Skip to main content
H
Hoboken2012
Participating Frequently
September 25, 2013
Question

How to better blend voiceover and music?

  • September 25, 2013
  • 2 replies
  • 19309 views

I am working on a video and I have voiceover and music. It right now sounds very separated, like you can tell it's two different tracks running separately. Is there a way to blend them better together, so it sounds like a person is speaking with a background music...As opposed to person speaking and music playing.

Thank you

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    Steven L. Gotz
    Steven L. Gotz
    Inspiring
    September 26, 2013

    I wonder if the effect you are looking for is a little bit of reverb. Just to indicate that the music is in a room the same size of the room that the person speaking is in.

    As Jon and Richard have pointed out, it is difficult to know what your particular issue is or how to fix it, but I have often added the slightest bit of reverb when attempting ADR with indoor video. That gives the music the feel of being more in the background with the person.

    Also, another trick is to play the music over the computer speakers, or better yet, through a stereo system's speakers, and record it using the same microphone that you recorded the person with. That gives it somewhat the same audio "feel". I know there is a word for that "feel", but it escapes me at the moment. Tone, tenor, something like that, I think.

    In any case, the music recorded in the background while someone is speaking, is not the same clean, perfect audio that you get from the WAV or even an MP3. So, you have to kind of "dirty it up" a bit to make it match. Add the room tone to the music the same way you most likely, unavoidably, added the room tone to the person speaking.

    artofzootography.com
    H
    Hoboken2012Author
    Participating Frequently
    September 26, 2013

    Thank you Steven. Will try what you recommended now.

    H
    Hoboken2012Author
    Participating Frequently
    September 26, 2013

    OK, so reverb worked well for the music.

    I will try to explain what's up with the voice so hopefully someone call help me "fix" it. She is speaking very close to a mic. Every "sh", "ch" sound is very pronounced. I'd like to soften it. There's a little bit of an echo, just slightly. I'd like to remove that. And you have a feeling that she is speaking in a room. I'd like to make it sound like she is talking while sitting next to me, as opposed to talking from a box.

    I've experimenting all day...Tried Spectral Noice Reduction on the voice. That just made it muddy and high pitch. One utorial recommended "Treble" for the voice, but I don't think that voice needs to cut through the music more...That's not the issue. I just want to blend the voice and the music.

    Thank you for all the answers and help.

    J
    joe_bloe_premiere
    Inspiring
    September 25, 2013

    Premiere Pro / Mixing audio tracks and clips

    http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/overview-audio-audio-mixer.html#mixing_audio_tracks_and_clips

    Premiere Pro / Adjusting volume levels

    http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premierepro/cs/using/WS1c9bc5c2e465a58a91cf0b1038518aef7-7f35a.html

    Premiere Pro / Advanced mixing

    http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premierepro/cs/using/WS1c9bc5c2e465a58a91cf0b1038518aef7-7f23a.html

    H
    Hoboken2012Author
    Participating Frequently
    September 26, 2013

    Thank you. That is a lot of helpful, basic info.

    Can you or someone please provide a good tutorial on the specific task I have? So I will adjust volumes. Voice to say -6dB, music to -30dB. But then  what are good effects to use? Would "chorus" work in this case?

    I have a lynda.com account. I have read a ton on this topic today. I listened to like 10 tutorials... But my project is due tomorrow. It does not need to be a masterpiece of audio mixing but just a little blending of music and narration would help.

    Thanks much.

    Jon-M-Spear
    Jon-M-Spear
    Legend
    September 26, 2013

    To be honest, without hearing the component parts: understanding your creative intent or knowing its application, Joe's suggestions are pretty much as far as the help can go at this stage.  Just ensure no audio peaks above -6db.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices