Quality voice over software?

This is going to seem an obvious reply, especially from a professional narrator, but it's very likely that you're going to spend more time, and incur more cost (through lost productivity time, etc.) trying to save the money by getting around  hiring outside voice talent than you would if you actually hired voice talent.

Yes, there are tricks you can employ (pitch change, for example) to differentiate between characters, but even with that technique, you have to know how much to either speed up or slow down your read--and do it consistently--to make it work for a given character.  Because if you're trying to sound like Alivin (the chipmunk),   y o u   h a v e   t o   t a l k   m o r e   s l o w l y   t h a n   y o u   n o r m a l l y   w o u l d .   And finding that pace can be tricky.  Finding it a second time can be quite the challenge.  And again, you're talking about the difference between spending productivity time experimenting with new tools -vs- getting actual work done.

I'll play around and get you an example shortly...if nothing else, maybe it'll spark some ideas for you.

ab

Oink

Moo

Miaow

Woof woof

Squoink (?)

Hire me!

Bruce

PS - what he said - probably easiest and quickest to hire someone such as Andy who does this for a living.

PPS - I can do a reasonable "Barney the Dinosaur".

Give this a listen:

Audio Pitch Change Example

The "lower pitch" is still rough sounding, but with some time, it could likely be refined to sound less mechanical.  

Human voices are always your best bet, in my opinion.

ab

I too have tried voice modification software, and found the quality seriously lacking.  I have resorted to asking for volunteers to record a couple of lines of dialog then importing it into my training module.  It can be difficult to get volunteers to do this, but it might work for you.

Oh, and if Bruce can plug his Barney the Dinosaur, I can plug my "Goofy", Fred and Barney, Kramden and Norton...ahhh, I got a bunch.  And dialects too.  Plus I edit all my own stuff so you don't have to...

And I'm quick with a joke, or a light of your smoke, and there's NO place that I'd rather be....

*ahem*

I'd say that I agree with Andy. You will probably spend more time and or money, and will most likely not be very happy with the results you'll get from any voice creating software. I know you might not be the one with the power to make changes to the curriculum, but the question I would ask is this. How important are the 7 different audio voices to the piece? If the audio voices are important enough to be necessary to the piece, they are important enough to spend the resources on.

Also, could some rewriting be done so that more of the information is delivered by the main narrator?

For example:

Tommy the Owl: "I wish I knew how to open this door. I really need to get inside. Can you think of a way I can get in?"

vs

Narrator: "Tommy really needs to get inside this building. Can you think of a way he can get the door open, and get inside?"

A good example is the Storyline intro video. There are a few characters, but none of them actual speak. The narrator provides the info, and the characters "speak" through motion, some sound effects, and a few thought bubbles. http://www.articulate.com/products/storyline-overview.php/

Good luck with it!

David--

Nice suggestion on the re-writes.  Very clever!  

ab

Another thing I sometimes do is to question myself.

When you are questioning, and answering, your voice can often sound quite different - it's almost like David's suggestion, but you introduce 2 versions of yourself as the "characters".

Bruce

Huh.  I question myself everyday.  Oh...wait...