Only +6dB max volume envelop in Soundtrack Pro
 

Does anyone have any idea why FCP lets you increase the volume of a clip by up to +12dB, but Soundtrack Pro (and Digital Performer) only let you increase the level by +6dB?

I have a project in FCP where I need to bring up the volume of a clip by +12dB, but when I export the project to Soundtrack Pro (or Digital Performer via OMF), the volume envelope for that clip is maxed at +6dB because STP only supports a volume envelope range of up to +6dB.

Now I know the correct thing to be doing here is probably compressing my audio, but I want to know why in the heck STP and DP limit you to only +6dB for audio envelopes....or am I missing something?

Just seems odd...

Just a note of interest:

Premiere is the same way. You can raise the gain separately, but the volume envelopes are only up to +6.

As far as the actually question, I wish I knew!

C

Well, as recorded sound is prepared for the audio portion of a project, it is usually cleaned (to remove noise), compressed, and/or normalized. The latter steps help you take better advantage of the possible dynamic range for the number of bits you have to record. For example, I may have used 24-bit depth to record audio on the set, but I can later archive it and use it for video editing with only 16 bits. That is often OK after I compress or normalize the original recording.

With that said, in a given video project, it is quite normal for all contributing audio clips to get close to the peak level, and thus the faders are used to lower the ones that would otherwise sound too loud, but not to increase the volume of individual audio clips. Increasing the level could easily lead to clipping. That's why the faders in FCP and STP can only go a little bit above zero; they are usually at or below zero most of the time for a mix. If you find yourself wanting to push faders up way more than +6dB, chances are something is not quite optimized, assuming that best possible audio is your objective.

If you want to increase the gain regardless: I am not sitting at my Mac right now, so I can't verify this, but I've seen posts where people talked about an audio gain filter or effect in Final Cut which would be helpful if you just want to increase the levels beyong +6dB without changing the original audio clip. Another trick that can help get louder results quickly is to duplicate the audio track on the timeline.

Hope this makes sense...

- Martin

As simple as that tip was, it just helped provide the final piece of the puzzle in solving a scene with difficult audio which I'd been struggling with for several hours. Thanks.