How do I use Speech Control?

Speech Control is the tool in Final Draft that will read your script aloud, allowing you to listen for typos and how your script sounds to a read. To access Speech Control, go to Tools > Speech Control in the menu bar.

This shows the Speech Control toolbar, which contains a set of buttons to direct the playback of the script being read. Play/Pause will play or pause, the Rewind/Fast Forward arrows will skip to the next line, and Stop will stop the reading entirely. 

Assign Voices

You can specify different voices for each character for playback with Tools > Assign Voices.

Characters Tab

Displays the SmartType Character list along with the names of all available “actors.”

To assign an actor to a character:

1. Click a character;
2. Click the actor to be assigned to this character;
3. Click the Preview button to hear the actor “audition”;
4. If the pair is acceptable, click OK or click a different actor.

Narrator Tab

Set an actor as the "narrator” of the script. The narrator is the voice that reads the text for elements other than dialogue.

To assign an actor to the narrator and to set which elements the narrator reads:

1. Click the Narrator tab:

2. Select an actor to be the narrator from the Narrator's Voice list;
3. Check the elements that the narrator will read from the Narrator Reads list;
4. Click the Preview button to hear the narrator “audition”;
5. To accept the pair, click OK or click a different narrator.

Actors Tab

Modify the voices an actor uses in the Actors tab. To set an actor’s voice:

1. Click the Actors tab:

2. Select the actor whose voice is to be modified;
3. Select a voice from the Voice dropdown;
4. Make any changes desired to the pitch and speed;
5. Click the Preview button to hear the voice “audition;”
6. When finished, click OK.