Classroom in a book

227
Adjusting audio volume
You might want to decrease or increase the volume of an entire clip or parts of a 
clip. For example, you might need to decrease the natural sound on a video clip by 
half while you narrate, gradually fade up the audio at the start or end of a clip, or 
fade up an interview just as the narrator completes a segment. The last example is 
part of a J-cut or L-cut. These will be explained later in the lesson. Let’s adjust the 
volume on a clip:
1
Choose Window > Workspace > Reset Current Workspace to get your 
workspace back in order. Click Yes in the Reset Workspace dialog.
2
Double-click the Completed sequence to open it in the Timeline.
3
Expand the track view of the Audio 5 track (Medieval_JB02.aif ) by clicking the 
Collapse/Expand Track triangle.
4
Click the Show keyframes button and choose Show Clip Keyframes to ensure 
you are looking at clip keyframes.
You can now edit a clip’s volume in the Timeline rather than using the Volume 
effect in the Effect Controls panel.
5
On the Audio 5 track, hover your pointer over the volume level graph—the 
thin, horizontal yellow line between the left and right channels—until it turns 
into the Vertical Adjustment tool pointer, and then drag that yellow line up and 
down. This adjustment allows you to increase and decrease the volume of the 
entire audio track at one time. If you think this track drowns out the dialogue 
just a bit, drop it to about –5 or –6 dB and see whether it sounds better. Once 
you’re done experimenting, return the volume level to 0 dB for no change 
in volume.
#
 Note:
A dB (decibel) 
level readout gives 
you feedback on the 
volume change (0 dB 
is the default starting 
point no matter the 
actual volume of the 
original clip). It’s not 
easy to move to an 
exact setting. You use 
the Volume effect in the 
Effect Controls panel to 
do that.

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ptg