Camtasia Studio Learning Center

This tutorial will walk through how to prepare for recording audio.  Included in this tutorial are ways to record better quality audio, how to adjust the audio settings in Camtasia Studio, and how to change the audio codec used for recording.

Camtasia Studio Video Tutorial

Before you Begin

Audio is a critical part of many recordings.  There are many different ways to adjust audio from inside Camtasia Studio.  This article will discuss how to make these adjustments and give some reasoning why these changes may be helpful.  While we try to present as much information as possible, there any many variables and different situations that will make recording audio different, unfortunately it is impossible for us to cover every situation.

Points to Consider Before Recording Audio

Whether you are going to use Camtasia Studio or another program to record audio, there are a few points that you may want to consider before starting. 

Microphone Considerations

You will also want to consider the quality of your microphone.  Microphones can vary in their cost and quality.  It seems that the quality of microphones generally tends to be acceptable at about the $40 level and up.  We recommend USB microphones typically since they are not affected by your computer’s soundcard.

 You could literally spend very little up to thousands of dollars on a microphone; you want to try to find one that will meet your recording needs and expected quality.  At the bare minimum, try to avoid recording using the built in microphone in your laptop.  Using built in microphones, such as those in laptops, will capture a lot of extra noise, including the vibration and fan noise associated with the laptop running. 

Recording Area

The area that you choose to record can have just as much of an effect on the quality of your audio as the microphone that you choose to record with.  A few things to consider about your recording area:
Areas to Avoid

• Large rooms tend to sound empty and cavernous (unless you want an open hall feel you’ll want to avoid this type of setting).
• Rooms with hard walls and surfaces.  Noise will reflect off these surfaces back into your microphone, diminishing the quality of the audio.
• Rooms with an air vent close by.  If the air conditioning or heat turns on and starts blowing, more than likely you will hear this in your recording. 
• Cubical with noisy neighbors.  Maybe you can’t do anything about this, although you could see if they might quiet down for a few minutes while you record.
• Outside.  This one is a toss-up actually.  The biggest problems are traffic noise and the wind blowing into the microphone. 

Many items in an office or home setting can generate background noise, for example heating and air conditioning vents, fans, light fixtures, etc. which can diminish the audio quality, before recording try eliminating these noises.

Areas to Consider

• Sound booth.  If we all could be so lucky.
• Libraries.  Libraries are great because they are typically quiet and they have lots of books which absorb extra noise and reverberation.  Libraries have what audio folks call a very dead sound. 
• An office or room that you can control the ventilation, foot traffic, and talking. If you can eliminate this extra noise your recordings will sound better.  You may want to put a sign on your door notifying any potential visitors that you’re recording. 
• Coat Closet.  Yes, we know that this sounds absurd.  It’s great though, albeit a little awkward to explain to a supervisor.  Why a coat closet?  It’s small enough that it doesn’t sound like a cave, and the coats act as an absorption material for all of the extra noise and reverberation.  Not many people have vents in their coat closets – so it eliminates another problem.
• Quiet places.  Just sit in the area and listen; you should quickly pick-up on what types of noises will potentially be picked up by your microphone.  If you’re unsure if the location will work or not, try performing a short test recording.

What to Do If You Are Stuck in an Undesirable Recording Area

If you’re stuck with an area that you want to avoid, there are a few tricks that can help you to eliminate some of the problems.  If possible, eliminate hard surfaces in your recording space by hanging foam, carpeting, or anything soft on the wall.  You can always ask maintenance to turn off your vent (at your own risk of then freezing or being too warm). 

Build a Recording Box

You may want to make a small box (1.5 feet wide x 1.5 high x 1.5 feet deep) and put foam padding on all the inside surfaces (acoustic foam works the best, but at this point carpet or egg foam will be better than nothing.)  You then place your microphone inside the box during recording.  This will help eliminate background noise, and help to deaden the recording space which will provide for better audio recordings. 

The Blanket over Your Head Trick

If you’re not easily embarrassed, or the quest for good audio outweighs the type of comments you may deal with later, you can always put a blanket over your head and microphone while you record.  Sound too silly? It really works. The blanket acts as a natural sound absorber and barrier.  The blanket will keep outside noises out and cut down on unwanted reverberation off of hard surfaces in the office.  The biggest difficulties are the darkness and it can get warm underneath the blanket quickly.

Hardware Setup          

Before making any adjustments, please check to see that your microphone is plugged into microphone input.  This might seems obvious, but the author of this article has made this mistake more than once. 

In addition to plugging in the microphone, you will want to make sure that it is positioned correctly before you start to record. 

Lapel Microphone

If you are using a lapel microphone, you will want to make sure that it is close enough to the bottom of your chin to effective capture your voice. 

Headset Microphone

If you are using a headset with a microphone, you will also want to make sure that the microphone is positioned so that it can capture your voice.  Rather than wearing the head set while you talk, you may want to have the headset around your neck with the microphone pointing up so it is directly in front of the mouth.

Desktop Microphone

When using a desktop microphone you will, as with the other microphones, want to make sure that you position yourself close enough to the microphone so your voice can be clearly picked up.  You will also need to make sure that you are not so far away that you sound distant in the recording.  Practice and some trial and error will help you to find the sweet spot. 

You may also want to consider adjusting your microphone so that you talk sideways across the microphone rather than directly into it.  This will help eliminate some of the air/wind noise when you talk that sometimes get recorded. 
Pop and Wind Filters

A pop filters is a noise protection screen that can help reduce the popping and hissing sounds found in recordings.  They usually are round with a nylon screen pulled tightly across it.  It can help audio sound cleaner and more professional.  Pop filters range in price, but a fairly good one can be purchased from any audio (music) store for $20. 

A wind filter is the foam covering that is placed on top of the microphone.  The wind filter will protect the microphone from wind interference, including wind generated during talking, and keep the microphone clean.   Wind filters are very inexpensive (starting at $5.00), but will have less effect on the popping noises than a wind filter. 

How to Adjust Audio in Camtasia Studio

Before adjusting settings in Camtasia Studio, you should note that changing the audio settings of the program will adjust the audio throughout all of the locations that audio can be adjusted in Camtasia Studio. 

Where to Find Audio Settings

This section specifically will walk through how to find the options for adjusting the audio.  Please see the Audio Hardware and Recoding Source Options and the Adjusting the Recording Input Level to learn more about adjusting the audio settings. 
The audio can be adjusted from the following:

• The Camtasia Recorder
• The Voice Narration feature
• The Record Camera feature
• Camtasia Studio PowerPoint Add-in

How to Access Camtasia Recorder Audio Options

There are three locations in the Camtasia Recorder for adjusting the audio: 

• The New Recording Wizard

When you choose to Record the Screen the New Recording Wizard will open.  Walk through the first through steps of the wizard.  Note: On the 3rd screen you will need to check Record Audio for the audio options to be available. 

The audio options are available as steps 4 and 5 of the wizard.

• Camtasia Recorder

Accessing audio through the Camtasia Record eliminates the need to walk through the New Recording Wizard when you want to adjust the audio properties, but not the other recording settings.

Click on the Audio link to access the audio options screens. 

• Camtasia Recorder Tool Options
• From the Camtasia Recorder, you can access the audio properties from the Tools menu.  Click on Tools and then choose Options.

•  From the Options menu click on the Audio tab.  From this tab you may (A) adjust the audio hardware options or (B) click on the Audio setup wizard to adjust the audio input levels.

How to Access Camtasia Studio Voice Narration Audio Options

From Camtasia Studio you can adjust audio settings from the Voice Narration feature.

• Click on the Voice Narration option found under the Task List on the left side of the screen. 

• Click on the Audio Setup Wizard button to access the menus for adjusting the audio options screens.

How to Access Camtasia Studio Record Camera Audio Options

From Camtasia Studio you can adjust audio settings from the Record Camera feature.

• Click on the Record Camera option found under the Task List on the left side of the screen. 

• Click on the Audio Setup Wizard button to access the menus for adjusting the audio options screens.

How to Access the Camtasia Studio PowerPoint Add-in  Audio Options

From the Camtasia Studio PowerPoint Add-in you may also adjust audio options before starting recording. 

• From the Camtasia Studio Add-in Tool bar click on the Options icon.

Note: If you are unable to find your Camtasia Studio PowerPoint Add-in please see the Editing PowerPoint Toolbar tutorial. 

• From the Options window, click on the Advance button to open the Advanced Video and Audio Setup options.

• In the Audio Options section you can adjust the Audio device options.  Click on the Audio Setup Wizard to adjust the recording input level. 

How to Adjust Audio Hardware and Recording Source Options

Depending on the microphone or source you are recording from you may need to adjust the hardware settings during set-up.  Select the audio device that you want to record from.  If you have more than one option available you will see a drop down menu.  This menu will allow you to choose between your different devices.

Next you will want to select the recording source.  Depending on your system, some options may not be available to you.  For instance, some systems do not allow Speaker Audio to be captured, as is shown in the image below.

Quick Tip for Recording System audio.

If you need to capture speaker audio, but your system doesn’t allow it, there is an easy work around. You will need to purchase a cord with a 1/8 inch (typical size for input jacks on computers) audio plug on each end (the ends should be the same).  Plug one end of the cord into the microphone jack and the other end into the headphone jack.  This will allow you to record your system audio.
Once you have adjusted your Audio hardware settings, click Next to continue adjusting your audio properties.

How to Adjust the Recording Input Level

An important tool for helping you to record the best audio quality possible is to properly adjust the recording input level.  If the level is too low, you will not be able to hear your recording very well.  If the level is too high, the audio will become distorted and may be difficult to listen to. 
When adjusting the Input level, typically the input indicator should show consistently orange.  If it is in the green most of the time your input level is too low.  If the level is consistently red, then your input level is too high.  Fluctuation of the level is expected. 

Auto-Adjust the Input Level

To help you properly adjust the level you can use the Auto-Adjust Volume option.  This option will help adjust the input level for your voice and voice volume. 
To adjust the input level automatically:

• Click on the Auto-Adjust Volume button.

• Wait for the countdown to finish.

• Read the provided script.  It is important that you read the script with same volume that you plan to record your audio with; otherwise the input level may not be correct for your recording.

• Once the adjustment is done, click on Finish.

Manual Adjustment of the Input Level

You can manually adjust the level by moving the slider up and down. 

How to Change the Recording Audio Codec

The audio codec can be changed from any of the locations that you can adjust the audio options:

• Camtasia Recorder
•  Voice Narration
• Record Camera
• Camtasia Studio PowerPoint Add-in. 
  

•  For each of the mentioned locations look for and click on the Audio Format button.

• Choose the Formats and Attributes that will be meet your projects needs

Note: As a rule of thumb the higher the Attribute numbers the better the quality and the larger the file size will be. 
Note: Before selecting a final setting, we recommended that you make a few short recordings to try out different settings before choosing one particular setting.
Note: You can always your setting and apply it to other recordings later.