Subject:Need Scan Levels explained more clearly please

Posted by: NarratorsAudio

Date:5/14/2015 12:07:31 PM

I record and (sometimes) do some basic mastering for audiobook narration. And my results are usually fine. However, I'm currently working with a narrator who's got a really wide dynamic range, on a project with lots of emotional highs and lows, and, having recorded at a fairly low gain level to minimize clipping, I now want to bring up the quietest bits. I'm normalizing to -18 dB (per this particular publisher's norms).

PROBLEM:

I've searched for and read as much on the SF10 RMS normalization process as I can find, but I can't for the life of me figure out what the Scan Levels options (including the Use current scan levels option) actually accomplish, and WHEN/WHY I would want to use one over another. All I find are the same basic explanations of HOW to do the operations.

My interest is functional, rather than technical, as I want to understand better what Scan Level options to use in different situations. Why, for instance, would I want to use the scan level from a file different from the one I'm normalizing? All my files (book chapters) were recorded in the same booth at the same settings, narrator-mic positioning, etc. But the nature of the material means that the Scan Level results/readings of different files can vary pretty dramatically.

I'm feeling really dense about this, and hope someone can help me get a grip on it. Thanks in advance.

Subject:RE: Need Scan Levels explained more clearly please

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:5/14/2015 9:58:46 PM

Scan Levels simply does a scan of the whole file to gather the level info so that a Preview playback can be started immediately using that data gleaned.

geoff

Subject:RE: Need Scan Levels explained more clearly please

Reply by: NarratorsAudio

Date:6/19/2015 6:53:42 PM

Thanks for your response, Geoff.

As I've tried to explain (not very successfully, apparently!), what I don't understand is WHEN to use "Scan Levels" and WHEN, INSTEAD, to leave an existing scan level there from another file.

It's a When/Why question, not a What-does-it-do question.

Thanks. I hope. . .

Judith

Subject:RE: Need Scan Levels explained more clearly please

Reply by: rraud

Date:6/20/2015 12:25:15 PM

Not to confuse you any further, but in SF, there are RMS and Peak normalization. Which are you addressing? Peak normalization.would affect the overall plus or minus) target level... RMS can include arbitrary dynamic compression. Most pro audio folks stay away from any auto dynamic processing. YMMV, depending on your expectations. A good quality hardware comp/limiter is often desirable when recording armature folks. However, the entire signal chain should be considered. A one mic./ one preamp / space will not work well for everyone.

Subject:RE: Need Scan Levels explained more clearly please

Reply by: wwaag

Date:6/21/2015 10:42:36 AM

Judith,

I think you posed a very reasonable question, but I'm afraid that no one has given a complete answer to your query. In reading the documentation, I also find it very confusing. I use the scan levels button all the time, just to get an idea of the overall loudness (average RMS radio button) of a file. If you do a selection, e.g. the soft part of a narration, it simply gives the loudness of that part and some idea of how much you may have to increase the volume. Unless I'm missing something, these numbers, however, have nothing to do with your normalize setting. You set that with the slider independently. In other words, the scan button is an information tool only.

Back to your problem of loud and soft parts of a narration, it would seem that, as a first step, other tools would be more useful, in particular Wave Hammer for adding compression. There is an option for AGC (auto gain compensate) which is designed for volume leveling. I have no idea how well it works. I use a plug-in from Waves, Vocal Rider, which is designed for leveling vocals that works quite well. It automatically creates a volume envelope based on your settings that can easily be edited. Once you're happy with the resulting leveling, then normalize to -18db as the last step.

Bear in mind that these suggestions are from a "hobbyist" and may be completely wrong. I'm not an expert. They're just my opinion.

wwaag