'flatten' audio - need to auto fix audio level

MichelleVan wrote on 4/6/2008, 8:26 AM

I've got an internet radio show, and sometimes my guest are louder than I am. how can I take this precorded audio, pull it into Vegas Video, and somehow, 'flatten' the audio so that our voice levels are more even.
I know flatten is probably not the right word. Please tell me what word it should be and I could search help.
Thank you!

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 4/6/2008, 9:26 AM

Compression is the term you're looking for. Vegas has a few compressors built in. If you want very automatic then look at Wave Hammer. Set the compression factor moderately high, say around 8 or 10:1. Set the threshold to be about the level of the quieter parts. Turn on automatic gain compensation. It takes care of all the rest of the details for you.

musicvid10 wrote on 4/9/2008, 6:36 AM

8:1 or 10:1 as a starting point is a bit high for my taste, even if there is a big difference between the loud and soft levels.

I generally don't go above 2.5:1 for live music or 4:1 for speech, given that my goal is to reduce the differences, not to try to eliminate them. I can't stand the canned sound at 5:1 even for speech, which if you are doing location recordings, can raise the noise floor or "pump" the program audio depending on how you set your threshholds.

As a more conservative approach, I suggest starting at 3:1 and working your way up to a point where you can begin to live with the differences, and leave it.