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Music levels
Is there a general rule of thumb when it comes to how many db music level should be below the audio from an interview?
thanks
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3 Replies
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I don’t think so… it’s not going to be the same from recording to recording… however about a difference of 12-15 dB usually sounds OK. Use your ears, if it interfears too much, lower it, but not to the point it can’t be heard…
Jerry
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The other problem with rules for this is that they wouldn’t take subject matter into account.
The music under a VO about snowboarding is going to be much closer to the dialog than it would be for someone talking about suicide prevention.
It has to be a judgement call on your part.
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As was mentioned, the average level of the original recordings of the voice and the music tracks make an enormous difference in the amount of gain-reduction you need to apply to the music for the mix.
If you compress the tracks, that will affect the relative levels as well.
I typically reduce the music by 6, 10, 12, 18, 20, 24, 30dB depending on various factors.
No “rule-of-thumb” fits this wide range of situations.
Also, many audio editors apply a “dip” in the frequency (EQ) of the music in the “voice frequencies,” to allow the voice to be heard… but leaving the music (frequencies not in the voice-range) much louder.
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