Consistent sound levels in a movie.

terry dennis · Post by **terry dennis** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:30 pm

I've noticed with most of my edited movies that I get different 'levels' of sound between videos that I have recorded on my camcorder compared to music that I have imported and laid over muted clips or still photos.

Is there anything I can physically do to level the sound out OR is there a 'standard practice'to follow to try to achieve the same end ?

mitchell65 · Post by **mitchell65** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:31 pm

When you get to the burn stage click "Normalise Audio". Go to the manual and on page 154 all will be revealed!

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:46 am

I prefer to output the Audio as a WAV file, then open it with the FREE Audio editor Audacity

I then use the "Envelope" tool in Audacity to smooth out the volume.
Save the modified WAV file and then replace the one in VideoStudio with this modified one.

terry dennis · Post by **terry dennis** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:41 am

Thanks for that information , gents !

What would we do without this forum ?

Regards

Terry Dennis

Trevor Andrew · Post by **Trevor Andrew** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:09 am

Hi

My camcorder is not to bad when it comes to sound recordings or levels.
So I generally use that level as the norm and adjust other imported audio to match.

If you are adding your projects to the burner module, then the Normalize option will affect the whole title not the individual content of the project. I don¡¦t think I have ever used this option as the levels are corrected during editing.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:56 am

I too only ever experimented with Normalise once, many versions ago. I didn't like the result, so do exactly as Trevor does and adjust the volume throughout my project, both of the original, background music, and voice-overs. I find that all my video cameras provide fairly standard volume, and use that as my base standard, and adjust everything else accordingly. And if, for some reason, in a final DVD (or AVCHD hybrid disc) there is a small variation in the volume between the clips on the same disc, then a touch of the volume controls on the remote control fixes that readily enough.

The main problem with Normalise for me, is that I quite often vary the volumes of the various inputs in any one project quite considerably, and normalising tends to lose that very same effect...

Black Lab · Post by **Black Lab** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:15 pm

I quite often vary the volumes of the various inputs in any one project quite considerably, and normalising tends to lose that very same effect...

I think you hit the nail on the head, Ken. If the volume in your project varies, then I don't think Normalise will do you much good. If the volume is fairly consistent I think the Normalise function works much better.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Thu Nov 19, 2009 1:54 am

Example of the envelope tool in Audacity.