>uewoso345 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Im having a hard time getting the audio of different >segments to
>balance in final playback. One problem: I do interviews with >a
>microphone and get good sound about the same by trying to >set the
>decible meter in the same place. But when I add music from a
>different
>source, it's either too loud or too soft. So I try the >smartgain
>function and sometimes it will boost the sound to 200 >percent, which
>I
>guess is the max and it still isn't balanced when played >back on the
>web or on a DVD. So I try using the audio rubber bands and >taking
>down
>the voice segments, but that's hard and tedious to adjust.
>My theory is that I want to get the audio levels playing >back the
>same
>for each segment, no matter how soft or loud so that once >the
>listener
>gets going they will not need to change the volumn.
>I have tried using the audio gain and cut the voices down to >10 to 20
>percent and figure the listener can adjust their volumn, but >with
>mixed
>results.
>Any suggestions appreciated.
Hi. First of all, do you have a semi decent monitoring situation? It's hard
to mix what you can't hear, so you need a good way to monitor as you are
mixing. At the start of your post you mention the Smart Gain is boosting the
signal to 200% and then later on, you say you are using the audio rubberbands
to reduce the signal. This is the same thing as running in a big circle... you
use up a bunch of energy to get right back to the same place. You either go up
or down, but not both.
If your smart gain is boosting the signal to 200% then your original recording
is WAY too soft. You should NEVER have to boost 200%. The first thing you
need to do is get the LOUDEST/STRONGEST signal into your original recorder. The
Smart Gain will only boost to 200%, so you may need to go even louder than
that... you have merely hit the ceiling. The Smart Gain is boosting the signal
as loud as it can go before it clips (but only goes to 200%.) Have you opened
the Audio Mixer window to see where your levels are at? They should be up into
the yellow (about -6db) but not hitting the red. You need to look at the audio
mixer LED display & get used to what that looks like.
Now, to confuse the issue, you can't go by the LED levels alone. They can be
exactly the same, but sound different. A big rich voice with lots of low end,
is going to sound louder than a thin female voice. You should first balance
the volumes so they read about the same on the LED's and then start to EQ them.
You will need to use your ears at this point & as I already mentioned, you
have to have something to monitor on. At this point you are just trying to get
the different voices sounding as close in volume & EQ as you can. You want the
levels strong... up to about -3db, but dont' let them clip into the red. At
this pont you want the voices as strong & loud as possible. When you get the
levels balanced, export the audio as a wav file, and then bring it back in.
This will give you ONE audio clip with nothing but the voices. Don't delete
your original tracks, just mute the tracks (you never know when you may need
them again.) Drop the new complete audio file onto the
timeline & make sure it lines up COMPLETELY with your originals. You can
expand the tracks & zoom in to make sure the wave forms line up. Mute your
original tracks.
Next... are you familiar with the TC Dynamics filter? It's a compressor which
will "knock down" peaks in the audio, effectively giving everything a more
consistant level. ALL voices need to be compressed!!! For instance, if
someone yells and the volume goes way up, you have to use that loudest point as
your maximum level (this is what the Smart Gain does) and the rest of that
persons track will now be too quiet! The compressor will knock down/limit the
peaks, so you can raise the overall level, and get a MUCH more consistant
level. There are many ways you can set the comp to get a bunch of different
sounds, but I usually set the ratio at about 6 to 1 (it will take 6db of
increase at the input to get 1db of change at the output.) The threshold is
the control that tells the comp when to start working. If the level changes
are taking place below your threshold level, then nothing will happen. Once
the level reaches the threshold, then the compressor will start working at
whatever ratio you set it for. The threshold will vary depending on how
strong your input level is, but I usually find myself setting it somewhere
around 9 to 12. The comp is your BEST FRIEND! Learn it & use it. Next to EQ
it is THE most important audio effect, and I actually put it equal to EQ. I
have 6.5 & the stock compresor in the audio effects is horrible! Use the TC
dynamics. The thing to remember about compressors, is that you don't want to
hear them, and/or notice they're working. If something is heavily compressed
it can take a bit of the top end off, so often I'll ad a bit of high end EQ.
Also, remember that you just knocked the peaks down, so you will probably be
able to increase the levels just a pinch. I usually ad about 3db of gain on
the TC Dynamics output.
You should now have a pretty well balanced vocal audio track across all of the
people. Now take a look at the LED levels on the Audio mixer... the levels
should be bouncing around in a much narrower window & be more consistant &
even. You can now dump your music in & balance the music to the voices, not
the voices to the music (assuming your voices are the priority.) If you need
to adjust the volumes/EQ of the voices individually at this point, you can use
your razor tool & cut the vocal audio track between your different people, and
make any adjustments. Make sure you don't move them unless you trim them to
exactly match your video clip & lock them up... this probably isn't a bad idea.
Wow... I've had WAY TOO MUCH coffee! Hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Lee
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