Adobe Premiere Elements 12 - Manual (Page 243)

Mixing audio and adjusting volume
To the top
To the top
Note:
About audio mixing
Adjust volume and mix audio in the Audio Mixer
SmartMix
Audio Meters panel overview
Adjust volume in the Expert view timeline
Adjust the input level of clips
Mute a clip
About audio mixing
Mixing audio involves adjusting volume levels so that they maintain a good range within each clip, and then adjusting them in proportion to other
clips used in the movie. For example, you might first adjust the volume of a narration clip so that there is little variance between its softest and
loudest sections; then raise the narration’s overall volume so that it is clearly audible over background sounds or music included in other clips.
In Premiere Elements, volume changes are measured in decibels. A level of 0.0 dB is the original volume (not silence). Changing the level to a
negative number reduces the volume, and changing the level to a positive number increases the volume.
To control a clip’s volume, you can use the Volume graph—the yellow line running horizontally across the audio track of each clip (sometimes
referred to as the volume rubberband)—or the Audio Mixer. You can use the Audio Meters window to view the overall audio volume for your
project.
Consider the following guidelines when adjusting volume levels:
If you combine particularly loud audio clips on multiple tracks, clipping (a staccato distortion) may occur. To avoid clipping, reduce volume
levels.
If you need to adjust the volume separately in different parts of a clip (for example, one person’s voice is faint, while later another’s is too
loud), you can use keyframes to vary the volume throughout the clip.
If the original level of a clip is much too high or low, you can change the input level. However, adjusting the input level will not remove any
distortion that may have resulted from recording the clip too high. In those cases, it is best to re-record the clip.
Adjust volume and mix audio in the Audio Mixer
Use the Audio Mixer to adjust audio balance and volume for different tracks in your project. You can adjust the balance and level of audio
contained within your video clips, and within soundtrack and narration audio. For example, you may want to increase the volume of the narration
and decrease the volume of the soundtrack at different points for emphasis or so that quiet voices can be heard above the music.
You can adjust settings while listening to audio tracks and viewing video tracks. Each track in the Audio Mixer corresponds to an audio track in the
Expert view timeline, and is named accordingly. As you make adjustments, keyframes are added to the track. You can specify a default minimum
interval for keyframes in the Audio preferences.
Ideally, you should mix the volume for one track from beginning to end before moving on to the next track. Same for mixing balance.
1. (Optional) Choose Edit > Preferences > Audio / Adobe Premiere Elements 12 > Preferences > Audio, and set a value between 1 and 2000
milliseconds for Minimum Time Interval Thinning to limit keyframes to intervals larger than that value. If you don’t want to hear audio while
you scrub audio, deselect Play Audio While Scrubbing.
2. In the Expert view timeline, click the Tools panel and select Audio Mixer option or choose Tools > Audio Mixer.
To hide or display tracks, choose Show/Hide Tracks from the Audio Mixer panel menu; then specify which tracks you want displayed.
239