Audio level Question for YouTube?

R

ryvac

Veteran
I always set my audio levels around -12dB (yellow zone) because that's what I learned in school.
but I feel like it's too low for youtube because I always find myself increasing the volume on my computer & my computer speakers.
so I've been setting my audio levels to 0dB (red zone) for YouTube but I'm still having the same problem.
I really want the audio to sound louder but is there anything I can do if I want to increase the audio levels?
 
A few things:

First, do not normalize. That will affect the dynamic range of your mix (which is what you want: see below), but not in a good way.

Second, the 'Net is kind of the "Wild West" of audio levels. There really are no standards other than those self-imposed by sound professionals. And if you ask them, you'll get several different answers. That said, try to peak around -3dB since it is the Internet and that will get your mix level up without risking distortion on some one else's computer.

Last, you may benefit from having your mix mastered... or at least by sending it through some similar process. You want to decrease the dynamic range, but not by too much, to increase the "perceived loudness." If your audio is peaking at 0dB and it still doesn't have much punch, your dynamic range is too wide for computer/Internet playback. The basic tools for mastering are compression, parametric EQ, and limiting. For your purposes, really just a little bit of compression followed by a limiter with mazimixer (like the Waves L1) will pull a little more life out of your mix on the Web.
 
I usually set mine to peak around -6dB. I remember that was a suggestion from an Apple instructor (for whatever thats worth) back when I was learning Final Cut
 
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