Two Schools for Voiceover

Traditionally, there are two schools for voiceover work. School One is to write your script first, edit the voiceover, and then add the video where it needs to be placed. School Two is to edit the video first and then narrate and add your voiceover to color the video. Neither is right or wrong, but sometimes one approach is better suited to your material than the other. What's most important in your project? Audio and text are the foundations for School One (script first, video second), whereas video and visuals are the foundations for School Two (video editing first, narration second).

If I am working on a family video, photo montage, or DVD commentary, I edit the clips first, then narrate and add the voiceover while I watch it play backSchool Two. If I am editing a commercial or putting together a project with a defined length, I follow School One. I record and edit the voiceover first to ensure that I am at the proper length, then I edit the video and make small adjustments to the voiceover where it's necessary to make words hit at exact moments. If a piece needs to convey certain verbal messages, slogans, or descriptions, it's important to write, record, and edit the entire voiceover so that you know it fits within the duration you have for your completed edit. You can always slide the words' positions after you know they fit.

To reduce the preparatory video editing steps, you'll use the completed sample project and follow School Two this time. To help you out, I have put together a brief script that echoes the visual emphasis of the edit. Time to get started.

Notes

When I edited the sample project for Adobe, I tried to make a short and simple montage of clips integrated with transitions on two tracks each for audio and video, as well as an animated Photoshop file to highlight that feature. For this audio section, you will treat the montage as if it were a car commercial.