Gain Greater Control with VisionStory’s New “Preview Audio” and “Pause” Features
Jan 12, 2025
Producing high-quality video content often comes down to the finer details—like how a word is pronounced or the timing of a dramatic pause. We’re excited to announce two new features—Preview Audio and Pause—that give you more precision and flexibility before you use your credits to generate a full video on VisionStory.
Why Use Preview Audio?
Preview Audio is a game-changer for anyone wanting to ensure their text-to-speech (TTS) narration sounds spot on before spending credits to create a video. Previously, you’d go straight from writing your script to generating the final product. While convenient, this left little room for fine-tuning—and if you spotted a small mistake, you’d already have used your credits. With Preview Audio, you can:
- Check Pronunciation & Tone
Listen to the entire audio track generated from your text and make sure it matches your intended style. - Save Credits
Spotting an error in the audio before rendering a video helps you avoid unnecessary credit usage. - Avoid Streaming Artifacts
When audio is generated live to sync with video (a “streaming pipeline”), some AI voices may have slight volume inconsistencies at the start or end. By using Preview Audio first, you can avoid these issues and achieve a more polished result.
Common Pitfalls & Text Considerations: While TTS technology has advanced, some complexities can still cause issues. Pay extra attention to:
- Specialised or Technical Terms: Medical, legal, or scientific jargon may need extra punctuation or spelling tweaks.
- Abbreviations: Make sure TTS expands or pronounces them correctly.
- Currencies & Numbers: The narrator might read numbers in an unexpected way or skip over currency symbols.
- Heavy Punctuation: Full stops, commas, and colons can affect how TTS handles intonation and pacing.
If you notice any issues, simply edit your text, run Preview Audio again, and confirm it’s perfect before clicking “Generate Talking Video”.
Introducing the Pause Feature
Sometimes you want to slow things down for dramatic effect, emphasise a phrase, or handle tricky words with precision. Our new Pause option—accessible via the “⏱ +0.5” icon—lets you insert a short break anywhere in your script. If you need a longer pause, simply add multiple pause icons in your text. This manual pause can:
- Improve Clarity: Break up long sentences so the listener can clearly understand each part.
- Enhance Emphasis: Build anticipation before a key statement or punchline.
- Override Default TTS Pausing: If the text-to-speech engine doesn’t pause where you want—or adds an unwanted break—manually adding pauses ensures the final narration flows as you intend.
Important Tips
Preview Audio uses a character-based quota, which resets monthly according to your subscription plan. As a general guide, 1 minute of speech is about 1,000 characters:
- Free: 500 characters (~0.5 min of audio)
- Lite: 1,000 characters (~1 min of audio)
- Pro: 10,000 characters (~10 min of audio)
- Advanced: 50,000 characters (~50 min of audio)
- Ultra: 100,000 characters (~100 min of audio)
Tips for the Stopwatch (Pause) Feature:
- Each stopwatch icon represents a 0.5-second pause. You can use them consecutively for longer pauses, up to a maximum of 3 seconds.
- Note: Avoid using more than two consecutive pauses within a single text segment, as this may cause the AI to produce unexpected sounds or artefacts.
Use Cases & Real-World Benefits
- Marketing & Advertising
Marketers love to spark curiosity with short, punchy lines—often followed by a well-timed pause. Now you can refine your brand messaging and preview different deliveries without wasting credits. - E-Learning & Instructional Videos
Complex terms or acronyms are common in educational content. Quickly preview how they’re read, insert the right pauses, and ensure learners can easily follow along. - Storytelling & Narration
Dramatic voiceovers rely on precise pacing. A perfectly placed pause can convey suspense or emotion—something auto-generated TTS pacing might not always achieve. - Professional Presentations
When you need to make a point—such as in financial reviews or business pitches—mispronounced names or numbers can undermine your credibility. Previewing and adding pauses helps ensure a smooth, professional vocal track.
