VOCALOID6 Voicebank AI WhiteCUL Production Project Has Begun
Not wasting any time after their previous crowdfunding project for Synthesizer V AI ROSA, HirotoP and the hard workers at ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd. are already holding another crowdfund for development of another new commercial vocal synth voicebank: WhiteCUL‘s VOCALOID6 bank!
If you’re already a WhiteCUL fan thanks to her popular VOICEVOX bank, or are just hearing about her for the first time and are curious about her new project to become part of the VOCALOID6 gang, then read on to learn more!
※All translations on this page are unofficial
About the Crowdfunding
- URL: https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/755647
- Host: CAMPFIRE
Signup is required in order to participate. See bottom of article for signup instructions. - Title: VOCALOID6 Voicebank AI WhiteCUL 制作プロジェクト / VOCALOID6 Voicebank AI WhiteCUL Production Project
- Funding period: May 24, 2024 at 19:00 JST ~ June 30, 2024 at 23:59 JST
- Goal: ￥7,000,000 JPY
- Organizer: ZAN-SHIN Co., Ltd.
Project Overview
(Translated from the crowdfunding page)
We have launched the VOCALOID6 Voicebank AI WhiteCUL Production Project. This project seeks to provide new inspiration to music creators all over the world, develop software that spurs their creative desire, and allow even more people to experience WhiteCUL’s potential!
Greetings
Thank you for your interest in our project. This is ZAN-SHIN, the creators of WhiteCUL.
Answering the calls of encouragement and requests from many of our fans, we have decided to carry out the VOCALOID6™ Voicebank AI WhiteCUL Production Project.
We have prepared a large variety of donation rewards so that you can choose from to show your support, so please check them out.
Project Goals
We wish to develop VOCALOID6 Voicebank AI WhiteCUL, and create merchandise to introduce her to the world. With her richly expressive singing voice and unique character settings, WhiteCUL will provide new inspiration to music creators all over the world, and we will develop her software to spur their creative desire.
Project Origins
It has been 1 year and 8 months since WhiteCUL’s vocal synth debut in September, 2022.
We are extemely thankful to see so many people use and upload a multitude of wonderful videos with her, helping her grab much attention in the vocal synth world.
While we are not at the same level of activity as other vocal synth companies that came before us, we would like to reach greater heights with the VOCALOID6 Voicebank AI WhiteCUL Production Project, and look forward to your enthusiastic support.
What is WhiteCUL Like?
- She is the second eldest of the four CUL sisters, who’re named after wind, snow, moon and flowers
- The elder sister to CUL and ROSA
- Name is read as ホワイトカル / “white CUL”
- Often called “Yuki-san”
- Raised in a shinobi village, able to wield snow magic
- A cool beauty who possesses an exceptional singing voice, but is actually very timid
- Height: 165 cm, Age: 20 years old
- Favorite food: soft served vanilla ice cream
Character Design
Aoiro Oto’s Official X (Twitter)
WhiteCUL’s official character designer: Aoiro Oto
Message of support:
“I am Aoiro Oto, the character designer for WhiteCUL.“
“As someone who loves cold-feeling colors, the trial and error period leading up to Yuki-san’s creation was filled with fun memories.“
“From her cute personality that clashes with her exterior looks to the genuine cool beauty that she becomes when she sings, I hope that Yuki-san’s appeal reaches even more people!“
Introduction to VOCALOID6
VOCALOID is software that enables you to easily create any singing voice that you can imagine, at any time. Nowadays, songs that are created using VOCALOID are called “vocal synth songs,” and they are supported by listeners all over the world as new-age music and enjoy high levels of popularity.
The newest version, VOCALOID6, comes with VOCALOID:AI, an engine utilizing AI technolog, making it capable of even more natural and richly expressive voice synthesis. In addition to newly adopted editing tools that can quickly tune singing styles like accent and vibrato, new functions that instantly create development techniques like “doubling” and “harmonize” for producing rich expressions have been added.
VOCALOID6 voicebanks compatible with VOCALOID:AI can now recreate singing styles and lyrics based on the creator’s own singing data, and fluently sing multi-lingual lyrics like Japanese and English mixed together, all with just one single voicebank. By providing composing activities that overcome language barriers and new methods for the creation of vocal parts, VOCALOID6 supports the strong will that song producers have to be creative.
Furthermore, VOCALOID6 is compatible with every voicebank after VOCALOID3, so you can use your favorite voicebank with the features of VOCALOID6 to pursue even richer expressions in your songs.
VOCALOID, Vocalo and VOCALO CHANGER are registered trademarks of Yamaha Corp
Crowdfund Goals & How Funds Will Be Used
The crowdfund goal is ￥7,000,000 JPY, and is All or Nothing. When the goal is reached, the collected funds will be used in the following ways:
- Some of VOCALOID6 Voicebank WhiteCUL development expenses
- Manufacturing and delivery of the merchandise rewards
- Other fees and procedural expenses
Reward Guide
￥1,000 JPY – Yuki-san Support Plan
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/backers/new?id=1189614
- Voiced video message of thanks
- Exclusive wallpaper data
- Mouse pointer data (click only)
￥5,000 JPY – Merchandise Course
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/backers/new?id=1189615
- Everything in Yuki-san Support Plan
- Original bottle holder
- Original ice cream spoon
- Original cable holder
- Original micro-fiber cloth
￥15,000 JPY – Merchandise Galore Course
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/backers/new?id=1189617
- Everything in the Marchandise Course
- Original acrylic smartphone stand
- Original rubber coaster
- Original full-color neck strap
- Tapestry of WhiteCUL’s package design
￥23,000 JPY – Download Version Course
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/backers/new?id=1189622
- Everything in the Yuki-san Support Plan
- Voicebank AI WhiteCUL Download Version
- Mouse pointer data (full set)
- Acrylic diorama of WhiteCUL’s package illustration
- Original rubber keychain
￥26,000 JPY – Package Version Course
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/backers/new?id=1189624
- Everything in the Yuki-san Support Plan
- Voicebank AI WhiteCUL Package Version
- Mouse pointer data (full set)
- Acrylic diorama of WhiteCUL’s package illustration
- Original rubber keychain
￥50,000 JPY – Yuki-san Superfan Course
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/backers/new?id=1189618
- Everything in the Merchandise Galore Course
- Original tumbler
- Original mouse pad
- Crowdfund-exclusive plushie (Yuki-san)
- Voice video message of thanks calling out your name※
￥100,000 – Yuki-san Megafan Course
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/backers/new?id=1189620
- Everything in the Yuki-san Superfan Course
- Original happi
- Voiced video with Yuki-san saying lines that you decide※
- Original face towel
- Life-size tapestry
Happi sizes:
- M (height of 145~170 cm recommended)
- L (height of 155~185 cm recommended)
- Extra large (height of 175~205 cm recommended)
- Children’s size (height of 115~135 cm recommended)
￥400,000 JPY – BIG Yuki-san Avalanche Course
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/755647/backers/new?id=1189621
- Everything in the Yuki-san Megafan Course
- BIG Yuki-san plushie
※Please enter the name that you want her to read into the remarks column in kana
Example: WhiteCUL（ホワイトカル）
※Please enter the line that you want her to read into the remarks column within 140 characters
Example: 今日もいっぱい応援してくれてありがとう！明日も頑張ってね！(“Kyou mo ippai ouen shite kurete arigatou! Ashita mo ganbatte ne!”)
※The organisers will not have her read out lines deemed as inappropriate
● Regarding support from overseas
Thank you for the many inquiries regarding support from overseas.
This crowdfund does not have direct shipment to overseas.
However, we are now able to provide support by using our international shipping service (Tenso.com).
◆How to Use Tenso
STEP1 Register as a new member and obtain a “tenso address”.
STEP2 Log in to the Tenso.com website and check the tenso address on My Page.
STEP3 Apply for the crowdfunding course.
STEP4 Enter the tenso address confirmed in [STEP2] in the delivery address/address field in the application page.
STEP5 After entering all required information and making your payment, the process is complete.
For more information, visit the Tenso.com website.
Tenso.com
https://www.tenso.com/en/static/guide_flow_index
※Tenso.com charges an international shipping fee and a system usage fee.
Please contact Tenso.com if you have any questions about how to use their international shipping service.
Stretch Goals
If ￥8,500,000 JPY is reached
- Creation of a fully commissioned song and PV
If ￥10,000,000 JPY is reached
- Creation of a 3D model with a brand new outfit for free distribution
Production Schedule
We aim to complete this project within 2024
May 20…Crowdfunding page unveiled
May 24…Crowdfunding begins
June 30…Crowdfunding concludes
After July…Software and reward manufacturing begins
Progress updates will be shared on the crowdfunding page
Middle to end of December…Delivery of rewards
Message to Fans!
The software developed in the VOCALOID6 Voicebank AI WhiteCUL Development Project is planned to be commercialized by Internet Co., however, we will be preparing WhiteCUL goods that can only be acquired through the crowdfund. We look forward to your enthusiastic support and donations.
We appreciate your continued support for the vocal synth character WhiteCUL.
How To Sign Up for CAMPFIRE
First, visit CAMPFIRE’s homepage and click on where it says 新規会員登録 (“New member registration”).
Next, choose to sign up with either (1) your email address, or (2) your social media service of choice.
If you choose to use an email address, then enter it and click on 確認メールを送信 (“Send confirmation email”), then check your inbox for the email from CAMPFIRE. When you receive the email, open it and click on メールアドレスを認証する (“Confirm email address”) to complete signup.
Finally, follow the provided steps to complete registration. You may have the option to display the steps in English if there is a button that says “English” on the right side of the page for you to click on.
ZAN-SHIN is quickly making a name for themselves in the vocal synth world. If the crowdfund is successful, VOCALOID6 AI WhiteCUL will already be their third commercial voicebank!
However, given how their previous (All-In) crowdfund did not reach its initial ￥7,000,000 JPY goal, and this time around it’s an All-Or-Nothing crowdfund for the same amount of money, they need support from fans more than ever. So if you want to see WhiteCUL become a VOCALOID6 product, and help open the door for ZAN-SHIN to create more new voicebanks or updates to existing characters – such as CUL – now is the time to show them your support!
Wishing great success for WhiteCUL, all of the CUL sisters and everyone at ZAN-SHIN!
Links
WhiteCUL
ZAN-SHIN
HirotoP
