Avatars, talking web characters, and virtual representatives are gaining popularity for a fundamental reason … they “work”!
With broadband becoming the standard Internet access in all four corners of the world, the benefits and possibilities of using rich media and interactivity in marketing are beginning to become a reality, if not the norm. One of the most active areas is in the so-called Animated Avatars known by many names such as: Talking Web Characters, Virtual Representatives, Virtual Characters and Web Comparisons. Their popularity grows day by day, it is not by accident, a critical reason is … “they work”, but when it comes to using them to give training, presentations or integrate into CBT and education the Virtual Teacher is eminently up to the challenge .
The provision of assisted education through the ubiquitous Virtual Tutor comes of age.
Virtual teachers, educational presenters and tutors can have a new face, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with the same happy, virtual, animated disposition, automated lip sync, and engaging content combined with contextual delivery. We know that retention improves, we know that “reclined” education can be absorbed effortlessly, and we know that there is nothing more powerful when it comes to presenting complex ideas or facts than the spoken word. Virtual teachers can be available in different shapes, ages, genders, and even fantasy. The flexibility is infinite. Education creators can focus on the topic and choose the ideal Virtual Tutor to help with the process. Literature assignment can be delivered in context, and even brain-stimulating science and math education can become more accurate when a virtual tutor with the power of “voice” is assisted. Non-web-based or locally operated education makes virtual education delivery highly effective and manageable. CBT has a new face, interactive courses can have virtual assistants and guides. Many formal education and training settings incorporate media into their presentations and educational content, and it is not by accident, why? because it works! The ability to focus on the content and its compelling and memorable presentation is why Virtual Teachers and Tutors are commonplace in the establishment high in the corporate stratosphere and elementary schools alike, they both have something in common, the recognition that lively and engaging virtual teachers deliver results in a planned and accurate manner, where achievement can be accelerated at all levels of learning. This is no accident, its technology at its finest, with a face and a purpose. Grab a PowerPoint presentation, charts, facts, figures and pictures, nice enough, add a full animated virtual teacher to the mix and now you have a new class of educational delivery.
In an educational setting, it is a proven fact that retention and concentration of information improves when faced with engaging content. So what should you look for in your talking animated character?
1: Avatar’s Gaze
Is your animated speaking character “attractive”, or does he appear to have fallen from the ugly tree, is well crafted and generally attractive, or amateurish and poorly animated? Suits your imaging and delivery requirements … is quality something you are comfortable associating with?
2: automated lip syncing
Is the avatar’s lip sync accurate? There is nothing worse than seeing a virtual representative that resembles a badly dubbed movie, it is essential, our brain reacts in microseconds to something that does not look good! It seems strange, but most of the talking animated character offerings have less than convincing lip sync, to say the least. Simple tests include; Do virtual tutors’ lips stop moving when they are silent? Does it shape the phonemes correctly or is it just a random selection of gibberish?
3: Virtual teachers Environmental animation, less is more.
Animations during narration should be kept to a minimum and be subtle, almost invisible. When watching a news broadcast, you would feel uncomfortable if the comparator’s eyes rolled from side to side and showed strange and seemingly uncontrollable head movements. It is the content delivered by the speaking avatar that is important, and all animations should be kept to a minimum to avoid distractions. Definitely less is more.
4: Virtual Tutor – The Voice
Text-to-speech may seem convenient, but it tends to sound really bad. Remember! this is a virtual representative, your own animated website or media comparison is an extension of your image, unless you sound like a robot stay away from synthesized voices. Use your own voice, or that of a friend, or pay for a professional speaker, they are not as expensive as you think! In the future, TTS will probably get better, but at present it should only be used if you have no other choice.
5: Adaptation of your virtual character
Some offers give you a ton of customization options, even allowing the visitor to play with the character during their narration. In general, you should try to restrict tailoring to clothing and funds for the best effect. You want your visitors and users to establish a relationship with your virtual teacher, so continually changing your appearance does not offer continuity to the visitor or student. Having a virtual tutor that the visitor can meddle with only detracts from your message.
6: Integration and hosting of your virtual teacher
Please note that many education delivery requirements can be done remotely over the Internet. Give this area a lot of thought as it is fraught with potential additional fees and risks. If you have a pay-per-view contract, a contract that charges you a monthly fee for so many streams, the risk is your increased visits, and you end up with one of two potential problems; you have to pay more because you had more visits as your site grows in popularity, or you can’t pay more, so your talking avatar disappears and leaves a provider logo block in its place. The same goes for provider hosting, you have no control over your hosting facilities, if you trust your web comparison and your service provider’s servers go down, you have lost your “voice”. If your own Internet service stops working, at least the entire site is no longer visible. Always try to use a solution that gives you full control, build your composition on your time, produces industry standard output (Flash, Flash Video, or Conventional Video), and has complete flexibility when it comes to integration.
7: Flexibility gives you a choice.
Is flexibility important? Would it be nice to have access to the native output of your efforts in an industry standard format like Flash, Flash Video, AVI, etc. so that you can integrate your work in other environments like Powerpoint, Camtasia, YouTube, etc.? Is there any other service that can help you from the provider, such as voice-over, integration, and tailored services? Can your composition work offline? Can you create them offline? Flexibility adds to the return on your investment.
Resume
Getting any job done wrong is not a good idea, many people take hold of a new technology and pitch it to their audience without much thought. Implementing a bad Animated Virtual Representative is detrimental and could reflect on your business and / or educational requirements, take your time creating and don’t settle for second best.
