Voiceover and music

Record a voiceover

1. Put the playhead where the take should start.
2. Press ⌘R, click Voiceover in the toolbar, or choose Clip › Record Voiceover.
3. In the Record a voiceover sheet, pick Record to (New audio track or an existing one) and a Microphone (System default or a device). Click Record.
4. The viewer and the transport count 3, 2, 1. Recording starts and the timeline plays from the playhead. The take draws live on its track and the transport shows "Recording with" the device.
5. Press ⌘R or click Stop to end the take. During the count the same action cancels.

The first time, macOS asks for microphone access. A new track is named Voiceover 1, Voiceover 2 and so on and does not duck. The take is a clip like any other: trim, move, split, level.

Music

Press ⇧⌘M, click Audio in the toolbar, or drop an audio file on an audio row. The file lands at the playhead on the active audio track, or on a new one. Audio tracks are free, so drag the clip to position it, trim its edges and drag its level line.

Ducking

Ducking is a switch per audio track: Duck under other audio in the track panel or the header menu. A ducking track is lowered while any non-ducking audio track plays. Audio 1 ducks by default and voiceover tracks do not, so music drops under the take on its own.

Levels

Each clip has a level from 0% to 150%, dragged on the clip or set in the sidebar. Each track has a level of its own on top. Mute silences a track; solo keeps only soloed tracks audible. See Tracks.

Detach audio

Select a video clip with sound and press ⇧⌘D, or click Detach Audio in the sidebar. The clip's sound is copied onto a new audio track named after the file and the video clip is silenced. Picture and sound then cut separately.

Export a clip's sound

Select an audio clip and press ⇧⌘E. The export sheet writes that clip alone as an M4A file with the clip's own level applied. See Export.