Adobe 65029940 - Captivate - PC, User Manual

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CHAPTER 5
112
Adding audio and video
Microphone placement
Positioning your microphone correctly can make a big difference in the finished audio
file. First, get close to the microphone (within 4 to 6 inches), so any other nearby sounds have less chance of being
recorded. Don't speak down to the microphone; instead, position it above your nose and pointed down at your
mouth. Finally, position the microphone slightly to the side of your mouth, because this can help soften the sound
of the letters S and P.
Microphone technique
Have a glass of water nearby so you can avoid “dry mouth.” Before recording, turn away
from the microphone, take a deep breath, exhale, take another deep breath, open your mouth, turn back toward
the microphone, and start speaking. This trick can eliminate breathing and lip-smacking sounds frequently
recorded at the beginning of audio tracks. Speak slowly and carefully. You may feel that you are speaking artifi-
cially slowly, but you should be able to adjust the speed later by using your audio recording software. Finally, bear
in mind that you don't have to get everything right the first time. You can listen and evaluate each recording and
re-record if required.
Audio editing
Editing sound is similar to editing text. Listen carefully to your recording. Delete any extraneous
sounds and then use the options available in your software to polish the track. Add any music or sound effects you
require. Make sure you save your audio track in the correct format (MP3 or WAV files).
Adding audio files to Adobe Captivate
When you are finished recording the audio file, add it to the Adobe
Captivate project.
Additional feedback
After you add the audio to the Adobe Captivate project, listen to it again. Play the project
as users normally would. Finally, ask others to preview the Adobe Captivate SWF/audio file. If necessary, edit the
audio file again.
Setting audio recording options
Audio files present the common challenge of balancing quality against size. The higher the sound quality, the
larger the file size. The more you compress a sound and the lower the sampling rate, the smaller the size and the
lower the quality. Adobe Captivate lets you control the way sound is recorded and compressed based upon your
input and output requirements.
Creating audio in Adobe Captivate is essentially a two-part process. You record audio in WAV format, and then
Adobe Captivate converts the WAV file into an MP3 file. When files are in WAV format, they have a degree of
flexibility. You can edit and adjust them “downward,” compressing them into MP3 files uniquely tailored to their
playback scenario.