In Yeşilçam animation, the Speech selector decides who talks in your film: a single Narrator, your characters in Dialogue, Both together, or nobody at all with Silent. A separate Captions switch turns on-screen text On or Off. Together these two settings shape the whole feel of an animation, from bedtime story to motion comic to wordless mood piece.
This guide explains each mode, how captions behave, how music is mixed in each case, and which combination to choose for common kinds of video.
Where the Speech selector appears
The Speech selector is available in the character styles: the Cinemation family (Wuxiamation, Celmation, Neonmation, Toymation, Toonmation, Shadowmation, Pixelmation, Panelmation, Claymation, Postermation) and Foliomation. Puppetmation is the exception; it has characters but no Speech selector. Typemation and Popbook have no dialogue, because in those styles the text itself is the content. You can see all styles on the Animation page.
The four speech modes
Narrator
One narrator voice tells the story over the pictures. Characters act, but they do not speak. This is the classic storybook and documentary approach, and it is the easiest mode to follow for young viewers or for a viewer who is only half listening. Choose the narrator voice in the Narrator field or leave it on Automatic.
Dialogue
The characters speak to each other and there is no narrator. The film plays like a scene from a series: every line belongs to a named character and is voiced in that character’s own voice. In the eight Cinemation styles animated by a video model the speaking character’s mouth is animated and the line is aligned to it; in Shadowmation and Pixelmation the line is voiced and captioned with the speaker’s name, without mouth animation. Dialogue needs characters with names, so add them first under Characters; see adding your own characters.
Both
A narrator plus character lines. The narrator carries time jumps, setting and inner thoughts, and the characters speak at the key moments. For stories longer than half a minute this is often the most natural mode, because narration can cover in one sentence what would take three lines of dialogue to establish.
Silent
No voice at all, music only. When there is no voice, the music is mixed louder so it carries the piece. Silent is the right choice for background clips, mood pieces, loops on screens in shops or at events, and for videos that must work in any language.
Captions: On or Off
The Captions switch adds the spoken words on screen. In dialogue, captions show the speaker’s name with the line, so the viewer always knows who is talking even when two voices sound alike. Turn captions On for:
- Social feeds, where many people watch with the sound off.
- Learning content and children who are practising reading.
- Scenes with several characters in quick exchange.
Turn them Off when the image should stay clean, for example in a cinematic piece meant for a large screen, or when you plan to add your own subtitles in an editor. In Panelmation, lines appear as speech balloons that point to the speaker, which is part of the motion-comic look.
How to choose a mode
- Ask where it will be watched. Sound-off feed: Narrator or Dialogue with Captions On, or Silent. Big screen with sound: any mode, captions optional.
- Ask who carries the story. If the plot is mostly events and places, Narrator. If it is mostly a relationship or conflict between people, Dialogue. If it is both, Both.
- Ask how long it is. In 10–20 seconds, a narrator or two short lines is plenty. Around a minute, Both gives room for set-up and a punchline. Up to 120 seconds, Dialogue can sustain a small scene.
- Ask about language. Silent travels everywhere. Voiced modes are produced in the language you set in the Language field.
Recommended combinations
- Bedtime story in Foliomation or Toymation: Narrator, Captions On.
- Comedy sketch in Toonmation: Dialogue, Captions On.
- Folk tale in Shadowmation: Both, so the narrator frames the tale and Karagöz and Hacivat-style characters trade lines.
- Motion comic in Panelmation: Dialogue or Both, captions become balloons.
- Brand mood film in Neonmation or Postermation: Silent or Narrator.
- Background clip behind a speaker: Silent.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Dialogue without names. Choosing Dialogue but leaving the cast unnamed gives the director nothing to attribute lines to. Name every character who should speak.
- Too many voices for the length. Four characters trading lines in fifteen seconds sounds rushed. Let one or two characters speak in short pieces and keep the others on screen.
- Narrator repeating the pictures. “He opens the door” over a shot of a door opening wastes time. Use narration for what the image cannot show: time, place, feelings.
- Captions off in a sound-off context. If the video will autoplay muted in a feed, captions On or Silent mode are the safer choices.
Who writes the words
Narration is written by the director, a language model that plans the scenes from your story. Dialogue can come from three sources: leave it empty and the director writes it, write it yourself with I will write the dialogue (up to 30 lines), or draft it with Write dialogue with Sam. Each option has its strengths; they are compared in writing dialogue with AI. How voices stay consistent and in sync with mouths is covered in lip sync and character voices.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Dialogue and Both? Dialogue has only characters speaking; Both adds a narrator voice alongside their lines.
Is music still included when I choose Silent? Yes. Silent means no voice; the music is kept and mixed louder because nothing competes with it.
Do captions show who is speaking? Yes. In dialogue, captions show the speaker’s name with the line.
Why is there no Speech selector in Typemation or Popbook? In those styles the text is the content, so there is no character dialogue to configure.