Gain first then Loudness/Volume?

[gina_fm]

Hello, I'm trying to set up a process for my audio... my videos are mainly 10 min talking head videos. Should I adjust the gain first for all audio clips,  THEN go to ES and Loudness and AutoMatch, and then once I have done any repairing to check the Volume to make sure it is -6 to -12 dB? I have watched so many tutorials and I am now so confused! Thank you! 

[R Neil Haugen]

Check out @PaulMurphy YouTube, ThePremierePro. He's very good at the audio stuff, unlike most of the YouTube's I've seen.

Of course, he pops in here on a lot of things.

[gina_fm]

Thank you! I've found him, and will check out his channel.

[PaulMurphy · Accepted solution]

You can actually skip the Gain step because Automatch will take care of that for you.

Also, "-6 to -12 dB" isn't the most accurate way to gauge loudness. Automatch will do most of the heavy lifting, and you can fine-tune any adjustments with Clip Volume in the Essential Sound panel.

As a final step, I recommend using Loudness Normalization in the Export settings to make sure your audio meets the loudness standards for the platform it's being played on: https://youtu.be/GBH0BFvCLAA

[gina_fm]

Hi Paul, I sooooo appreciate this, and it makes total sense. I am now following you. Best regards.

PS. It's now 7h11 in my time zone, and your reply has set me off for a great start to the day!

[gina_fm]

@PaulMurphy  one question... I followed those very useful steps, but why am I getting DRC, dynamic range compression, as my second percentage?  For this particular video it is just ambient sound. Would that have an impact? Many thanks! 

 

[PaulMurphy]

It sounds like you might have Stable Volume enabled in your YouTube player. Here’s how to turn it off:
Stable Volume Settings

[gina_fm]

Thank you so much for your suggestion.  I am going to wait until I do my next video and follow through all the steps.