SmartSound: Controlling audio levels

[pvreditor]

I have VS4 and yesterday worked on a project with a music track and a voice-over. I created a track I liked using SmartSound, the automated music track creation app that comes with VS4 (and there's a version for VS2 & VS3 as well). A few seconds after the music track started, I wanted to dip the level so that I could insert a voice-over, but there was no way I could figure out to reduce the music level just during the voice-over. I had to reduce the level of the entire SmartSound track so that you can hear the voice-over above it.

I could have created multiple SmartSound tracks for this, using normal volume before and after the voice-over, and reducing the level during the voice-over. But that would create music that didn't flow as a continuous piece, and I like the continuous track.

So... is there any way to change the level in the middle of a SmartSound track? I would normally click on the track in the timeline, split it into segments, and set the levels for each segment. However, the SmartSound track wouldn't let me do that.

Here's the video I'm talking about, with my voice-over near the beginning (maybe 10 seconds in):



Thanks!

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com

[Black Lab]

Open Audio View. Click on the line thru the middle of the clip to set your keyframes. Drag the keyframes to adjust the audio level so it fades in and out.

Note: this screenshot is taken from X2. In later versions the Audio View button looks like a note/waveform.

[BrianCee]

Splitting the track and adjusting the levels for each segment is a very laborious way of doing it and must produce sharp and un-proffessional changes in the volume - use the audio mixer to 'rubber band' the volume line to produce smooth transistions between volume levels.

[pvreditor]

Thank you both for the replies! I had forgotten about the "rubberband" adjustment.

Bob Kovacs
http://www.bobkovacs.com