How do I add a voiceover to a video?

Upload the video and your recorded narration to Valmera and say where it goes, such as "add my voiceover from 0:04." The agent places it on its own layer, lowers the original audio 12 dB while you speak, and renders a preview it checks. You review it and export from Studio.

Can Valmera generate a voiceover with AI or text-to-speech?

No. Valmera has no text-to-speech, AI voices or voice cloning. Record the narration yourself (a phone voice memo works), upload it, and Valmera handles placement, trimming and the mix.

Will the music get quieter under my voiceover?

The video's original audio dips 12 dB automatically. Added music keeps its own level, because its ducking follows the video's audio rather than the narration, so say how loud it should be: "music at −24 dB under the voiceover."

Can I use only part of my recording?

Yes. Say "use 0:12 to 0:48 of the recording" and Valmera plays just that excerpt, with no trimming on your side. You can place several excerpts of one file at different points.

Will my voiceover be captioned automatically?

No. Captions come from the main footage's transcript, and an uploaded voiceover isn't transcribed. Paste your script and the agent adds it as caption items or on-screen text; then check the timing in the preview.

Can I replace the original audio with my narration?

Yes. Ask to mute the original audio and your narration becomes the only voice. Or keep some of it under the narration: "lower the original audio to −20 dB."

Is adding a voiceover free?

Creating an account and uploading are free. Editing requires a subscription — see plans at valmera.io/subscribe. Exports are full-resolution H.264 MP4s that end with a brief Valmera end card.

Add a Voiceover to Your Video

To add a voiceover to a video in Valmera, upload your recorded narration and tell the agent where it starts. It lays the narration over the edit on its own layer, lowers the video’s original audio by 12 dB while you speak, and can play just part of the recording without any trimming on your side.

The voice is always yours: Valmera has no text-to-speech, AI voices or voice cloning. That keeps the narration authentic, and it makes a clean recording the most important step.

Narrate Your Video

Upload the video and your recording, say where it goes, review the mix. Creating an account and uploading are free; editing requires a subscription.

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How to Add a Voiceover in Valmera

1
Upload the video
MP4, MOV, M4V, MKV or WebM, up to 14 GB and 3 hours. Screen recordings, b-roll and slideshows built from your own images work too.
2
Upload your narration
MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC or OGG, up to 50 MB. A phone voice memo works, and so does a video file: Valmera uses its sound and ignores the picture.
3
Say where it goes
“Start my voiceover at 0:05.” “Use only 0:12 to 0:48 of the recording.” “Put this line over the product shot.” Times are positions in the finished video.
4
Balance the mix
The original audio dips 12 dB under the narration by default. Set the music level under it, mute the original entirely, or make the voice louder.
5
Preview and export
The agent renders a preview and checks it before replying. Adjust anything in chat, then export the MP4 from Studio.

PROMPTS TO PASTE

Add my voiceover from 0:04 and keep the original audio quiet underneath it.

Use only 0:12 to 0:48 of narration.m4a and start it at 0:20.

Mute the original sound, put my narration over the whole video and add my music track at −24 dB underneath.

Reuse my line “this changed everything” from 3:10 over the b-roll at 1:20.

Settings That Matter

Setting	Default	How to change it
Start	The beginning of the video	“Start the voiceover at 0:05.”
Part of the recording	The whole file	“Use only 0:12 to 0:48 of the recording.”
Narration level	As recorded (0 dB)	“Make the narration 2 dB louder.”
Original audio	12 dB lower while the narration plays	“Don’t duck the original.” “Mute the original audio.”
Music	Its own level	“Music at −24 dB under the voiceover.”
Reusing a line from the video	Off	“Put the sentence from 3:10 over the b-roll at 1:20.”

The 12 dB duck covers the whole voiceover, from where it starts to where the file or excerpt ends, so long silence at the head or tail of a recording keeps the original audio down too. Use just the part you need and the duck matches the speech.

Music is a separate layer. Its automatic ducking follows the video’s own audio rather than your narration, so tell the agent how loud the music should sit under a voiceover: start around −24 dB and adjust by ear. For the final level, master the mix to −14 LUFS for YouTube and TikTok; the audio loudness targets page covers other platforms.

Record a Clean Voiceover

Valmera has no audio denoise, so what you record is what plays. A few habits make the biggest difference:

A quiet, soft room. Turn off fans and air conditioning, and record among soft furnishings (a closet full of clothes is a classic) so the voice doesn’t echo.
Steady mic distance. Stay about a hand’s width from the mic for the whole take so the level doesn’t swing, and speak slightly past it or use a pop filter to soften p and b sounds.
A healthy level. Aim for peaks around −12 to −6 dBFS: loud enough to stay clear of the noise, never clipping.
Sections, not one long take. One file per section of the edit makes retakes easy; upload them all and place each one.
Keep the quality. WAV is ideal; a high-bitrate M4A from a phone is fine.

Captions and On-Screen Words

Captions in Valmera come from the main footage’s transcript, and an uploaded voiceover isn’t transcribed. To show the narration on screen, paste your script (with times if you have them) and the agent adds it as caption items in your caption style or as on-screen text; then check the timing in the preview. On a silent screen recording, that’s how a narrated demo gets subtitles.

Narrate a Demo, Slideshow or B-Roll

A voiceover turns silent footage into a story. Record a website demo from a URL (the capture is silent) and lay your narration over it, build a slideshow from your own photos and narrate it, or mute the original sound on b-roll or gameplay and let your voice carry the video. You can also reuse a sentence from the main footage over another scene, such as an interview line over b-roll.

Limits

Valmera has no text-to-speech, AI voices or voice cloning: the narration is your recording. There is no audio denoise or “studio sound,” so record clean. An uploaded voiceover isn’t transcribed or captioned automatically. The original-audio duck is a fixed 12 dB step across the voiceover’s span, and music under narration is set by level rather than ducked to your voice.

Part of a Full Mix

Add a bed under your narration with background music (the sidechain ducking entry explains how the dips work), set the final level with the audio loudness targets, and find every audio control in the audio and music docs.

Using Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor? The same add_voiceover tool is available through Valmera’s MCP server.

Frequently Asked Questions

Made with Valmera: real exports

Add Your Voice to Your Video

Upload the narration, say where it goes, review the mix and export a full-quality MP4. Creating an account and uploading are free; editing requires a subscription.