Normal Dialogue volume

J

jrp

Member
Hi.

I'm mind of new to this audio thing. I'm doing a narrative video, and all the takes have different dialogue volumes. I know that if the volume meters go red, that's bad. Basicly, I want to know which volume should a normal conversation have, and which should a loud explosion have, so when someone plays the DVD, they don't have to change their TV,s volume. (Basicly, I'm looking for what's the norm for audio levels).

Thanks.
 
The thing about audio levels is maintaining consistant and strong levels during acquisition and editing without going too strong and getting clipping or distortion.

In the digital world of recording you never want to go over 0db with the signal level. Typically with dialog you should have the sound level dancing between -12db and 0db.

0db in the analog world translates to -20db in the digital word. In the analog world you can have your signal averaging around the 0db level and still have headroom up above 0db. In the digital world all of your headroom is below the 0db mark.

Some people like to go all the way down to -20db on digital equipment when setting levels to a 0db analog tone and others like to boost it up to -12db or so.

The bottom line is that you want to have your dialog dancing near the 0db mark without ever going over it.
 
I've always been told from sound mixer friends of mine to aim for -12 to -6db on my final mix.
Seems to have worked well so far.
 
Most broadcasters I've worked with require that the program audio sits around -12 dB (digital), with maximum peaks not exceeding -6 dB. With digital gear, you cannot by definition exceed a signal level of -0 dB. Trying to push your levels past -0 dB will only result in some rather nasty digital distortion.

As for how loud is loud enough, that depends on both your personal taste and the callibration of your listenning environment. The quick n' easy method of playback calibration is to put another well-mixed program up on your speakers and adjust your playback level until it sounds "right." Then, try to match the general levels and dynamics with your own program.

Another strategy, for broadcast and DVD work, is to run -12 dB "pink" noise through the speakers. Then, adjust the playback level until the noise doesn't quite sound anoying.

As a general rule, you should avoid touching that volume control during the course of your mix so that you can maintain a constant point of reference.
 
It sounds to me like pinning the average level down between -12db and -6db is good advice.

Dialog can vary from individual to individual. With quiet people you can usually get away with a little less headroom and a slightly boosted level, whereas loud speakers may need a lot of headroom, meaning you may want to lower the signal level a little.
 
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