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WLU_trainer
Participant
January 19, 2012
Question

What do you use for recording audio?

  • January 19, 2012
  • 5 replies
  • 1616 views

I do software simulation tutorials on Captivate 5, and have just been recording voice-overs using my computer's default mic with a headset.  The quality is mediocre - audible but a little amateurish.  Is there a better driver or something I could install that would help?

Also, Captivate often crashes while I'm recording audio, I've chalked it up to a memory/speed issue, I have a 2Ghz processor and 3GB installed RAM but I have no idea if that's the problem.  Think a different recording device could help?

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5 replies

A
Anonymous
July 25, 2013

Hi,

Just curious when you record do you use the Jack mic or the Digital Mic setting from Captivate to record when using your headphones?

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WLU_trainerAuthor
Participant
January 20, 2012

Awesome, thank you all!!!  I will definitely try the mic first, if I can avoid importing audio that will save me quite a bit of time. 

A
Anonymous
January 20, 2012

For what it is worth...if you are on a budget I can recommend the Sennheiser PC36. Whilst it is just a two ear headset with a microphone and USB connection to the PC -  the quality is excellent.

I work in a small office on my own so "off noises" are not normally an issue.

In regards editing - I do the whole thing in Captivate (v5.5). I add the audio onto the slide and then use Captivate's audio editing function.

It works for me.

Horses and Course spring to mind....

Noel

Lilybiri
Lilybiri
Legend
January 20, 2012

Like Rod, I think it is more important to have a good mic. When I changed to a Shure PG42 USB microphon, it was almost not necessary anymore to tweak the recorded audio clips even when recorded in Captivate. And I also read carefully some tips about making voice overs, breathing, etc. I'm not professional at all, but this mic really did miracles. Even a pop filter is not necessary.

Only tweaking I'm still doing (in Audition, since I can use the roundtripping in the eLearning Suite) is normalizing and/or leveling all audio clips to the same volume level if I didn't record at the same moment. Noise reduction is almost not necessary if I record in a quiet room and be careful not to record the noise of my laptop.

Lilybiri

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WLU_trainerAuthor
Participant
January 20, 2012

Lilybiri, were there any online resources on voice overs that you found particularly helfpul?  I've been doing some googling and there is sooo much out there, it's a lot to wade through.  Any links you have would be appreciated!

RodWard
Community Expert
RodWardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 20, 2012

Try recording with a decent USB mic.

I use Blue Snowball, Blue Yeti, or Rode Podcaster.

All give excellent results.

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    winstonsthoughtcrime
    Participating Frequently
    January 19, 2012

    Captivate doesn't have enough editing ability. I actually use Audacity, which is a pretty good sound editor for freeware. I record my voice over in one uncut wav file. Then I edit out mistakes, breaths, and I can even sample a section of background noise and it will edit it out from the whole recording. As I am editing I also cut the audio per slide and export it to MP3. Then it is a simple matter of importing the audio per slide and adjusting objects on the timeline if necessary, (or import audio into objects themselves if more than one voice goes to a slide.)

    You can also use Audacity to cut music files to loop background audio. I know any sound editing software can do this but again audacity is FREEWARE

    without annoying pop up ads or trojans. (no I don't work for the company either.)

    W
    WLU_trainerAuthor
    Participant
    January 19, 2012

    Awesome, I'll check it out.  Do you find it's cumbersome to get the files back in to Captivate?  Do you have to import each one individually? 

    W
    winstonsthoughtcrime
    Participating Frequently
    January 19, 2012

    Depends how you want to do it. I usually cut per slide and import each individually since I often time objects with the audio. I usually have all my objects set to end of slide and no transition, then when I import the audio file I select to expand the slide to match the length of the audio. All objects lengthen as well and I can adjust accordingly or leave as is.

    You can also distribute the audio over several or even all slides and adjust the slide length to match the audio. I think that is a lot more cumbersome however.

    Over all, it doesn't take long to import the audio depending on number of slides. I am also cursed with a great ear and can hear the tiniest of defects in the audio and it drives me nuts so Captivate alone just can't hack it.

    Here is Audacity's site http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ they also have a link to get the lame encoder plug-in so you can convert your wave to mp3. Enjoy and post back if you have any questions.

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