How to Add Sound Effects to a Video

Sound effects are your best friends for creating believable videos, setting a mood, telling impressive stories, or producing professional-looking content. Read our article to learn how to add sound effects to a video.

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Snapmuse

Published: Mar 12, 2023

Updated: Jul 17, 2023

In This Article

How Do I Add Audio to Video Effects?
How Do You Add Sound Effects to Videos on iPhone?
How Do You Add Sound Effects to a TikTok Video?
How Can I Add Effects to My Audio?

Sound effects are like magical ingredients that spice up any media project, be it movies or video games. They serve as an additional layer of storytelling that elevates the sensory experience to the next level, bringing viewers and players into the world being presented. Sound effects are any sounds that aren't human speech or music, and they can be either analog or digital, either recorded and edited or artificially synthesized.

Recording sound effects is an art form that requires specialized knowledge and equipment. To capture the most optimal sounds, sound recordists utilize various types of microphones that can capture spatial qualities and frequency balances. Hydrophones and contact microphones, for instance, allow the capture of sounds present in places outside of human listening range. Each microphone has distinct capabilities in terms of frequency response, maximum Sound Pressure Level, and internal noise, which is critical in selecting the appropriate microphone for capturing the ideal sound effects.

Sound effects come in different file formats, with WAV or AIFF being the most commonly used professional formats, both raw and uncompressed. However, MP3 is the most popular codec used for compressed sounds. Video games often use an OGG file container that compresses files into an uncompressed format to reduce CPU load during runtime. To ensure the best sound quality, professional bit depths are an absolute minimum of 16 bits, and the sample rates should be an absolute minimum of 44.1 kHz.

The significance of sound effects has given rise to sound effect libraries, where anyone can access and use sound effects. These libraries, such as Soundsnap, provide thousands of sound effects contributed by various recordists. They make it easier for sound designers to create sound effects for their projects, reducing the resources and time required to capture and record them.

To summarise, sound effects are an essential component of any media project, adding an extra layer of immersion and engagement to the visual and auditory experiences. The correct capture, editing, equipment, and file formats are essential in creating high-quality sound effects. Investing in high-quality sound effects is an investment in the overall quality of your project, be it a film, podcast, or video game.

If you want to learn how to add sound effects to your projects using editing tools, keep reading!

How Do I Add Audio to Video Effects?

Sound effects serve to add an extra layer of immersion and engagement to the visual experience. Thus, they play a vital role in creating a dynamic and engaging audio-visual experience. In film and television, they add depth and realism to the picture, while in video games, they serve to create an immersive environment and provide important feedback to the player. Understanding the different uses of sound effects in various mediums is crucial for any aspiring audio engineer or sound designer.

As a result, adding audio to video effects can bring your content to life and make it more engaging for your audience. You can follow the steps below to add SFX or non copyright music to your video effects:

Step 1: The first step is to open your video editing software and create a new project. Most software will have the option to start a new project or file when you open it.
Step 2: Once you have started a new project, you can import both the video file and the audio file you want to use. The video and audio files should be saved on your computer, so you can easily access them.
Step 3: In most video editing software, you will see a timeline where you can drag and drop your video and audio files. Drag your video file into the timeline first and then drag your audio file to a new audio track below the video track.
Step 4: After you have added the audio to the timeline, you will need to align it with the video. You can do this by adjusting the position of the audio track in the timeline until it matches the video.
Step 5: If necessary, you can make further adjustments to the audio using the audio editing tools in your software. These tools may include adjusting the volume, adding effects, or cutting and trimming the audio to match the video.
Step 6: Before exporting the final video file, make sure to preview the video and audio together to ensure they are synchronized and sound good. If everything looks good, you can export the video with the audio included.

Adding audio to video effects is a simple process that can enhance your video content and make it more engaging for your audience. Just follow these basic steps and get creative with your audio editing tools to create a professional-looking video.

In addition to sound effects, you can also use music for podcast, background music, popular songs, and ambient noises in your videos.

How Do You Add Sound Effects to Videos on iPhone?

Want to add some cool sound effects to your iPhone videos? Well, you're in luck because it's super easy to do with the iMovie app. Here's how:

First, open the iMovie app on your iPhone and start a new project. Once you're in, import the video file you want to add sound effects to by tapping the "+" button and selecting the video from your camera roll.
Next, select the video in the timeline by tapping on it, then tap the "Audio" button in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. From there, select "Sound Effects" from the list of options.
You'll see a library of fun sound effects to choose from, like animal noises, cartoon sounds, and more. Browse through the options and tap on the one you want to use. You can adjust the volume of the sound effect by dragging the volume slider.
Once you've selected your sound effect, tap the play button to preview the video with the sound effect. If you need to make any adjustments to the timing or volume, you can do so from the same screen.
When you're happy with the video and sound effects, tap "Done" to save your changes.

And that's it! iMovie makes it easy to add sound effects to your videos on iPhone, but if you want to use your own sound effects, you can import them by tapping the "Audio" button and selecting "My Music". From there, you can browse your music library and select any audio file to use as a sound effect.

You should note that you can only use non-copyrighted music and sound effects in the videos that you want to share on social media. If you don’t know much about music licensing, take a closer look at our article titled “What is royalty free music?”.

How Do You Add Sound Effects to a TikTok Video?

Want to add some cool sound effects to your TikTok video? Follow these simple steps:

First, launch the TikTok app and tap on the plus icon at the bottom of the screen to create a new video. You can either record a new video or choose one from your camera roll.
Next, tap the "Sounds" icon at the bottom of the screen to access the TikTok sound library. Here, you can browse through a vast collection of sound effects to find the one that suits your video.
Once you've found the perfect sound effect, tap the "Record" button to start filming your video while the sound effect is playing. You can adjust the volume of the sound effect using the slider on the right side of the screen.
After recording, you can edit the timing of the sound effect by tapping the "Sounds" icon and selecting "Edit Sound." This lets you trim the sound effect to the desired length.
Want to add more sound effects to your video? No worries! You can select "Sounds" and browse for more sound effects to add to your video.

Aside from the built-in sound library, you can also import your own sound effects by selecting "Upload" in the "Sounds" menu. From there, you can choose any audio file saved on your device to add to your video.

Once you're happy with your sound effects, you can use the app's editing tools to further tweak your video. Add some text, stickers, or even filters to make your video more interesting. When you're all set, post your video to your profile or share it with your friends.

You can also add royalty free music to your TikToks to make them more appealing and interesting. Discover our extensive high-quality royalty-free music library to find popular songs that will elevate the production quality of your videos and make your TikToks more engaging.

Title

Genre

Beats Of Orient Zone (Instrumental Version) - Denise Cappadia

Downtempo

03:56

Logic Portal - KlOsErAw

Dubstep

01:55

Fly Fox - Space Cast

Pop Music

03:01

Veneration - KlOsErAw

Dub

01:10

Oyun Havasi (Dizzy Davis Beatless Remix) - Can Dede

Downtempo

05:44

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How Can I Add Effects to My Audio?

There are many tools and ways to add sound effects to an audio clip to make it unique, more interesting, and engaging. Here are some tips to take your audio game to the next level:

Discover digital audio workstations (DAW): You can record, edit, and mix audio with DAW programs. You can easily apply built-in effects like reverb, delay, compression, and EQ to create a certain feel or mood in your audio tracks.
Use plug-ins: You can add many plug-ins to your DAW to create one-of-a-kind audio clips. There are numerous plug-ins that change the overall feel of your audio, such as chorus, reverb, or distortion.
Use hardware: Professional musicians use hardware to create sound effects and edit their audio files. You can connect a piece of dedicated hardware to your mixer and experiment with your audio tracks.
Use a sound effects library: You can find hundreds of pre-recorded sound effects in sound effects libraries, including ambient noises, water sounds, footsteps, electronic sounds, and more. You can use these SFX in your videos, podcasts, original songs, and more.

If you are looking for high-quality non-copyrighted sound effects or royalty free instrumental music, don’t forget to check out our rich library where you can browse by genre, mood, and artist to find the perfect soundtrack for your project.

Title

Sound Effect

Newborn Baby Start Crying 006

Human