Using the Voice Over Tool in Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro users sometimes forget about this handy little feature; the Voice Over Tool. The Voice Over Tool lets you record a single audio track directly onto a sequence while you watch it. It's a great way if you want to provide an Editor's Commentary for a client. You can use the built-in audio input on your computer, or any compatible USB audio mixer and microphone. You can also monitor the sequence audio while you record. A company called Digidesign makes an excellent device called an MBOX that provides professional-style XLR audio inputs. The box connects to your computer through a USB cable, and you can plug your microphone into the MBOX. You will have to install drivers for the box, but once you have, your input source settings will automatically appear in the input box. The hardware and drivers must be connected before opening up Final Cut Pro
It's important to know, when using the Voice Over Tool, that the audio track is saved in the Capture Scratch. Once you have made the hardware connections, you can find the Voice Over Tool under Tools > Voice Over. To use the tool, you only have to press the red button to start the recording process. You will need to set the duration you are recording and the target audio track in the sequence. To set the Duration, you can set an In & Out point in the timeline. For DV media, audio should always be set to 48K. 48K audio is an industry standard for DV media. Therefore, in the Voiceover tool make sure you set your recording to 48K instead of the defaulted 44.1
Some editors like to lay a voice over track first and then edit to it. This style is fine for some, but it is important to know that you have to have something on the video track in order to use the Voice Over Tool; it will not record on a blank timeline. It also will not record past the end of a clip or a gap between 2 clips. In this case just insert a slug on the video track and drag it out for the duration you plan on making your clip. If you make a mistake in your recording, you can just trim back the track to where your mistake was and you are able to hear the last 5 seconds of your recording.
It's important to know, when using the Voice Over Tool, that the audio track is saved in the Capture Scratch. Once you have made the hardware connections, you can find the Voice Over Tool under Tools > Voice Over. To use the tool, you only have to press the red button to start the recording process. You will need to set the duration you are recording and the target audio track in the sequence. To set the Duration, you can set an In & Out point in the timeline. For DV media, audio should always be set to 48K. 48K audio is an industry standard for DV media. Therefore, in the Voiceover tool make sure you set your recording to 48K instead of the defaulted 44.1
Some editors like to lay a voice over track first and then edit to it. This style is fine for some, but it is important to know that you have to have something on the video track in order to use the Voice Over Tool; it will not record on a blank timeline. It also will not record past the end of a clip or a gap between 2 clips. In this case just insert a slug on the video track and drag it out for the duration you plan on making your clip. If you make a mistake in your recording, you can just trim back the track to where your mistake was and you are able to hear the last 5 seconds of your recording.
Listed below are 0 links to blogs that reference this entry: Using the Voice Over Tool in Final Cut Pro.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.geniusdv.com/weblog/mt-tb.cgi/1229
