How to Add Audio to Video

Digital media is everywhere you look. Music and video production have made it to the grass roots level thanks to the affordability and widespread use of powerful computers.

Inexpensive digital video cameras are widely available, and older analog video cameras can be connected to a computer through a video card to download movies to the computer for editing, storage, and distribution to friends and relatives over the internet.

It has become fairly easy to edit your own videos, and there are many software packages available aimed at the amateur. The Windows operating system has its own video editing package called Windows Movie Maker that allows you to produce professional-looking videos.

As you explore this exciting new world, you will inevitably come up with the need to edit the audio portion of your video file. The sound quality of most video cameras is not great, so you may want to process the sound or replace it all together with music or voice-overs.

It is very easy to separate the audio from the video. Free software packages that do this task include Windows Media Encoder from Microsoft (if you are working with WMV video files) and VirtualDub (if you are working with AVI files). Either of these programs (and many others) allow you to save the audio portion of video file quickly and easily. Once you have your audio file, you can process it for noise reduction, bring up the volume, add music or do any digital magic to it that you desire.

With many video editing packages, however, it isn't necessary to split the audio to a separate file. Even simple packages like Windows Movie Maker have basic audio editing functions, and you can add separate music or voice tracks and mix all of them together.

If you have a particular audio file that you would like to use in your video (maybe a special effect or a voice over that you have recorded separately) simply add that file to the list of media to be included in the video. Other media formats can be separate video files, picture files or graphics.

The audio file can be placed anywhere on the time-line, and you can use the same file many times without requiring any extra storage space on your computer. For precise placement, zoom all the way into your timeline and place the audio exactly in sync with the video. That's it! You are well on your way to making professional-looking videos!

Hans is editor of the Audio Howto Section of the Selected Audio Review Guide

---

Five Tips to Become a Soundbite Genius

1. Speak in soundbites to everyone.Getting key phrases for concepts... Read More

DVD Audio: An Introduction

DVD Audio is a music format that is designed to... Read More

The Ten Commandments of Using Streaming Audio On Your Website

When it comes to placing audio on your website there... Read More

Streaming Audio Recorders

1. i-Sound WMA MP3 Recorder 6.x - On Sale www.abyssmedia.comi-Sound... Read More

wav; Recording Voice or Instruments

A graduate student in Belfast wrote to me about a... Read More

Audio Websites -- Web Developers: Make Money Now

Are you a website developer looking to establish a long-term... Read More

Get Personal by Adding Your Voice to Your Site

Many customers in today's online business world are shopping around... Read More

Adding Sound To Your Web Site - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Many webmasters like the idea of adding background music to... Read More

What The Muscle Power of Audio Can Do for Your Site

How Audio can Influence SalesAudio can enhance your website by... Read More

Transmit Clean Digital Audio with Digital Coaxial Cables

In the world of digital audio, there are two types... Read More

Creating Web Content Using Audio Recordings of Expert Interviews

Creating Web Content Using Audio Recordings of Expert Interviews The... Read More

Why Publishing MP3 Can Cost You A Fortune

This was news to me. It might be news to... Read More

How to Create Professional Audio Books from Scratch

My name is Alan Twigg and I'm writing this article... Read More

Internet Radio: A Sanctuary in the Rubbish Tip

The internet, it's a whole world of information and entertainment,... Read More

Dont Use Web Audio The Wrong Way

Have you ever wrestled with a set of instructions, but... Read More

Seven Ways to Warm Your Prospects Using Website Audio

Gone are the days when putting audio on your website... Read More

Why I Hate Flash Audio and What I Did About It

I love spoken-word audio. I've been listening to seminars, lectures,... Read More

7 Ways to Use AUDIO to Increase Your Web and E-mail Sales

Thought about adding audio to your Web site yet? You... Read More

Why Arent You Using Audio?

As use of the Internet continues to grow geometrically, we... Read More

Adding Streaming Audio to Your Website

Adding streaming audio to your web site can help you... Read More

The Ten Commandments To Creating Amazing Audio Products

1.Thou shall create audio products as the fastest way to... Read More

How To Record Streaming Audio, Internet Radio And

When it comes to music on the Internet, you have... Read More

Add Audio to Your Web Site and Increase Your Sales up to 35%!

Ok, you've got your site built, you have traffic coming... Read More

CD/DVD Master Preparation Tips

"CD/DVD Master" is the disc you provide to your CD/DVD... Read More

7 Ways to Use Website Audio in Your Marketing Arsenal

Most visitors to your website are using computers with audio... Read More

Teleseminars, Audio Downloads, Podcasts: Listen Up So You?ll Learn and Earn More

Internet Marketers love audio. You can't blame them. They used... Read More

Heres Exactly What Makes Web Audio So Powerful

Have you ever tried to communicate with another person using... Read More

WAV; Useful Applications; Recording Your Tapes or L.P.s to CD

My first article about digital recording that I have had... Read More

Eight Reasons Why You Must Add Audio to Your Website

NUMBER 1 : INTERNET USERS REMEMBER WHAT THEY HEAR Did... Read More

MP3 vs. WMA

There are just a few audio compression formats out there,... Read More

How to Use Your Computer as a Recording Studio

A few years ago there was a revolution in recording... Read More

Jingles - What Constitutes A Successful Jingle Campaign?

What constitutes a successful jingle campaign? In this article we... Read More

How to Add Audio to Video

Digital media is everywhere you look. Music and video production... Read More