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Add text and music
Overview
Name of explainer: Add text and music
Creative theme: Video editing
Software used: Vegas Pro
User level: BEGINNER
This is explainer 4 of 5 in this series
This series includes:
- Create a project, import video clips and save the project
- Sequence video clips and render an mp4 file
- Trim video clips, add fades and cross-fades
- Add text and music
- Putting it all together: Stonehenge project!
This explainer series is also available in a microlearning course format! The course is completely FREE and you can download a PDF certificate of completion like the one below at the end! See our sister site pixelsofcourse
The Software
This series of beginner explainers uses Vegas Pro. You can download a free 30 day demo version from the Vegas Website.
The Vegas website refers to ‘Vegas Edit, Vegas Pro and Vegas Post’. These are three different software ‘bundles’ / subscription levels, with Vegas Pro and Vegas Post including additional functionality and plug-ins. The core editing program used in these explainers, Vegas Pro, is included in all three options.
If you decide to purchase Vegas Pro, please review the subscription options in full first, bearing in mind different the different bundles and pricing plans available.
This month we’re also running an explainer series for Premiere Pro (which requires a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud) and a single full-workflow explainer for Premiere Rush (which is FREE on mobile devices and part of a paid subscription which includes access to the desktop version).
The final product
Here’s the simple ‘Spring has sprung’ video we’re creating as we work through explainers 1 to 4. Notice the added text, fades, transitions and music track.
The pre-requisities
This is a BEGINNER workflow explainer, so you just need to install and open the software. We’ll take it from there.
We suggest watching the previous explainers in this series before continuing here.
If you’re new to IT / computing, you may need help downloading and installing the software. Start with a search for ‘how do i install vegas pro’ or speak with someone who’s familiar with downloading and installing.
Why would I do this?
Text is often added to video sequences as part of a title sequence and to introduce individual scenes or sections (E.g. For explainers).
Nearly every video sequence includes a soundtrack which can be a mix of music, sounds effects, ambience (E.g. A busy street or forest) and narration (VO). You might not realise how essential a well-mixed soundtrack is until it’s ‘wrong’ or ‘missing’. Have a look at this clip…
Let’s do it!
Click the play icon to watch this video. Subtitles are available – Click the settings cog at the bottom right for options. You can also watch this video full-screen by clicking the full-screen icon at the bottom right.
Good to know
Our short springtime video is complete! Join us for the fifth and final entry in this series for ‘Project Stonehenge’ – We’ll give you the brief, a set of video clips to work with and then it’s over to you!
Download the video clips used in this series
If you’d like to follow this series using the video clips demonstrated, you can download them below. These files are only to be used for personal practice and must not be sold or used commercially.
Where to next?
Adding static text is a good place to start. Vegas also includes options for text animation. In the ‘Video Media Generators’ dialog, have a look at the ‘Animation’ drop-box. Select an animation and see what you think of it! Below we’ve selected ‘Double Flash Glow’:
VEGAS also includes templates for scrolling and animated titles. Click on the Media Generator tab then ‘Titles and Text’ to see animated previews…
We’ve used a single music track in this video. If you’re interested in sound design for film, you’ll want to know what diegetic and non-diegetic sound is. Ready for a fun primer?
Notes and updates
There are no notes or advisories at this time. This video explainer was last updated in March 2023. This page was last updated in June 2024.
We at pixels.cool are not responsible for the content of any external webpages or software downloaded from third party sites. Links are included in good faith at the time of writing. All explainer content is compiled in good faith using processes and methods used by the team. Modern software gives users many ways in which to accomplish the same task, and for reasons of clarity we choose not to reference multiple options. All computer users should run up to date virus / security software at all times to minimise risk.
If you’d like to follow our explainers using the actual assets demonstrated, you can download them using the link below. Not only do you receive the logos and images used in this series – You also gain access to versions of the videos without the background music. Nice!
This is number 4 of 10 explainer videos for video editing month. Make sure you check out the others!
