Digital Commons at Penn State

Adding Sound Effects and Recording Voiceovers in iMovie 09

Sound Effects
iMovie has a built in library of sound effects and royalty free music that you are able to use and access easily from within the program. If you click the Music and Sound Effects Browser button in the right side of the iMovie, the browser will open in the bottom right of the iMovie screen. You are able to scroll through the different choices.

When you are ready to add an effect to your timeline drag the effect from the browser directly to the timeline. The playhead will appear at the point that the effect is going to be inserted.

By moving across the timeline while still holding the mouse button down, you can adjust your placement. Let go of the mouse button and the effect is now added to the timeline.

If you need to adjust the placement of your Sound Effect you can move it by clicking on it and dragging it to the proper location on the timeline.

Recording a Voiceover
You can also record voiceover narration directly into your iMovie timeline.

To record a voiceover:

Click the Voiceover button to open the Voiceover window.

In the Voiceover window, choose your external microphone from the Record From pop-up menu. If you have no external microphone, choose “Built-in Microphone.”

If you need to listen to audio cues in your video while recording your voiceover, deselect the checkbox labeled, “Play project audio while recording,” but wear headphones while recording. Video will play while you record the voiceover, hence your microphone will pick up the playback sound of your video unless you mute it by selecting the checkbox or wearing headphones.

Click on the video frame in your project timeline where you want the voiceover to begin.

iMovie counts down from three to one.

When prompted, begin speaking clearly into the microphone.

Click anywhere in the project to stop recording.

Click the Close (X) button in the Voiceover window to close it before clicking again in your project.
Clicking in the project again without closing the Voiceover window initiates a new voiceover recording.

You can record multiple voiceover tracks within your video project. You can also move or delete your voiceover like any other sound effect.