Once you’ve decided which microphone to use and you’ve configured it as described in the previous section, you’re ready to record audio using iMovie.
As with most tasks in iMovie, recording is pretty easy:
- Open the project for which you want to record narration or other sounds, and switch to the timeline view if you’re not there already.
- If you’re working with a current movie project, move the play head to the spot where you want to begin recording.
- Click the Audio button above the timeline to open the audio pane.
- Say a few words to test the audio levels. As your microphone picks up sound, the audio meter in iMovie should indicate the recording level. If the meter doesn’t move at all, your microphone probably isn’t working. You’ll notice that as sound levels rise, the meter changes from green to yellow and finally red. For best results, try to keep the sound levels close to the yellow part of the meter. If the audio levels are too low, the recording may have a lot of unwanted noise relative to the recorded voice or sound. If levels are too high, the audio recording could pop and sound distorted. Unfortunately, iMovie doesn’t offer an audio level adjustment for audio you record, so you’ll have to fine-tune levels the old fashioned way, by changing the distance between the microphone and your subject.
- Click Record and begin your narration. The movie project plays as you recite your narration.
- When you’re done, click Stop.
