Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 946)

Note: When recording, the Voice Over tool works with the Sound Manager to record in
mono mode. When you choose the audio interface input for a stereo input device, the
Voice Over tool uses only the left input channel (channel 1) of a stereo input device when
recording; the right channel is ignored. Recorded Voice Over clips, when placed on a
track assigned to a mono output bus, appear and sound at the same level as the Voice
Over recording meter displayed. However, recorded Voice Over clips, when panned to
the center on a stereo output bus, appear and sound 6 dB lower than the Voice Over
recording meter displayed.
Stage 4: Choosing an Audio Track and Duration for Your Voiceover
In the Browser, select and open the sequence to which you want to add a voiceover, then
set In and Out points where you want the voiceover to begin and end. For more
information about setting the recording duration and the destination audio track, see
“Defining the Recording Duration and Destination Track.”
Stage 5: Determining the Offset of Your Audio Interface
Every digital recording device has some latency from the time audio enters the microphone
to the time it’s processed. This latency can cause your narration to be offset by a few
frames from your video. You can adjust this offset in the Voice Over tool so that your
audio is recorded exactly in sync with your sequence. In general, USB audio interfaces
have an offset of one frame and DV camcorders have an offset of three frames. Other
interfaces may have different offsets.
To determine the offset of your audio recording device
1 In the Timeline, set the In point of your sequence at 10 seconds, then set the Out point
at 20 seconds.
2 Hold the microphone that’s connected to your audio recording device to the speaker of
your computer.
3 Choose Tools > Voice Over, then click the Record button.
(What you’re doing is recording the audio cue beeps that your computer plays back.)
Recording stops automatically and this new audio clip is placed in the Timeline.
4 In the Timeline, drag the end of the newly recorded audio clip to the right to show the
last 2 seconds of the audio recorded after the Out point.
5 Compare the position of the first frame of the final cue beep’s waveform to the position
of the Out point in the Timeline.
946 Chapter 58 Using the Voice Over Tool