Practical recording guide · iPhone
How to make a music reaction video on iPhone with Reakt
In Reakt, import a saved performance video, choose where your face appears, and record yourself listening and speaking. Export the reaction to Photos. Before you record the full take, make a short sample with a loud section of music: you should be able to hear the detail you’re discussing and understand your next sentence on the iPhone speaker.
Let’s make a reaction to a drummer’s entrance. The viewer needs to see the drummer’s hands, hear the first hit and understand why it surprised you. Those three things will guide your layout, your sound check and what you say.
By the Reakt team ·
1. Prepare a small project you can finish
For practice, choose one musical moment: a change into the chorus, a vocal phrase, a drum entrance or a surprising instrument. Aim for a short finished explanation rather than a full-album reaction. A 60–90-second practice project is manageable; that is an editing exercise, not a copyright-safe duration.
- Source: a local video file you can reuse. Your own original music or a recording supplied with suitable permission makes a useful first exercise. Keep any permission or licence with your project.
- Camera: your iPhone on a stable stand or shelf, near eye level, with light facing you rather than behind you.
- Sound: a quiet room and headphones to test. You do not need to buy a microphone before checking what your current setup can produce.
- Space: enough free storage for the source, recording and export. Make a short test before committing to a long take.
A streaming link is not a source file
A song available to play in a streaming app is not automatically a file you can import into an editor. For the workflow here, obtain a usable file from a source that permits your intended use. Do not plan your recording around capturing a protected stream.
Check music permissions before spending time editing
Credit and “no infringement intended” disclaimers do not grant permission. Even a few seconds of a song can trigger a YouTube copyright claim. Commentary is not an automatic fair-use exemption, and copyright exceptions vary by country. Check that any permission covers the recording and music rights needed for your planned use. See YouTube’s explanation of fair use and music claims.
2. Set up the shot in Reakt
Import the performance
Open Reakt and choose the saved video from your iPhone. If the clip isn’t available, open it in Photos first to check that it’s there and plays with sound. If it plays there but you can’t select it in Reakt, check which photos and videos you’ve allowed the app to access in iPhone Settings.
Choose what the viewer should see
Try picture-in-picture for the drum entrance: give the performance most of the screen and check whether your face covers the sticks or snare. If the overlay hides the action, use a stacked layout so the performance and your face have their own space. For a vocal duet, try side by side and check whether both singers still fit in the source frame.
Frame yourself and record a sample
Set the phone at eye level, connect your headphones and allow camera and microphone access when prompted. Record while watching the imported clip in Reakt. Let the first hit land before you speak; talking over it makes the viewer choose between listening to you and hearing what you noticed.
Make a 20-second test before the real take
Test the loud part
Use a loud section of the source. Say a complete sentence at your normal speaking volume, then leave a brief gap to listen. Include a visible mouth movement so you can check synchronization.
Export and listen
Export the sample from Reakt to Photos and play the saved file. Listen once through headphones and once through the phone speaker at a comfortable volume. Can you understand every word without turning it up?
Change one thing and repeat
If the music masks your voice, lower its track level where your tool allows, or record your explanation in gaps between excerpts. Move closer to the microphone if your voice sounds distant. Make another short export before recording the whole video.
Headphones can prevent speaker sound from leaking into the microphone, but they may also change which microphone or audio route an app uses. Verify that your export contains both the source and your voice. Lowering headphone listening volume does not necessarily lower music volume in the finished file.
3. Give the reaction a clear point
You do not need music-theory vocabulary. Describe a detail, explain its effect, and say why it caught your attention. Compare “this is amazing” with “the drums drop out just before the chorus, so their return makes it feel much bigger.” The second gives the listener something specific to hear.
- Vocals: Does the delivery become softer, rougher or more forceful? Which moment changes the mood?
- Arrangement: Which instrument enters or disappears? What changes between the verse and chorus?
- Rhythm: Does the beat feel busier, more spacious or unexpectedly interrupted?
- Personal response: What did you expect, and what happened instead? Make clear when you are describing a feeling rather than a technical fact.
For a genuine first listen, prepare these prompts without rehearsing a surprised response. If you already know the track, frame the video as a review or breakdown. When commentary needs space, record it after the excerpt; use playback pauses only if your tool supports them, or join separate segments in an editor.
A simple outline to try
- Set up the question: “I want to hear how this chorus builds energy.” Name the artist and track.
- Show the relevant moment: include only the source material needed for your explanation and permitted by your rights.
- Explain one observation: “The backing vocals widen here while the lead stays in the centre. That contrast is what caught my attention.”
- Close with a takeaway: explain what changed your impression or ask a specific question about the performance.
Use that as a structure, not a script to force onto every song. Cut repeated introductions and long stretches that add no new observation. You do not need to exaggerate your expression to make the explanation worthwhile.
4. Fix the problem you can actually hear
The music echoes or sounds doubled
The microphone may be capturing the phone speaker while the app also includes the original source audio. Test with headphones and keep other speakers off. In a separate-track edit, check that you have not included the source twice. Record a fresh test to confirm the cause.
My voice disappears under the song
When tracks are separate, reduce the music during speech and bring it back up during listening sections. iMovie on iPhone offers clip-volume controls; see Apple’s audio adjustment instructions. If voice and music are already mixed into one track, lowering that clip lowers both. Return to the original tracks or re-record with a better balance instead of expecting a volume slider to separate them.
The exported music is missing
First confirm that the imported file itself has sound. Then check that its audio is enabled in your recording or editing tool and export another short test. Try a short Reakt export with a second video that you know has sound. If that works, investigate the first source file; if both exports are silent, check the playback volume and audio destination in Photos before recording again.
The voice is distorted or crackles
Try speaking less loudly or moving slightly farther from the microphone. If your microphone has a gain control, reduce it. Lowering playback volume cannot repair distortion already recorded, so test a new take.
My reaction is out of time with the performance
Compare a clear source event with your response at the start and end. Compare the recording preview with the saved file in Photos to see where the delay first appears. If the delay changes when using Bluetooth headphones, try a compatible wired pair and make another test before choosing your setup.
5. Check the file your audience will receive
- Listen on a phone speaker: your explanation should remain understandable when the song gets loud.
- Check the beginning, middle and end for synchronization and missing audio.
- Preview the crop in the destination app. Keep faces and important source details clear of its buttons and caption area.
- Add captions if useful, then correct artist names and music terms instead of trusting automatic transcription.
- Use a title that describes your actual observation, such as “Why the chorus feels bigger: my first listen to [track].”
- Credit the artist and link to the original where appropriate. Review upload checks before publishing; a successful upload is not a guarantee against later claims.
Questions before your first recording
Can I do this with just one iPhone?
Yes. Reakt plays your imported video while recording your camera and microphone on the same iPhone. Export that combined recording to Photos; you don’t need a second device to synchronize the two views.
Do I need an expensive microphone?
Start with your existing microphone in a quiet room. Fix distance, speaker leakage and music balance first. A new microphone will not solve music that is mixed too loudly.
Can I guarantee that a reaction will avoid copyright claims?
No. There is no universal safe number of seconds or disclaimer. Check permissions and the platform’s rules before publishing; the linked YouTube guidance explains why even short excerpts can receive claims.
Ready to try it in Reakt?
Pick one source you can reuse, one moment to discuss and one observation to explain. Finish a short video with clear audio before attempting a whole-song reaction. If you need the app, get Reakt for iPhone. If your test export fails, start with the recording and export support guide.