Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 - Manual (Page 204)

ADOBE PREMIERE PRO CS3
User Guide
198
Adjusting volume levels
Adjusting gain and volume
Gain generally refers to the input level or volume in clips. Volume generally refers to the output level or the volume
in sequence clips or tracks. You can set gain or volume levels to make levels more consistent among tracks or clips,
or to adjust a track’s or clip’s audio signal when it’s too high or too low. Keep in mind, however, that if the level of
an audio clip was set too low when it was digitized, increasing the gain or volume might simply amplify noise. For
best results, follow the standard practice of recording or digitizing source audio at the optimum level; this practice
allows you to concentrate on adjusting track levels.
You use the Audio Gain command to adjust the gain level for a selected clip. The Audio Gain command is
independent of the output level settings in the Audio Mixer and the Timeline panel, but its value is combined with
the track level for the final mix.
You can adjust the volume for a sequence clip in the Effect Controls or Timeline panels. In the Effect Controls panel,
you use the same methods to adjust the volume as you do to set other effect options. In terms of editing, it’s often
simpler to adjust the Volume effect in the Timeline panel.
You control track levels in the Audio Mixer or the Timeline panel. Although you control track levels primarily
through the Audio Mixer, you can also do so using audio track keyframes in the Timeline panel. Because track
keyframes represent mixer automation settings, they affect output only if automation is set to Read, Touch, or Latch.
See also
“ Activate keyframing ” on page 286
“ About recording audio changes ” on page 206
Specify the gain level for a clip
1 Do one of the following:
• If you want to adjust the gain of a master clip so that all instances of the clip added to the Timeline panel have the
same gain level, select the master clip in the Project panel.
• If you want to adjust the gain of just one instance of a master clip already in a sequence, select the clip in the
Timeline panel.
2 Choose Clip > Audio Options > Audio Gain.
3 Do one of the following, and then click OK:
• Enter a Gain value. (0.0 dB equals the clip’s original gain.)
• Click Normalize to optimize a clip’s audio gain automatically. Adobe Premiere Pro examines levels in the clip. It
then determines how much to adjust the audio so that the strongest signals in the clip don’t exceed the ceiling
level (0dB) and create distortion. The displayed value indicates the amount of gain Adobe Premiere Pro automat-
ically applied.
Adjust volume in the Timeline panel
You can adjust the volume level of a whole clip or track, or have the volume change over time using the rubberband
in an audio track of the Timeline panel.
1 Expand the audio track’s view by clicking the triangle next to the audio track name.
April 1, 2008