An Easy Guide To Video Narration For Beginners 

People think that voice narration is a simple task that anyone can do. But it’s not. You want to make stunning videos that need narration, but you are not good enough to do voice-over and don’t have enough funds to hire a professional.

We are here to help you with that. Different educational videos, tutorial videos, etc need voice narration to convey the message. Here are the tips and tricks discussed by which not only you understand how to narrate the voice but also how to edit or record the audio. 

Essential elements to voice over a video

Following are the elements that you should follow for good quality voice overs to videos:

• Preparation: Rehearse the lines, have a good know-how of the script and make notes always.
• Technical understanding: Having a strong understanding, you are able to make adjustments on the point to make your performance natural and believable. 
• A quiet place: For voiceover, a quiet space is necessary. A professional sound studio availability is best. If not, a quiet room in your house can do the work as well.
• Pace: While recording, you need to pronounce clear words and balanced speed rate of your voice.
• Avoid fillers: Choose words that are easy to understand for others. Avoid using fillers like um or like etc.
• Inflect your voice: Try to speak in a way that brings emotions to the words you speak, and brings the script to life. 

Voice Narration Through Traditional Method 

There are several ways in which a voice can be narrated, but a traditional method involves the recording of the audio separately.

It can be done through a microphone or directly recording the voice to the editing program. The voice has to be synchronized with the video, if not, it can be fixed during the editing before the video and audio are combined. 

Voice Narration through iPhone

One of the best ways to narrate voice through the iPhone is voiceover recording. 

• Open the Settings app and then tap on Accessibility.
• Next, tap on “VoiceOver” and toggle it On.

• Once VoiceOver is enabled, open the Camera app.
• Select the video file you want to edit.

• Tap on the screen with two fingers to bring up the editing menu.
• And then tap on “Add Voiceover.”
• Now, Start recording your voice-over by tapping on the record button (red).
• Once you’re finished, tap on “Done” to stop recording.

This way your voice-over will be added to the video.

Video Narration Through Android

There are several ways of recording voiceover through android phones:

• 1st way: Use apps like FilmoraGo or Viva video. These apps allow you to record your voice directly into the video.
• 2nd way: Use the separate recording app and then import the audio to the video.
• 3rd way: Use the voice recorder app to record the video and then add the audio file to your video afterward.

7 Easy Video Narration Ways for Beginners

How to make a good tutorial video? How to voice over an educational course? There are plenty of questions that arise and we are here to answer them. Follow these 7 easy ways and narrate your video professionally. 

1. Write a Script

Basically, a script specifies what a future course will look like. Here are the tips to write the best script.

• Simplicity: The content and phrases you speak should be simple enough to grasp by the audience without any complication.
• Few words: Choose words that are precise enough to say a lot in a few words. 
• One thing at a time: speaking of each idea cumulatively makes listeners confused. Describe one idea at a time. 
• Avoid Copying: there is a huge difference between speaking and listening. Try to explain the idea in your words. 
• E-learning: people are more inclined toward information with interesting facts or quotes. 

2. Narration

In voice-over, your voice should be sound and clear. That is understandable to the listener. If you are not confident enough in narrating the voice over a certain slideshow, lessor, or video. Think of hiring a narrator. Ask yourself the question, which voice will work best? Male voice or female voice? 

You can send the narrator a piece of your script and ask them to send a little voice-over recording to test the narration.

Discuss all the details with them where the pauses are necessary etc.

3. Use A Professional Microphone

Avoid using microphones built into mobiles and laptops. Instead, spend some money on a microphone to record a good quality and noise-proof voice.

There are two types of microphones:

1. Condenser microphone:

Condenser microphones are found in studios. They are highly sensitive to loud noises. And p, b, and sh sounds can cause distortion. Thus, extreme silence is required to record through a condenser microphone.  

Also, they require an external power supply to work.

2. Dynamic microphone:

They can be plugged directly into the application source or recording setup. They are perfect on stage as they are resistant to moisture or any kind of abuse.

But still, condenser microphones are considered more accurate in sound quality than dynamic microphones. 

Condenser microphone comes with two types of connectors:

3. XLR Microphone:

XLR microphone can provide a high-quality recording. However, you need to buy an audio interface along with the microphone because it does not work with the standard laptop audio input.

4. USB Microphone

USB Mics are compatible with Pc and Mac, just plug them in and start the recording. They provide the same high-quality recording.

4. Software for Recording and Editing

To record, save or edit any audio, the software is required. You can use the following video tutorial software for recording or editing purposes. 

Audacity:

The audio recorder and editor are free of cost. It is available on windows and macs. Also, it has a wide range of formats and audio editing tools with which you can create your own sound effects easily.

Adobe Audition CC:

It is paid software used by professionals for sound effects designs or podcasting. It supports all audio formats and includes tools like.

• Automatic speech alignment.
• Automatic audio correction.

iSpring Suite 

It is PowerPoint based. By using iSpring Suite, you can

• record a voice-over.
• cut out unnecessary fragments.
• adjust the volume.
• reduce background noise.
• and save the file in MP3 or WAV format available on Windows.

After creating the course in Powerpoint, add narration to this audio editor and sync it with transitions and animations.

5. Video Pre-Production Checklist:

At what place you are going to record the voice-over, it should be the first thing on your schedule. You should follow these steps to do it right.

• Large rooms can cause echo problems, so find small quiet rooms.
• Do not let anyone disturb you by rushing into the room. Hang something outdoors to let them know that recording is in progress.
• Turn off all unrelated devices including watches or etc. 
• Rooms with sound-absorbing panels are preferred as they prevent any kind of noise. 

Moreover, you can use a pop filter that provides noise filtration for microphones. 

Similarly, an acoustic screen is placed behind the microphone to absorb any kind of noise. 

6. Start Recording Video

Before recording, you have to warm up your voice. So that it doesn’t crack up when you start speaking. 

There are different exercises you can do

1. Place both of your hands on your stomach.
2. Inhale deeply through your nose, and hold for 5 seconds;
3. Exhale slowly through slightly parted lips, and hold for 5 seconds;
4. Repeat for 3-5 minutes.

Make sure to record while standing because this way the diaphragm opens to the maximum extent.

The tongue can also twist while recording. So do some tongue-twisting exercises. Repeat the phrases almost three times, each time picking up the speed. Do not read the whole content at a time. But in sections, so you can breathe also.

7. Editing

Editing is the last step of video narration. Remove any kind of unnecessary noise, and pauses and set the volume by using the editing software as discussed in step 4. 

Conclusion

Different essential elements and video narration ways and best tools for creating video tutorials have been discussed above. So if you are thinking of doing a voice-over next time, follow these steps and you will clearly see a difference between the before and after results by comparing. 

Don’t hesitate to make mistakes, because, in such situations, practice is what makes a man perfect.