How to Add Music to Your Video: A Helpful Guide
Getting the right music for your video or film is something of a fine art. When done well, it will elevate the overall quality of your production. When done poorly or executed unprofessionally, it can essentially lead to your vision being greatly diminished or wasted entirely.
We have all gotten accustomed to watching a lot of film and video content, especially during the last year where we’ve been stuck indoors. We are all very adept at picking up when the soundtrack for a video or film just isn’t quite right, or in some cases, is just totally inappropriate.
“I feel like soundtrack music is almost like seeing the movie again, but with my ears.”
Getting the Right Pace
The style of music you use has to be in step with the action it’s being overlaid upon. For instance, you wouldn’t use an upbeat drum and bass style track during a romantic encounter, and similarly, a jaunty, playful tune won’t work in an eerie horror flick.
Clearly, these are extreme examples, and you’ll soon work out the nuance needed to match the music to your video perfectly.
A lot of this is down to the pace of both the music you use and the pace of the action it’s being placed over. The whole relationship between music and visuals, when done right, should be seamless. Almost as if you don’t even notice the connection.
In an ideal scenario, the pace will be pitch-perfect, and in a way, you won’t notice where the sounds end and the visuals begin.
Picking the Perfect Music Track
When selecting the right music for your video, there is a big element of personal taste that comes into the equation, but you should be prepared to consider the overall bigger picture when you make your music choices.
By this, we mean. Don’t make concrete decisions before you’ve seen the complete picture.
For instance, you may have your heart set on using a certain track just because it feels like the cool track to use. However, you may sit down and realize that in the end, it just doesn’t add to the overall visual narrative.
You need then to take a dispassionate approach to the decision-making process, which can be tough for some directors and producers.
Cutting a Track to Fit a Video
When it comes to making a song, or soundtrack, fit a video or a scene within a video, you’ll have to be very careful how you go about successfully achieving this cut.
You may have a piece of music that is longer than the video or scene. in that case, you’ll have to carefully edit or remix the audio so that you don’t miss key elements of the music/visual marriage.
Similarly, you may find that the music you are trying to fit into your video is too short, and in which case, you may feel that the music isn’t, in fact, the right fit. There are occasions when thematically you can cleverly repeat themes, or elements, of a song within a scene. When this is done right, it can prove very effective.
For example, in a particularly tense scene, the repeated use of a portion, or strand, of music can add weight and emphasis and, in fact, end up being highly effective.
This is where you should look to securing a video editing software that fits your needs and find a great library of music for video editing purposes.
Making Sure the Song Fits The Visuals
The use of music for your video should always be a thoughtful one. That doesn’t mean merely slapping a soundtrack to a visual and hoping for the best. Always consider the kind of message you are attempting to portray with a scene or an overall video project.
The soundtrack should then carefully help convey that message in a way that is not unnecessarily abrupt and out of step with the themes in your video. This is easier than it sounds and is a skill that you will develop over time.
Pay Attention to Sound Levels
Whatever production you are putting together, it’s likely that you will also have a track that relates to the production itself as well as a soundtrack that is playing within the visuals.
For example, if you’re putting together a documentary style video, there will clearly be a narration. As such, you’ll need to keep the level of sound down to cater to that.
Similarly, if you are shooting a drama or any type of scripted program, you’ll have to make sure the music doesn’t drown out the dialogue. In Premiere Pro, you can use the Essential Sound panel to auto-duck music behind the dialogue so it’s properly mixed.
Similarly, if you are shooting a drama or any type of scripted program, you’ll have to make sure the music doesn’t drown out the dialogue. In Premiere Pro, you can use the Essential Sound panel to auto-duck music behind the dialogue so it’s properly mixed.
Trial and Error
Don’t make snap decisions when it comes to adding music to your video, taking a considered approach.
A strong advantage of signing up to a royalty-free music provider, who will almost certainly offer a near-limitless number of songs and SFX options, is that if you have a subscription with the provider, chopping and changing the musical options won’t come at a large expense.