Generating speech from custom dialogue

Sometimes the line you want to hear isn’t in the script yet: a character who hasn’t spoken, a line you are still working out, or a test of how a voice handles a difficult word. Your own line lets you try it.

Perform your own line

1. In Voice Studio, under Try a line, choose Your own line.
2. Type the line. It is set in Courier, like dialogue, and marked Test line · not added to your script.
3. Choose the voices to hear it in, then perform it.

The line is performed in each voice you are comparing, or in the character’s chosen voice. Each performance is a take you can play, keep or discard.

It never changes your screenplay

A test line lives only in Voice Studio. It is not added to Script, it doesn’t create a scene, and it doesn’t change the character’s dialogue. To put the line in the screenplay, write it in Script.

Lines from the Script

To hear the character’s real dialogue, choose From the Script instead. Each line shows its scene and place. You can’t edit those lines in Voice Studio; Open in Script takes you to the line so you can change it there.

Lines suggested by Co-writer

When Co-writer suggests dialogue for a character who has a voice, it can offer a test performance in that voice. A suggested line is shown dashed and marked Not in your script, and nothing changes until you accept it. See Accepting or rejecting changes.

Writing lines that perform well

• Write the line as it would be spoken. Punctuation shapes the delivery: a full stop lands, a comma carries on, an ellipsis trails.
• Spell unusual names the way they sound if a voice stumbles over them.
• Keep stage directions out of the line. Put them in a parenthetical in Script.