01
How do you keep music from burying speech in a social video?
By ducking: lowering the music every time someone speaks and letting it rise again in the pauses. Editing software can do this automatically from the dialogue track, but it is worth checking by ear, because automatic ducking can pump up and down awkwardly between short phrases. The goal is that every word is understood on a phone speaker, which is where most social video is heard and where low voices disappear first.
Choose music that leaves room for a voice. Tracks with prominent vocals or busy melodies in the same range as speech compete with it no matter how far they are lowered, while instrumental tracks with a steady rhythm sit underneath more easily. Make sure the track is licensed for the platform and the use; music that is fine for a personal post can be blocked or muted on a business account. Listen to the final mix once on headphones and once on a phone before publishing.
02
Where do sound effects and natural sound fit in the mix?
Use them to support what the picture already shows, and sparingly. A sizzle on a grill, a door, a pour, the click of a product closing: short natural sounds make a cut feel real and help sound-on viewers notice the moment. Added effects such as whooshes on every transition quickly turn into noise and pull attention away from the message.
Keep a clear order of importance in the mix. Speech comes first, then the sounds that carry meaning, then music as the bed underneath. Levels should be consistent from clip to clip, so a viewer is not reaching for the volume when the scene changes. Record a few seconds of room tone on location; it lets the editor fill gaps between cuts with the same background sound instead of silence. On location, see the clinic example in Healthy Smile Miami, recorded with video and sound by Esteban.
