by Kevin Siegel, COTP, CTT+
When recording short videos with the Camtasia Recorder, it’s most efficient to record your voiceover audio at the same time. However, it may be necessary for you to add the audio to the video later while working in the Camtasia Editor. I’ve seen a couple of scenarios where adding the audio to a project later is a better way to go. For instance,
- You don’t intend to use your own voice as the voiceover audio (you’ll be relying on a team member or voiceover talent and will be receiving the audio files later)
- Your system/location isn’t set up or ideal to record audio and you’ll record the audio later (perhaps in a studio)
- You didn’t think you’d like audio in your video but now you’ve changed your mind
It’s simple to add voiceover audio to your video after you’ve recorded screen actions. Add the audio to the Media Bin via the Camtasia Editor and then add the Media Bin asset to the Timeline (along with the video you recorded). Alternatively, you can record the voiceover audio directly through the Editor.
I recently had a fellow Camtasia developer who recorded her own voiceover audio while recording screen actions. Her intention was never to use her own voice, however. She simply wanted a placeholder of her voice for the Editor and was intending to replace her audio with professional talent.
All went well for the developer (she easily removed the audio from the imported video and then imported the professional audio in place of her audio). However, upon playback, she noticed a few areas where the professional narrator spoke more slowly than she did and the video wasn’t synchronized with what she recorded. This is the perfect use-case for splitting audio.
In the image below, notice that there are a few tracks in the project, and I’ve selected the audio asset in Track 3 (you can tell that an asset is selected thanks to the yellow border). I’ve also positioned the Playhead on the Timeline at the precise time where I want to split the one audio asset into two. All that’s required at this point is a right-click on the Playhead.
Notice in the image below that there are two Split options: Split and Split All. The Splitoption will split just the selected media at the Playhead position. The Split All option will split all media assets on all tracks at the Playhead position (regardless if the assets are selected or not).
Now that I have successfully split the audio asset, it’s simple to drag the different segments along the Timeline as necessary to synchronize the audio with what’s happening in the video.
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Kevin Siegel, CTT, COTP, is the founder and president of IconLogic. Following a career in Public Affairs with the U.S. Coast Guard and in private industry, Kevin has spent decades as a technical communicator, classroom and online trainer, public speaker, and has written hundreds of computer training books for adult learners. He has been recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide.