User Manual

Audio Volume Staging and an Audio Editing Workflow
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Audio Volume Staging and an Audio Editing
Workflow
You can adjust the volume of an audio clip at several points during an editing session. For
example, you can adjust volume using the Audio Mixer tool in Clip Volume mode and Volume
and Pan Automation mode. Also, the EQ tool and many of the AudioSuite and RTAS plug-in
effects let you modify the volume of the clip. When you can adjust the volume in a signal chain
at several points, the process is referred to as audio volume staging. This section describes the
audio volume staging model used by Avid editing applications. It also describes a basic
workflow for taking advantage of the volume staging.
You can set audio volume levels with the Audio Mixer tool. When you use the Audio Mixer tool
in Clip Volume mode, values set by the volume level sliders are referred to as system clip volume
values. When you use the Audio Mixer tool in Volume and Pan Automation mode, values set by
the Audio Mixer tool are additive to the system clip volume values. This lets you adjust the
values separately. You typically adjust clip volume values first, as in the following workflow:
1. Adjust overall volume (Clip Volume).
2. Apply effects (Audio Effect Processing).
3. Fine-tune volume (volume automation).
This workflow lets you apply effects to an audio clip in a way similar to the signal flow in a
mixing console.
In this workflow, clip volume is like a trim level, where you can lower (attenuate) or increase
(amplify) the levels of a clip before applying any other effects. For example, when importing a
sound file from an audio CD, you notice when the level of the clip is very high and close to
clipping (distortion). If you add an EQ effect to raise the level of the bass, the audio starts to
distort. To solve this problem, you can use clip volume to lower the signal level. Then you can
adjust the bass in the EQ tool without distorting the audio.
The following workflow illustrates this procedure:
1. Use the Audio Mixer tool in Clip Volume mode to lower the overall volume.
2. Apply an EQ effect and any other audio effects.
3. Use the Audio Mixer tool in Volume and Pan Automation mode to fine-tune the volume of
different sections of the audio in the sequence.
This workflow also applies to using AudioSuite and RTAS plug-ins because some plug-ins affect
the level of the audio. Often, if you use clip volume to raise or lower the level before you apply
an audio effect, you can achieve higher quality results.