Final Cut Pro: How To Record a Voiceover Using the Voice Over Tool

Final Cut Pro makes voiceover recording very simple. It's a video editing application which runs on Apple Macintosh computers. A built in voice over tool makes it possible to use your computer's microphone to record a voiceover.

Creating a voiceover in Final Cut Pro is very simple and can be completed very quickly. The results are very professional and work very well. Voiceovers can be used to tell stories, explain photos or just to narrate what's happening in the video.

Step 1: Connecting the Mic

The first thing that you need to do is plug a microphone into your computer. Although any microphone will work, it's much better to use a more professional mic. Using the best quality mic you can afford will make your recording much more professional.

Test that the mic works correctly by recording in other applications. Once the mic is working properly, you can then use it to record your voiceover. If you don't already have a mic for your computer, then any 3.5 mm microphone should be suitable. Try to choose one with noise canceling technology which will reduce background noise such as fans.

Step 2: Duration of Voiceover

The next thing that you need to do is set the duration of the voiceover. There are a few different options now. The first would be to create start and end points inside the timeline. If you don't do, this then you can just use the option to record and allow the voiceover to continue until it is stopped.

If no stop point is entered for the voice over, then the last frame of the video will be used as default. It's not possible to record past the last frame of the video.

Step 3: Audio Location

The audio which you record using the voiceover tool will be put into a separate audio track. This is defined by audio channel 2, which needs to be adjusted if you already have sound tracks. It's important to set this correctly to ensure that the original audio tracks are not overwritten.

Step 4: Starting the Voice Over Tool

Launch the voiceover tool by clicking Tools, Voice over. Then, click the record button and a timer will start. Once the timer has counted down, the recording will automatically begin. This makes it really easy to get the voiceover in the correct position.

Once you have finished recording the voiceover, you can press the space bar to stop the recording. The voiceover tool cannot be used on a blank timeline. It's also impossible to record voiceovers past the last frame in your timeline. Some experimentation might be required until you are able to get the best results from your voice overs.

Step 5: Saving the Results

Once you are happy with the voiceover you should then save the completed video so you can find it again if needed. The video can then be converted and burnt onto a DVD if you wish or shared online.