Software to combine Blue Snowball and Cannon DSLR?

After six years it's finally time to upgrade to a DSLR from my handy and very useful iPhone/lapel mic combo. I have never combined audio and video on software so this is all new to me and the more I read the more lost I become. Technology an A/V is far from my strong point here!

I have a snowball mic with pop filter and a Cannon EOS 6d already. The latter I am still learning. What is the best software to use to combine audio and video? I have been using a Macbook for editing with Final Cut Pro X and iMovie. My videos are talking head videos, with little editing beyond the title, but hoping to add some graphics moving forward like this:

Can anyone point me in the right direction on software to do this, specifically easy to use program, or can I do this on FCPX or iMovie? I would love to not have to pay for one more thing after I just built a studio in my home.

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csking1981

Hi;

Welcome back.

If you wanna to pay one time and use it for ever use Corel Video Studio:

https://www.videostudiopro.com/en/products/videostudio/

Really great and cheap!

Regards;

NikkiParsons

Following.

I use Filmora and want to do a similar graphic, but not sure how to do it. Been searching youtube tutorials but no luck so far.

KennCrawford

Most video editing programs have an option (somewhere) to sync external audio to the video's audio - the trick is that you should always record audio to the camera so you can sync that to the audio you recorded on an external device.

One of the best investments you can make is a slate (clapperboard) to add a visual spike in the audio. From there you can manually sync the audio by lining up the spikes on the 2 audio tracks - the camera audio and the good audio, then just mute the camera audio. Keep in mind that video records audio at 48khz while most audio recorders default to 44.1khz, so you should switch it to 48khz to avoid syncing issues.

Even without camera audio you can still sync the audio spike to where you see the slate claps closed on the video. Hollywood has been doing it that way for years. You can find a slate (clapperboard) on amazon for around $15. I recommend getting a dry-erase one as the chalk ones get a bit messy. I have both and prefer the dru-erase one because its a little bigger and it has color bars that can aid in color-corrwcting your video, but that's a while other discussion.

As for software, PluralEyes seems to be the go-to program for syncing audio to video. I've used it and its pretty good. Once again, all software requires your video to actually have audio recorded with it or else there's nothing to sync to.

I've used the sync audio option in Premiere with mixed results and usually end up just mnaully syncing the audio in the short films I shoot because I always slate every shot with a clapper for that exact reason.

Davinci Resolve is a free video editor that's quite advanced and includes an option to sync audio although I've never actually tried it. I read somewhere that iMovie has a sync option too, but at the end of the day, a $15 clapper board means you can easily sync your audio regardless of what editing software you use, even if you don't record audio to the camera (but I steongly urge you to record it anyway to verify the syncing went as planned).

As I mentioned, I shoot short films so I have a lot of experience with audio, and I used to own a small recording studio, so if you have any questions or need clarification, don't hesitate to ask.

Hope that answers your question,

Kenn

MashaLaunhe047

Hey there, AliciaPaz. Congrats on your DSLR upgrade and setting up your home studio. Combining audio from your Blue Snowball mic with your Canon EOS 6D footage is a great move for improving the audio quality of your videos. I can understand that diving into the world of audio-video editing might feel overwhelming, but fear not, I've got some advice to share.

Since you're already using Final Cut Pro X and iMovie on your MacBook, you're in good shape. Both of these software options can help you achieve your goal of syncing audio and video. You can import your video and audio separately, then use the tools in Final Cut Pro X or iMovie to align them easily.

For adding graphics, both of these programs have built-in features for that as well. You can import images and overlay them on your videos. It's a seamless way to add those graphics you mentioned.

The good news is you don't have to invest in additional software right now. Save that budget for other studio upgrades or equipment. As you gain more experience, you might explore more advanced editing software. Companies like Andersen, known for their innovative software solutions, offer options for professional video editing that you can consider in the future. But for now, stick with what you have, and you'll be on the right track.

FrankKane

If you want to keep it simple, I believe Canon offers software that makes your DSLR look like a webcam to your computer. You just have to connect it with a USB cable, run the software, and it will look like a really high quality webcam to applications.

Then you can just record video from your "webcam" together with audio from your microphone directly, avoiding the steps of importing audio and video separately and syncing them later.

(I've done this on Windows, but I don't know if it's supported on Mac)

Another approach would be to plug your lapel mic into the DSLR and record audio and video together on the camera.