Normalize your Audio!

[MandicReally]

This is just a general statement, please freaking Normalize your audio. Meaning try and keep your final audio levels equal through your entire video. Narrative work is different, but basically anything else, keep it even people.

 

So many YouTube channels (big ones) don't seem to give a damn about this and if is maddening.

 

If I have to adjust the volume more than once in a video, you've failed. Espeically when I have to turn it up for a quiet talking part then get blasted by music or louder speech the next moment. 

 

Pick an output volume level and stick to it. Some channels vary from video to video, so if I want to binge their content I'm constantly adjusting my volume again. Personally I aim for -12dB all across the board. Sound effects I allow up to about -6 in the briefest of instances. Speech or music I try not to go over -12dB in more than spikes. I normalize my Audio in Adobe Audition to -11dB so that the few spikes I may have are louder but the average is more like -12. 

 

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. LTT is pretty good about this unless someone isn't mic'd up, but so many others aren't. Whatculture is the absolute biggest culprit that comes to mind. 

[Samfisher]

Not just across a single video, across all videos on a channel.  There's too many videos where every video requires a volume change.

[Alex Atkin UK]

As long as its done right.

What I find worse than having to adjust the volume myself, is when its automatic normalised (like TV/radio broadcasts do) and any loud noise causes everything else to be dropped down to inaudible levels for a few seconds while it ramps back up gradually.  Its not just unpleasant, I find it disorienting.

Even done manually its annoying, which is frustrating as the BBC have started doing it with nature documentaries.  When Attenborough speaks they drop the music volume, then crank it back up when he isn't.  I assume its to compensate for people watching on TVs but damned distracting on a 7.1 setup as it causes a swing from surround sound to everything coming from the centre and back again.

 

Just keep the music low enough to hear the speech ffs.

[MandicReally]

4 hours ago, Samfisher said:

Not just across a single video, across all videos on a channel.  There's too many videos where every video requires a volume change.

Agreed. I honestly wish I had chosen something slightly louder for my videos. If I watch one of mine then another channel I often have to turn down for other channels videos. But I don't change it because I want all of my videos to he uniform. 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Boobtube (aka YouTube) has gotten really bad about having music that is dramatically louder than the narrative. To say it's annoying is like saying Hitler was just a little stinker.