TheVoice project - PhD Offers

TheVoice project (2017-2021) funded by the French Research National Agency (ANR) proposes two PhD thesis. TheVoice project aims to create voices for audiovisual production in the field of the creative, cultural, and entertainment industry. The scientific objective of the project is to study the voices of professional actors, naturally expressive, in order to create innovative voice design solutions. The consortium, composed of recognized laboratories and industrialists (Ircam, LIA, Dubbing Brothers), aims to consolidate a position of excellence for “Made-in-France” research and digital technologies, and to promote the French culture all over the the world.

Deep learning for voice recommendation

The objective of the thesis is to create a voice recommendation system based on deep neural networks, by exploiting the entire “vocal palette” of professional actors and integrating information related to acoustics, perception (what the listener perceives, without context), and reception (what the spectator perceives “in situation” in a movie depending on his social and cultural expectations).

Contacts: jean-francois.bonastre@univ-avignon.fr, Nicolas.Obin@ircam.fr

Expressive voice identity conversion

The objective of the thesis is to create a voice identity conversion system able to reproduce the voice of professional actors from naturally expressive and real acted conditions, by exploiting the audio tracks of movies, series, etc. The thesis will be based on the long-term experience in voice analysis and transformation and the existing voice conversion system developed at Ircam, currently used for professional productions.

Contact: Nicolas.Obin@ircam.fr

Candidates must have a master degree in computer science (or equivalent) with skills in audio signal processing, machine learning, and informatics (python, C++). A preliminary experience in speech processing would be greatly appreciated.

Applications (CV + motivation letters) must be sent before: 15/09/2017