Video Volume

A very common problem are videos where the playback volume is too low, barely enough for your audience to hear, even on max volume; this is especially noticeable if your audience are not wearing headphones....

Please note: turning up the volume on the device while you are recording will have no effect on this whatsoever, the only way to ensure a good level of volume for playback of any video you create is to:

1. position yourself as closely as possible to the device you using to record.
2. use a separate microphone (like a lavalier microphone) so you can plug one end into your device and clip the other end to your clothing, then your voice will come across loud and clear.

Of course in the situation that Helen has kindly modelled for us in this video, sometimes it’s very difficult to get any closer to the microphone no matter what you try, due to the nature of the video you are making, and if you have no microphone to use, you have no choice but to make do... What do you do then? Raise your voice, yes, but you can also cheat...

iMovie Amplification

You may not have a microphone, or you may have already recorded a video, and the thought of having to do it all again fills you with dread... in this case you can ‘cheat‘ by editing the video in iMovie to increase the volume, but the laws of physics ensure that you can’t just do that without paying a price, and the price you pay is increased ‘hiss’ because by amplifying your voice you also amplify the background 'silence' (it's not really silent) which will manifest as a hissing sound...

Technically in iMovie you can increase the volume up to 4 or 5 times or 400 to 500% depending on whether you use an iPad or a Mac, then export the video and use that instead...