How to Record Audio for YouTube Videos

The short version

Record the voice separately from the picture, when you can.
Keep the mic about a hand’s width from the mouth, a little off-axis.
Set the level so the loudest words stay well below full scale.
Clean, level and export to a loudness target before you put it into the video.

Record the voice on its own

A separate audio recording is easier to clean than the sound in a camera. Record the voice on a dedicated recorder or a phone while the camera records the picture, then line the two up with a clap at the start.

Distance and room

Keep the mic close enough to hear clearly, but far enough that breath pops stay quiet. A soft room matters more than a better mic: a bedroom with a rug and curtains beats a bare room with an expensive mic.

Level and clipping

Set the input so the loudest words peak around the middle of the meter, not the top. A video that clips once is far more annoying than a voice that is a little quiet.

Clean and level

Use the cleanup steps, then set the level to a loudness target for online video. The loudness guide explains the numbers. Check the true peak before you export.