Video sound

The voice carries the video. The music holds it together, at one level, all the way to the end.

Step 1: Ask for two things, then wait

1. The cut voice, cut-audio.wav from video-intake.
2. The music, a track you are licensed to use, or a generated one. Make three takes and pick one by ear.

The rules

• Voice: one static gain. Never a normaliser or a compressor that pumps.
• Music about 12 dB under the voice. You should hear it, never fight it.
• One bed level to the last frame. No dips, no fade in the middle, no early fade-out.
• A take that is too short gets looped on whole phrases. Cut it before its own fade, repeat a full phrase, 0.06s crossfade at each join.
• Silent under any clip with its own sound (an ad, a demo with audio). Fade out 0.4s before it and back in after.
• Loudness about -14 LUFS for Instagram and TikTok, -14 for YouTube and your website, -12 for LinkedIn (swap I=-14 for I=-12 in Step 3). True peak -1.5 dBTP or lower.
• No whooshes or pops unless the brand asks for them.