Normalizing audio

[maltess]

Hello to veryone

I guess this is the right forum to ask, I apologize if is not the case

I am editing a documentary myself with Final Cut Pro for Imac

Is all diffrent interviews with diffrent levels and old footage with diffrent levels as well.

What would be the best way to start fixing this? what program I can use?

I tried soundtrack ro but you can´t normalize all clips at once. So I am just leveling up volumes in Fnal Cut pro and triying to make equal, I guess this is not the best way. Besides, everyclip has diffrent kind of waweform. So it is posible to unify all this somehow and make similar wawes in amplitude etc.?

thanks very much for your help

 

[Alcove Audio]

I hate to say it, but your best tool for balancing levels is your ears.

A far as a DAW for working on the audio tracks of your projects there is, of course, Pro Tools; you must get PT hardware to work with the software. Mbox 2 Mini ($300), Mbox 2 ($450), Mbox Pro 2 ($700), 003 Rack ($1,350), 003 ($2,200); HD systems start at about $10k.

Assuming that you are on a Mac there is also Audacity (free), Cubase (Essentials - $150; complete - $500), Logic (Express - $200; Studio - $500), Digital Performer ($500) and Nuendo ($1,800). Most DAWs already have the basics (dynamics, normalization, EQ, reverb) that you will need.

 

[Blade_Jones]

FCP doesn't compare with the ease of using audio programs. I use Nuendo for multitracking, then WaveLab for mastering the 2 track mix. Sometimes I go back and use Nuendo to manually draw volume curves to turn down the loudest peaks. This can boost levels an extra 4 to 6 db. Make sure you're monitoring your mix through a cheap TV speaker. That's the true test of your mix.

 

[Alcove Audio]

every clip has a different kind of waveform.

The way the waveforms look has nothing to do with apparent volume; how it was recorded, the predominant frequencies, audio compression, original audio format, etc. will have a lot of impact on the perceived volume.

 

[epicpajl]

Hello to veryone

I guess this is the right forum to ask, I apologize if is not the case

I am editing a documentary myself with Final Cut Pro for Imac

Is all diffrent interviews with diffrent levels and old footage with diffrent levels as well.

What would be the best way to start fixing this? what program I can use?

I tried soundtrack ro but you can´t normalize all clips at once. So I am just leveling up volumes in Fnal Cut pro and triying to make equal, I guess this is not the best way. Besides, everyclip has diffrent kind of waweform. So it is posible to unify all this somehow and make similar wawes in amplitude etc.?

thanks very much for your help

The best way to do it is to start from the first clip and match the level of each following clip with the last one, so that when you listen to it all back, you don't have to change the volume on your speakers. If you try to normalize everything it will not be level because a loud clip will not change much and a quiet ambiant clip (room tone) will get so loud as to be harsh noise. You can use a gain adjustment for clips that are so quiet that the volume levels cannot make it loud enough. Try it in increments of 10 dB for these kinds of clips.

This will work for a temp mix, but it is best to have a proper edit and mix done by someone with a proper set-up.

Hope this helps.