A Beginner's Guide to the Sound Engineer How to Dub a Video by Yourself

Making a good voiceover of a video or cartoon with your own hands is quite realistic. Follow our recommendations and tips!

Have you made a video clip and want to voice it? Or maybe you want to insert funny lines into a commercial or overlay your own translation on a film? Modern applications and video editors can help you capture royalty free music, speech, and other sounds in real-time, lay them on top of your video, and save the result in a convenient format. What do you need to do?

Home audio equipment

Dubbing plays a big role in the creation of a video. Poor quality can destroy even good camerawork and script. The best option is to do dubbing in a studio, but if you don't have that option, buy a basic kit for working on sound and learn the technical side of it.

In addition to a computer, you will need a microphone, headphones, audio and video editors, and a video or film clip.

Setting the microphone

A quality microphone will maximize your time and allow you to create a clear sound background. By making the right choice, you can save significantly on sound converters (sound card and mixing console).

After connecting the microphone to your computer, be sure to check all settings, recording volume, and operation of the program that is responsible for receiving and recording sound. Now you can test and adjust the compression, noise tones, etc. These simple manipulations will help to record clear sounds.

A quick guide for the aspiring sound engineer

Shall we start recording? A quick guide for aspiring recording engineers:

1. Create a timeline for the video you are going to dub. Select and record the time limits, determine the ratio of the clip length to the required soundtrack.
2. Record the text according to the timeline and work out how the recorded voice fits in with the moments when the original voice is on the screen.
3. Turn on the microphone and open the audio editor. Create a new audio file, read out the text into the microphone according to the timeline and insert the necessary sound effects. Now you can save the audio track.
4. Start the video editor. Open the file you want to edit and wait until the storyboard is complete.
5. Delete the original audio track, then overlay your audio track on the video. Check if the audio and video do not match, then remake the audio track according to the shortcomings and overlay it on the video again.
6. Save the resulting video to your computer.

The main thing is not to make a fuss and correctly prepare a timeline to match the sound with the video.

What program do I use to record my voice?

There is no single answer to this question - it all depends on the capabilities of your computer and the tasks you plan to perform. For starters, we advise you to pay attention to free video editors in Russian. Despite the fact that they have limited functionality compared to paid products, they will allow you to more quickly understand the technical issues of voiceover. A little later, you can consider learning a more powerful editor, with a large number of effects and transitions. Let's take a closer look at some of them.

AVS Audio Editor. The program is supported in Russian, it has a simple and intuitive set of functions. For video dubbing, recording podcasts - it's perfect!

Movavi Video Editor. Contains many technical features for sound recording and working with video. Distributed for a fee, but the official website offers a free trial version in Russian. You only need to specify the source, set the desired quality and volume. The audio will be added to the corresponding line in the editor, and you can then edit it, apply effects, split it into parts, and change the volume settings.

VirtualDub. One of the best video editors with a simple interface in Russian and rich functionality has a small size and low computer requirements. Plus, it's free. Want to make a voiceover or add music? Glue a few audio tracks for a video? It's all easy to do without compromising on sound quality.

MultiPool. Free and easy-to-understand program. There are all necessary tools both for voiceover and for the creation of animation from ready pictures. Alas, the modest functionality does not allow to work with two or more tracks, as well as edit.

Adobe Audition. Despite the English functionality, the program is quick to learn and has a rich arsenal for working with sound.

Ardour. Digital Sound Station - ideal for creating clean sound and overdubs on video. Lots of settings and tools for working with an unlimited number of tracks with vocals or musical instruments. A great foundation for aspiring sound engineers.

These are not all programs for working with sound. On the Internet, you can find video and audio editors that allow you to record sound from a microphone, thereby creating voice covers for selected movies, clips, and even cartoons.