Stratagies to narrate a sales video.

kirkdickinson wrote on 12/18/2002, 10:29 PM

I have a video put together (video only) with clips of Cattle for sale. I need to lay down a narration track. This is my first NLE project. In the past, I used audio dub on the VCR to lay that track down directly on the master tape and added background music at the same time.

I need to be able to let the narrator view the video and do his monologue. What is the best way to do that?

I have searched for "narrate" and can't find it. I must be using the wrong term. There has to be a good way to do it.

Thanks,

Kirk

Comments

swarrine wrote on 12/18/2002, 11:16 PM

Many ways to do this if I understand what you want.

If you want it "Live" while the announcer is watching the video, I would just output the video and record the announcer, then import the audio to the timeline.

All kinds of combos that you could do with is though.

kirkdickinson wrote on 12/18/2002, 11:29 PM

Yeah, that is what I want to do. I just don't know the easiest way to do it.

The easiest way would be to view the preview in VV and record an audio track directly to the timeline, but I don't see a way to do that. Am I still stuck in a linear editing mindset?

How do others do this?

Thanks

BillyBoy wrote on 12/19/2002, 12:11 AM

Assuming you have a mike plugged into your PC and it works with your audio card...

Begin by clicking on Insert and pick audio track. You'll notice a little round button on the audio track, click on it and select a path where the file will be rsaved to. Note a similar round button on the scrubber control at the far left. Start to playback the video you want to add the soundtrack too and click on the round button which should turn red and you'll see the audio peaks as you record. Just hit stop or pause on the scrubber when you're done and if you like the result save the file. That's. it.

PeterWright wrote on 12/19/2002, 12:14 AM

Add a new audio track, arm it to record (red button).

Check mic levels aren't too high or low - use windows audio record sliders to change level.

When ready, place cursor to left of your start point, click record button at bottom of timeline and you're away.

You can stop/restart/new take any time - Vegas makes this job very easy, once you've done it once.

(Just noticed BillyBoy posted while I was writing - ah well ...)

BillyBoy wrote on 12/19/2002, 12:27 AM

That happens to me all the time!

PS: Great minds think alike.

LOL!

kirkdickinson wrote on 12/19/2002, 12:32 AM

Thanks, that sounds like exactly what I need.

Didn't realize that you could record directly in VV.

Kirk

Tyler.Durden wrote on 12/19/2002, 6:57 AM

Hi Kirk,

To add to the other comments,

Vegas has a really cool "ADR" (Automatic dialogue replacement) feature:

You can select a loop range in the TL for a specific section, and record just that portion. Vegas will loop while recording, each loop will be added to the range as a "take"... so your talent can narrate a number of times until it is right, then you hit the stop button.

The takes can be swapped by simply hitting the T key, and the media can be opened in the trimmer with all the takes in one file.

HTH, MPH

Tips:
http://www.martyhedler.com/homepage/Vegas_Tutorials.html

JJKizak wrote on 12/19/2002, 7:54 AM

Martyh:
Thanks. I learn something new about Vegas every day from this forum.

James J. Kizak

wcoxe1 wrote on 12/19/2002, 2:17 PM

Finally, back to useful things, rather than useless speculation.

nolonemo wrote on 12/19/2002, 2:46 PM

Potential problems recording audio into PC: system noise (hums, etc.) Also, you may need a pre-amp for your mic otherwise you may have to crank the record volume all the way up to get decent gain levels (which will give you worse s/n ratio). (I don't know what your system/sound card is, so . . . ) You might get better sound quality recording into your video camera and then importing that.

BillyBoy wrote on 12/19/2002, 4:29 PM

If you just do limited voice over once in awhile and don't need studio quality a highly directional mike is useful. I have a lot of fans in my PC, yet the mike is directional enough to not pick any of that noise up just being about four feet away. I Use a Telex M-60 (about $30) requires a couple AA batteries. Larger electronic stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, larger computer stores have them and similar.

If there is still noise from hum, that kind of stuff, the cheapie route (SoFo as a great but expensive noise reduction application) is Audio Cleaning Lab or Cool Edit where you can make a noise filter. Also if the noise isn't that bad try one of the included FX filters and make a notch filter that just gets rid of a narrow frequency range.

kirkdickinson wrote on 12/19/2002, 8:37 PM

I have done some experimenting with my headset mic and it seems to pick up the voice without any of the bad fan noise from the computer.

I haven't tried it with "the talent" yet to see how good or bad it deals with their voice. I guess I should do that right away to see if it is enough of a mic or if I need to search for a better one.

Thanks for all the help,

Kirk

VOGuy wrote on 12/20/2002, 9:21 PM

Hi - Here's a couple of pointers from someone who narrates professionally and dabbles in video as a hobby.

First, If your narrator is working from a script, it's far less effective to narrate "to picture", unless you're going to use ADR techniques, and do many, many takes. I've done dozens of narrations to picture, and, although it's fun, the result is never as good as when the narration is recorded separately - then edited to the picture.

As a matter of fact, you might consider taking the project to a professional audio recording studio -- the few extra dollars (okay, maybe a hundred or two) will be reflected in the quality of the narration work. A good professional studio will be set up with you and the recording engineer on one side of the glass, and a well-lit, comfortable studio for the talent... Acoustics and noise will not be a problem.

When I do a narration in a professional audio studio, the work for a typical sales video is almost always accomplished in under an hour - when I'm working in a video production facility, even one with a separate audio booth, we ALWAYS take two to three times as long to accomplish the same thing.

When I work with a "High-End" client, the audio is usually done first, and then the video is cut to the audio. When video is edited first, the producer has a script with the timings for each segment noted.

The very worst situation is when I need to match a "Scratch Track" - usually recorded by the director. Then, the pacing is far different than would be done by a professional narrator, and, usually, I need to "race" through the project, which destroys any chance to enhance the narration through pacing... The same thing happens when I need to narrate to picture - the opportunity to "pace" the narration is usually lost or diminished.

If your talent is ad-libbing to picture, again, taking the project to a quality audio studio is a good idea -- especially of the "talent" is inexperienced. Most audio studios with video experience will have a video monitor set up in such a way that it won't interfere with the audio.

FWIW,

Travis - http://www.announcing.biz