This is a step-by-step method of adding a voice-over(narration) track to your video. It's best to first render the item(produce) before adding your narration, this way, you can view the "final cut" and see how your transitions ant titling has worked whilst watching for the parts to which you want to add commentary. You'll need an outside programme for this purpose. I use Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio 10.

A) Watch your video through, pre-narration, pausing at points where you'll add commentary, writing down what you're likely to say at each point.

B) Record your commentary, leaving a few seconds between reading each piece. Whether you're using Sound Forge or any other audio recording software, once completed, save as an MP3 file or a .wav file(in the event you're having difficulties with MP3 and Power Director).

C) Opening your Power Director programme, import your narration track and your pre-narration video. Drop the video in place first and play until you come to the point where your first commentary is meant to be, at this point with the scrubber located where you want to insert the comment, insert your narration track.

D) As you listen to the narration track, at the end of each comment, pause and split the audio track*, cutting the remainder to "clipboard", play your video further until your second comment point appears, then paste the remaining part of your narration track at this point, and again listen to the end of the comment, split and cut. Repeat the process until you have set all your commentary at each of the points in your video where you want the commentary to be - job done!

E) Render(produce) your clip with the commentary in place, giving it a new title. The reason now becomes clear why you should pre-produce your video WITHOUT a narration track at first. This is so you'll have a base to work from, should you make a mistake, you can produce a corrected version(or record a narration in another language if you are bi-or multilingual).

In regard to audio tracks*, because you've recorded and saved your narration in a third-party audio recording and editing software, the resultant track can sit happily on either the voice or music track(s). PD8 and beyond, have extra audio tracks which can be called in as needed.

So there you have it. Recording your narration separately gives you the option of tidying up the narration, cleaning up the audio quality and editing out unwanted "bits"(fluffed lines, mispronunciations etc.). Certainly beats narrating as you shoot!