How to Mix Instrumental & Vocals on Windows 7 Movie Maker
Windows Live Movie Maker for Windows 7 makes it relatively easy even for novices to create professional-looking videos in a matter of minutes. Although not as powerful as some commercial editing applications, Movie Maker features all the things most home video producers really need -- including the ability to insert instrumental music in a video clip or add a narration recording. If you wish to play a narration over a background track, though, you must create two videos and mix the sound levels of the recordings to ensure the instrumental track does drown out your voice narration.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Download Windows Live Movie Maker from the Windows Live website and install it if you have not already done so. After you install Movie Maker, restart your computer.
-
2
Click "Start," "All Programs," then "Windows Live Movie Maker" to launch the program.
-
-
3
Click "Add Videos and Photos" on the Movie Maker toolbar. Browse to a folder on your computer containing video clips or photos you want to include in your video. Highlight the media files, then click the "Open" button. Movie Maker adds the photos or video clips to the timeline in the preview window. Add additional photos or videos to the timeline as needed.
-
4
Click the "Add Music" icon on the toolbar. Select an instrumental or music audio file from a folder on your PC, then click "Open." Movie Maker adds the audio file track above the photos and videos on the timeline.
-
5
Click the "Title" link on the toolbar, then add a title for the video or movie. Use the "Caption" and "Credits" links on the toolbar to add a credits screen and caption text as needed.
-
6
Click the "Save" movie button. Enter a name for the clip in the "File Name" field, then click "Save." After the confirmation window appears, click the "Play" button to review the movie in your default media player application.
-
7
Click the "Pause" button as soon as the video starts playing. Click the "Mute" button on the video player bar or use the volume slide to make audio from the video inaudible.
-
8
Minimize the media player window to the taskbar. Then click the "Start" button. Click "All Programs," then "Accessories," then "Sound Recorder." Alternatively, open another sound recording application on your computer.
-
9
Connect a microphone to your computer. Click "Start," "Control Panel," then "Sound." Ensure that the microphone is set as the default-recording device.
-
10
Click "Record" on the "Sound Recorder" bar or in another sound application. Maximize the video player window, then click "Play."
-
11
Speak into the microphone and narrate the video as it plays. After you finish recording the narration, click "Stop" button in the sound recorder application. Enter a file name for the recording and save it as a MP3 or WMV audio file. Close the sound recorder program.
-
12
Maximize the Windows Live Movie Maker window. Click the drop-down arrow in the left upper-hand corner of the window, then click "New Project."
-
13
Click the "Add Videos" button, then browse to the video you created earlier. Click the "Open" button to import the video into the new project.
-
14
Click "Add Music," then browse to the narration recording you made with the microphone. Highlight the file and click open. Click the "Music Tools" tab. Click the "Music Volume" icon, then ensure the volume slider control is all the way to the right.
-
15
Click "Project" on the toolbar. Click the "Audio Mix" button. Slide the slider to the left until it is position about one-third of the length of the slider bar away from the "Video Clip" icon on the left.
-
16
Click the "Play" button on the video preview player. Listen to the volume levels to determine if the balance between the background music is acceptable. If the background music is too loud or too soft, use the volume slide on the "Project" tab to adjust it.
-
17
Save the new video with a new name.
-
1
