Begin with the voice
Listen to the whole sequence before changing processors. Make speech understandable, then place music and effects around it. If there is no speech, choose the important sound to lead the mix. A loudness target cannot repair clipped original recordings or unwanted edits.
Select a timeline sound clip, or its linked picture when audio is part of the selection. Open Inspector → Audio, or Audio → Clip gain, fades and effects. The inspector states which sound clips are selected; check that list before changing multiple linked items.
Adjust level and fades
Clip gain sets one selected sound’s level in dB. Reduce 1 dB and Increase 1 dB provide small adjustments. Use Mute selected audio to silence the selected sound. Fade in and Fade out soften the clip ends; keep them short enough that speech remains intact.
For example, start music below the dialogue, then lower it further where a quiet sentence appears. Judge the change by listening across the transition. Whole-track gain and clip gain affect different scopes.
Use track controls
In Audio, each sound track has Mute, Solo, and gain. Solo helps diagnose one track, but check the final full mix after turning it off. A silent export can be caused by a muted track, a solo on another track, muted clips, or bus routing.
Use Audio Output to inspect monitoring. A monitoring choice concerns playback; check the saved delivery audio settings separately.
Improve a recording carefully
For a selected audio clip, the inspector includes Voice isolation, De-reverb, Parametric EQ, and Duck music under speech. When ducking is enabled, Ducking level controls the reduction. Listen for pumping, missing consonants, or an unnatural voice when using stronger processing.
These are controls for the selected clip and its supported processing, not a guarantee that every recording can be repaired. Keep a version before an extensive sound pass and compare processed and unprocessed playback.
Route and finish the mix
Mix Buses and Track Routing opens the bus graph. Use Enable graph processing, name buses, and route sound tracks to their intended Bus. Bus and master stages include gain, mute/solo, polarity, bypass, and supported processors. Tap Apply Mix to commit the form; Cancel abandons that form’s changes.
Use loudness analysis and the audio finishing controls in the Audio workspace. Normalize integrated loudness targets average program level; Limit true peaks controls short output peaks. Review the requested target and ceiling, then use Apply Finishing. A lower ceiling can reduce output level; always listen to the result.
Verify the delivered sound
In Deliver, enable Include sequence audio mix when you want sound. Inspect the audio summary and open the completed movie. Listen on both headphones and the device speaker. If available, use Share Output QC Report for the finished export’s report. Consult audio troubleshooting if the preview and delivered sound differ.