Jacquelin Vanderwood
November 2004
To access the audio settings go to Window and select Audio, or use the quicker method of Ctrl+4.
It's important to select the area in your timeline where you want to import the audio file. Make sure you've done that first. Below we see the actual audio window. The two columns on the left that are red, yellow, and black are called the VU or Volume Unit meter. The bars in the center are the channel sliders for adjusting levels.
At the top of the Audio window is an arrow. Click on it to open Options.
Immediately we can view what kind of options are available to us for the Audio. If you import a file using Percentage instead of decibels, it will be imported at 0 dB (decibels).
You can select what decibel strength using the dropdown box available under Slider Minimum.
You can adjust the audio for each channel both left and right separately moving the arrow sliders up or down individually. Move the channel sliders at the same time by move the center slider.
As you play the audio clip, notice the VU meter values change when the levels in the clip fluctuate. When the levels reach too high of a level, the clipping icons will turn red. Why does this happen? It is because your machine is unable to handle the volume of the sound being played. When this happens, readjust the levels and then click on the red icon to reset the warnings signals.
Copyright (c) 2004, Jacquelin Vanderwood, All Rights Reserved