Record a minute of general ambience from your location. You can use this
‘wild’ sound to cover edits in your project and create more seamless audio.Step-by-step Capture better quality sound
1
Get wired
To capture George’s voice we used gaffer
tape to stick the mic of our Apple headphones
under his shirt. For Claire we clipped a Lavalier
mic onto her coat (see Knowledge Base).2
Record sound
We attached each actor’s mic to their
iPhones. We used Apple’s Voice Memos app
on each iPhone to record their voices as they
walked though the woods.3
Import clips
We captured both subjects on a GoPro
which also recorded sound. Choose File>
Import Media. Browse to our video and sound
clips. Click ‘Import Selected’.4
Magnify waveforms
Drag the video clip to the timeline. Click
on Settings and make sure Show Waveforms
is ticked. Drag the Clip Size slider right for a
closer look at the clip’s audio waveforms.7
Add control points
Option-click on George’s volume control
bar after he asks a question to add a control
point. Option-click before Claire replies to add
a point. Reduce George’s volume to 18%.5
Check sound sync
Drag ‘Claire’s sound’ onto a parallel layer
below the video clip. The waveform’s clap
sound peaks on both clips at the same point,
so our iPhone sound is in sync with the GoPro.8
Play the sequence
Play the sequence. George’s sound dips
as soon as Claire starts to speak. This creates
cleaner sound for Claire. George’s sound
returns at the end.6
Add next audio track
Drag ‘George’s sound’ onto a layer below
the other two tracks. Go to the video clip and
drag its volume control bar down to 0% to lose
the poor quality sound captured on the GoPro.9
Create cleaner sound
Add control points to Claire’s audio
waveform so her sound dips when George is
talking at the start and end of the sequence.
This avoid’s hearing her sound on his mic.