like these. I may have done some later that year? It was mostly reading very, flat, unintersting text. Nothing really technical, just descriptive corporate stuff. There were some short stories, including some Mark Twain I had never read. One called THE CARDIFF GIANT. The text was chosen or created to capture as many possible combinations of human speech sounds (phonemes) as they could.
The final part of the project was in 1997 or 98, Microsoft took the other VO person (female) and I to a trade show in San Jose. We were at a booth on the convention floor. They were demonstrating the TTS (Text-to-Speech) technology. Basically, have people have us read something aloud. And then type it in and have our voice model "read" it after us. It was mildly successful. Some people were amazed at how much they thought it sounded like us and others thought the models didn't sound like us at all. At the time, Microsoft said they were trying to get the technology efficient enough so that people could read a few paragraphs at home and then generate a "voice model" of themselves.
I knew what they were using my voice for so didn't think much of it. I had and have done thousands of commercials and projects for a wide variety of clients. Occasionally, I have turned down auditions for companies or things I didn't want to be associated with or suppport. If I had known that my voice might have been the origins of some kind of AI voice, I might have felt differently. I'm sure back then I never thought I'd hear believable AI voices in my lifetime. Well, here we are. There is still a bit of "uncanny valley" in the AI voices I hear. But maybe the really good ones are just that good and you can't tell. I do have former clients who now use AI voices for ESL training videos.
Thanks for your questions, I hope I satisfied some of your curiosity about this project.”
Hi, all!
My name is Elle. I'm a tech history enthusiast in high school.
For twenty-six years, the voice talents behind Microsoft's classic text-to-speech engine remained uncredited. While digging through forums and such I had come across previously found information on the voice providers of both the Microsoft Mike and Microsoft Mary voices.
After tracking down a contact address and taking a shot in the dark by emailing Mary's voice provider, not knowing if she would even be interested in talking about a voice job she did back in the late 90s, to my surprise, she got back to me with such unadulterated enthusiasm. It absolutely shocked me. And to say the least, she is just the sweetest.
We are planning to have a conversation on a phone call this coming Monday about her experience recording for Microsoft so many years ago, and I was wondering if anyone was interested in me creating a video essay on this topic?
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! This is truly a big interest of mine, and I'd love to hear any thoughts, suggestions, or questions you may think I should ask her!