A voiceover on a video is known as off-camera commentary. It’s a technique used in video productions where an actor or narrator’s voice (that’s not part of the video) is added to the media after it’s recorded. Without the proper video voice editor, this can be a difficult task. We’d like to show you how to add a voiceover to your videos in this guide. Keep reading to find out more!
How Are Voice Overs Used in Videos?
A voiceover is a way to add quality-sounding narrations to certain types of videos. Artists use voiceovers on their tutorial videos because it’s easier to explain the details in the video after it’s recorded.
You can also use voiceovers when creating ads for your company. What’s more, voiceovers are used to dub foreign films in various languages. You can dub your social media videos in different languages to reach a wider audience. Here is a list of other ways to use voiceovers:
- Narrations in audiobooks
- Voices for video game characters
- Phone answering or pre-recorded interactions
- Instructions on e-learning videos
- Adding radio commentary
Quality voiceovers on your videos make your content more presentable. Depending on the content you have, your voiceovers will help bring your content to life.
How to Get Started with Your Video Voiceovers
Are you thinking about getting into the voiceover industry? In this next section, we’ll talk about how you can get started. Find out how to set up an affordable studio and how you can edit your voiceovers easily with the correct software.
Get a Quality Microphone
There are various microphone brands on the market, but not all of them are suitable for video voiceovers. If you want an affordable option, you can start with a USB microphone such as the Apogee HypeMic. Or choose the Blue Yeti Nano that’s excellent for podcasts and narrations.
If you’ve got the budget, you can invest in a large-diaphragm condenser microphone which is considered the industry standard for voice actors.
Room Setup
Doing voiceovers in a recording studio will be expensive. So why not set up your studio at home? The good news is you don’t have to spend a lot of money on expensive equipment. Follow these steps to set up your room for quality voiceover recording:
- The best room in the house: Ideally, you want to pick a bigger room as it produces a better sound than smaller ones. You also want to choose a room that’s quiet with minimal background noise. Or you could use a video editor for noise removal.
- Best flooring: You want a room that has hard flooring, such as concrete or tile. Avoid a room with carpeting because carpets will affect your acoustics.
- Acoustics: If you want a room with the best acoustics, then pick one that has higher ceilings, plenty of irregular surfaces, and asymmetric walls. If you don’t have a room like this, you could always go for acoustic treatment.
- Equipment setup: There are various ways you can set up your equipment. The best setup for a voiceover studio is placing all your equipment around you in a circle. You’ll have your desk and mic in front of you, with controllers behind you on the left or right-hand side of you. Your studio rack can be next to your desk, either on the right-hand or left-hand side.
Preparing Your Voiceove
Whether you’re doing a voiceover for a YouTube video or for e-learning courses you’re creating, you want to prepare a script. This will allow you to speak concisely without any “ums” or “uhs” throughout the video.
You can edit unwanted sections with a video editor, but to reduce editing time, you want to create a script for each video. Additionally, before you start speaking, you may want to do some voice exercises. These exercises will help you enunciate your words better.
Use Quality Recording Software
You could have the most expensive studio setup, but without the correct recording software, you may struggle to produce high-quality voiceovers. Ideally, you want recording software that allows extensive mic setup options and formats for your audio.
Whether you choose a free trial or a paid subscription, make sure the recording software you choose has all the features, settings, and specifications you need for your voiceovers. One of the most popular video recording software to use is Audacity. It has a multitrack editor and recorder for operating systems such as:
- Windows
- Linux
- macOS
Editing Your Voiceover
When using a video voice editor, there are some aspects you must consider to make your voiceover recordings sound professional. The first factor to remember is to avoid over-processing with EQ (Equalizer). This is a setting that changes the tonal quality of your voiceover. But over-processing can cause damage to your voiceover.
Another tip is to use automatic volume adjustments as opposed to compression. With automation, the voiceover editing software will adjust the level of specific sounds that are too loud.
With your voice editor, you can also remove audio from your videos, such as background noise or sections of your voiceover you want to exclude.
How to Add Your Voiceover to A Video [Step By Step]
The steps to add voiceovers to videos may differ depending on the software you use. However, these standard steps might assist you on any program:
- Open your video in the software program
- Play your video and click the record button to start adding your voiceover
- Pause the video and the recording when you need to
- Edit your voiceover or background sounds if it’s required
- Add effects to your voiceover if you want to
- Save your results
Final Thoughts
Ideally, you want your voiceover to be crisp and clear whether people are downloading your YouTube videos using 4K or watching your content on other streaming platforms. Use the tips in this article to get started!