Have you ever opened a video on YouTube or Instagram with stunning visuals and high-quality video production but muffled and unclear audio voice-overs? Even if you create professional videos with impeccable camera work, bright colors, and flawless edits, if the quality of your audio is lacking, it will bring down the overall value and quality of your video. A good video is not just about what you see but also what you hear. If you only prioritize one over the other, you will be left with a video that feels subpar.
Whether you are a YouTuber, a short-film maker, or a video content creator of any sort, here are five simple tips on correctly adding sound to video to take your video from amateur to professional levels. You can use voice2v editor for this task.
- Where you record plays a huge role
If you do not have the budget to rent a professional recording studio for your voice over, do not worry, a quiet and secluded room in your house will work just fine. Rooms that are barren or have very little furniture in them will cause the sound from your microphone to bounce off the walls, causing reverbs or echo in your voice recording. Test out different corners of your house to find one with the least interference from the surroundings – no honking of cars from down the street, no sound of your roommates yelling for the remote, no disturbance from the neighbor mowing his lawn, etc. Also, make sure to keep your air conditioner, and fans turned off while recording as these tend to add a lot of unwanted white noise that will lower the overall quality of your final recording.
- Avoid the Plosives and Sibilance
Wondering what these new fancy terms are? Plosive sounds are the popping consonant sounds that you hear when saying certain alphabets like P, B, and T. In contrast, sibilant sounds are the hissing of fricative sounds that are caused while pronouncing alphabets like S and Z and the SH and ZH sounds (like the sound of S in Pleasure). To keep your audio recording clear of these sharp sounds, get yourself a pop filter. A pop filter acts as a shield between you and the mic that reduces the hissing and popping sounds, making your voice-overs sound more crisp and clear. Place your pop filter around 2-6 inches away from the microphone. A pop filter costs anywhere between $15 – $30 and is a good investment that will benefit you right from the start.
- Get yourself a music stand
If you frequently prepare long scripts for your voice overs, this is a piece of almost non-negotiable equipment that you must have as part of your recording set up. Microphones pick up even the faintest sounds, and if you are trying to turn pages and shuffle your script around, the sound of the paper rustling will most definitely make its way to your audio recording. A book stand or a music stand is perfect for holding your pages in place. Decide the layout of your script so that you can get through the 2 sheets of the script without needing to pause your recording to take a break. Get through that one section before momentarily taking a break to rest your throat and also turn the pages. Avoid touching the pages or the stand at any time while you are recording your script.
- An apple a (recording session) day
If you know you are gearing up for a long recording session, keep an apple handy to not only soothe your throat but also keep your mouth hydrated. While water is the first drink of choice when trying to lubricate your throat and lips, sipping on too much water during your recording session will only result in multiple interruptions and trips to the bathroom. When you are speaking non-stop during a recording session, your mouth will get dry, leading to the pesky lip-smacking sounds that are an editing nightmare to get rid of. A common hack in the singing and recording industry is to occasionally munch on apples, especially the tart ones, to keep your mouth well hydrated. The acidity in the apples makes your mouth salivate more, which prevents your lips from smacking together, improving vocal performance. Take small bites of the apple every time you take a break to give your mouth an instant boost of hydration without filling up your bladder!
- Play around with your tools and software beforehand
This is especially important if this is your first few times recording a voice over for your videos. Do not wait till the recording day to understand how each element of your set up works. Take some time out beforehand to understand the various features and settings in the different tools and recording software you use. You do not have to learn everything in one go, but familiarize yourself with the basics before you record your first voice over. From your audio video convertors and equalizers to your microphone and final editing software, make sure everything is set up and ready to go so you do not run around making any last-minute adjustments on the day of your recording.
Some other key things that you should also pay attention to before, during, and after recording are – your distance from the microphone ( a good rule of thumb is to have the mic 6–12 inches away from you), your diction and speaking pace, your emotions, and tonality. In contrast, you speak your posture, and your post-recording editing and exporting. If you are recording in batches, always remember to save after every session (save an extra copy as a backup just in case!) and start on a new track that you can later merge. While recording at home or in a non-professional studio has their limitations, these tips are good starting points, especially for beginners, to get the most out of their recording sessions and create high-quality video voice-overs.
