• Avid Media Composer

  Import/Export Quicktime & Aiff volume levels.

  Posted by Glenn Takakjian on November 15, 2006 at 7:02 am

  Whenever I import an aiff or wav file from a CD or downloaded from a sound library it comes in terribly loud and over modulated. I have to create a sequence, lay it in and adjust volume to work with it. It is a real pain in the neck.

  Is there a way to control the input volume when importing one of these files?

  Conversely, when exporting a well mixed sequence (set to proper tone levels) to a Quicktime movie for client review, the audio is always very very low. If I crank up my Mac and crank up the QT volumn it is still verry low.

  Generally I have to create a new sequence and jack up the volumn levels quite a bit before exporting.

  Is there a better way to do this? Doesn’t seem to make a difference what the Audio Export settings are in the “Format” window? Is the only way to jack up alll my levels?

  Thanks

  TAK

  David Braswell replied 19 years, 6 months ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
• 1 Reply

• 

  David Braswell

  November 15, 2006 at 7:06 pm

  In general, the answer to all of your “is there a better way?” questions is no.

  You can’t adjust audio levels on the way in. But you don’t have to create a sequence to adjust them either. Just click on the source window with the audio loaded and adjust the levels with the mixer.

  Exports from the Avid will need to have the audio raised either in Avid or in a program outside of Avid. I master most of my audio through Audition and lay it back into the sequence. Compression, limiting, and normalizing etc. I do in audition. I master to the following levels.

  DVD -9 dbfs
  web files -3 dbfs
  output to Beta SP -14 dbfs

  You can create one sweetened audio file at the highest db you’ll need it, import into Avid, and just duplicate the sequence and lower the level to where it needs to be for the relevant exported file.

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