Ambient sound – the sound that is naturally present within the scene – is often used in videos. Sounds within experiments, procedures or the environment may be a vital part of the production. Therefore, a good microphone should be used while recording.

In some interviews, it might be more effective to use the tone of the room, based on the reverberation of the location. Ambient sound provides a realistic background for visual elements that other audio effects cannot provide. Ambient sound can be used continuously, but is generally used in conjunction with other audio elements.

A sound effect is any sound that is not speech, music or ambience and is artificially injected into the soundtrack to enhance it. Many sound-effect libraries can be accessed online that have used excellent recording and postproduction tools to produce high-quality sounds. Alternatively, it might be worth creating your own sound effects for a specific scene.