Byte-Sized Businesses: My A.I. Assisted Biz Blitz - 25
Edition 25 - Some More AI Video Techniques
Recap: At first, I challenged myself to launch two micro-businesses per month with the help of AI. Now I am shifting towards building on top of those micro-businesses. You can get caught up on the details of the challenge in my original post here.
For new readers, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to see a full list and summary of the micro-businesses that have been launched. Not each one will be covered in every weekly edition, but I will be sure to keep you up to date on all of the key points as things progress.
In This Edition
I have been experimenting with some more AI video tools to create content for Nordic Jo’s Coffee. These are mainly improvements on the last techniques that I showed.
So today, I will cover the following:
I’ll share my work in progress video.
Speech to speech voice generation.
Face Swap through Replicate.
Lip Sync through Replicate.
A Work in Progress Video
This isn’t perfect, and I will actually need to go back to the beginning to make some corrections before a final version is ready, but this will serve good enough to demonstrate the tools that I wanted to share today. The base of this video started with the same process that I shared with the previous. The image was generated with Midjourney, and then I used RunwayML to turn that image into a four second animation. I then just used CapCut, a video editor generally used for TikTok videos to copy and reverse that animation to create a longer fluid video that can be used for a talking video. This is the area that I need to go back and make adjustments. I should add some pauses and vary the speed in spots to make the head movement match the audio closer. But for now, this is close enough for a demo.
Here is the video as it is today.
Speech to Speech Generation
For this video, I tried something entirely new for the voice. I used Eleven Labs again for the voice, but this time, I used their new speech to speech tool. With this, you are able to record your own voice and then select a character voice from their library to change it to. I thought that this worked very well. Eleven Labs text to speech tool is probably one of the best if not the best for generating natural sounding speech, but the speech to speech tool takes it up a notch. This lets you use a different voice, but have total control over the speech pattern and better capture emotions.
Face Swap Through Replicate
Replicate, in general, is an awesome platform for a number of different AI tools. I used a couple tools from Replicate for this video. The first was a face swapping tool. RunwayML has been getting better and better, but there still can be some facial distortion. What this step let me do was take my initial video generation and swap back the face from the original Midjourney image. This helps create more consistency in the face itself.
Here is the link to the Face Swap tool that I used in Replicate.
Lip Sync Trough Replicate
In previous editions, I have discussed using a tool called Wav2Lip to sync the lip movements in a video to the voice. For this one, I used a similar tool, but this one was also through Replicate. This version is simply much easier to use that the Google Collab space that I had previously used for Wav2Lip.
Here is the link to the lip sync tool.
Overall, I definitely need to work on getting the head movements to match better, but that is more of just a manual process. The tools used here I think created a much better end result. The face is much more clear than the last video I created, and I actually think that the lip movements are better as well.
I will of course continue to share as I find new tools and workflows.
The List So Far
Dough Control - Dough Control was a blog on cash management for small businesses that I originally started a couple years ago, but hadn’t maintained. I decided to revitalize that blog with the help of AI tools like ChatGPT. This will be a longer duration project, with the goal of developing a following before monetizing.
Canvas and Quirk (originally PleasurePrinted) - This was the first Etsy shop that I launched. It features captivating nature scenes on canvas or metal prints for home or office decor. The images are generated by Midjourney and enlarged with VanceAI. The product descriptions are drafted through ChatGPT. This shop has now been transitioned into a general store through which I will be launching all of my Etsy oriented micro-businesses / product categories.
LittleDreamersDen - A second Etsy shop that also focuses on wall art, but on the other side of the pricing spectrum. The same tools are used to create the works, but the finished products are posters rather than the more expensive canvas or metal prints. The focus of this shop is nursery room decor.
The Consulting Gig - I received a request for some costing and supply chain help. To start, I’ll provide as much value as I can up front. The hope is that the potential client will find it worth hiring me for consulting/coaching on an on-going basis. I plan on using AI to boost my speed in compiling research such as lists of potential supply chain partners.
CozyGifted (originally FlickersOfFantasy) - The third Etsy shop. This shop was originally planned to be as a candle shop, but I have pivoted to also use it for other physical items that work well as gifts.
Wirestock - Selling stock images generated with Midjourney. Wirestock is easy to use right in Discord and allows you to list your images for sale across multiple platforms at once.
Tumbler Wrap Designs (Digital Files) - Digital files of designs to be printed for tumbler wraps. These are sold through Etsy to hobbyists and vendors that sell tumblers in which the print designs on.
Personalized Enamel Coated Camping Mugs - The products are items that I am fulfilling through print on demand services with personalization enabled through HelloCustom, an AI software that streamlines the personalization process between Etsy and Printify.
Personalized Blankets - Similar to the mugs mentioned above, these are fulfilled through the print on demand services of Printify with the personalization being enabled through HelloCustom.
Nordic Jo’s Coffee - Not a new launch, but actually my first business. I will be sharing how I am using AI to produce some of my content for Nordic Jo’s.