Better Dialogue Audio: Compression and Normalization

Having trouble getting your dialogue audio to sound really present in your film and video projects? In this episode we talk about using compression and normalization to sweeten up your sound and bring it to the forefront of your mix.
I show how to do this in Adobe Audition but you can do the same thing in most video editing apps like Premiere, or any audio editing app including Audacity, Reaper, etc.
Now I'm not claiming to be an expert on compression, so if you see things that we could improve here, please leave your input in the comments--we love learning to improve!
This episode shot with the following:
- Nikon D600
geni.us/Zm8Obt
- Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 AiS Lens
No longer produced, but the newer version can be found here:
geni.us/yVpY
- HMNSound Lavalier Microphone
HMNSound.com
- Zoom H1
geni.us/3K0sy
Screencast recorded with the following:
- Shure SM-58
geni.us/SAuu2mX
- Golden Age Project Pre-73 mk II Preamplifier--sweet pre-amp with plenty of gain and a little bit of character
geni.us/vUGQG9
- Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 DSP Audio Interface
geni.us/9USk9
Music copyright 2013 by Curtis Judd
Ethics statement: Some of the links above are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, or other affiliate links.

[@curtisjudd]

8 years later tip: When compressing dialogue, try setting attack to the smallest setting possible and set the release to 500ms. It will usually sound better and less compressed that way, while still accomplishing the end goal - making your audio louder.

[@SunriseWaterMedia]

Thanks 8 years later Curtis.

[@isikoabubaker2743]

😂 Thanks 8years. I've just been saved.

[@curtisjudd]

@@isikoabubaker2743 👍

[@MysteryFinery]

@@curtisjudd remake the vid?

[@curtisjudd]

@@MysteryFinery done: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onmxmat9pM95iLc

[@billstorm929]

Noise reduction is typically done prior to the steps shown here. The reason for that is you do not want to increase and compress the noise. The point is to to get rid of as much of it as possible before those stages.Having said that once you do normalize or simply increase the gain you may now detect noises that you previously did not notice. In that case apply the proper filters that selectively target the specific noise types. Once you have done that and have the cleanest signal you can then it it is time to apply special effects and/or processing such as compression, loudness maximizing. limiters etc.. The biggest cause of problems starts at the recording stage. Make sure your levels are correct at that time AND what ever you do make sure you do not use the camera's built in mic.. Spend a few dollars and use an external mic and better yet connected to a separate recorder whose .track(s) you can sync up in post. Properly done that is your best insurance to capture quality sound with the least noise.

[@curtisjudd]

Good insights--thanks Bill.

[@JLitodiaz]

So are stating to do the Noise reduction Prior to Compression or after sir? Thank You

[@curtisjudd]

Yes.

[@JLitodiaz]

Curtis Judd Before or After? lol btw everything i have learned about lighting and aound so far has been through awesome videos!

[@curtisjudd]

Sorry, noise reduction first. :)

[@TechUploaded]

This is a great channel! I really appreciate you taking the time to make these videos for those of us getting started with audio. This has been a huge help to my channel.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks. :) In Creative Cloud, all of these plugins from Audacity are available in Premiere as well so if you don't need the visual feedback to you get in Audacity, you can speed up your workflow by just staying in Premiere.

[@Akamo.]

This is by far the best video on this topic. Simply because it can be applied to any voice easily. Way better than the Dynamics Processing.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@Rhythmattica]

I agree... But for simple productions.. But. To those that may be interested in a large production.. 1st step : Dialogue editing Dialogue Volume match, Possibly de-noising, ect. Then its to Mixing..... Sometimes Room ambient matching, and real time processing is key here... , EQ-ing, Dynamics, ect...., .....Dynamic processing is the bookend. Especially in Film. Things cant be committed to a file...... Real time is a necessity..... . And when you have the tools, its just as quick.

[@curtisjudd]

David Bialik I usually set my input levels so that peaks fall around -15 to -10 at the hottest. Digital is much less forgiving and I find that some digital recorders do capture distortion, even at -6db. Thanks!

[@curtisjudd]

@@abeeeshen3852 Hi Abeeeshan, I mean the gain or input setting when recording. While recording, I set the gain until the meters top out at around -15 to -10 or so.

[@curtisjudd]

Hi Alf, will do--I've played with them a little but need a little more time to really get them working well. I'll put that in the queue!

[@MuchRockness]

Great tutorial! I've always been able to play with compressor knobs to achieve a flatter dynamic range, but now I understand the how and why. Thanks Curtis

[@Trun0]

Thank you very much for making this video. Working through some voiceover audio right now and as great as Audition is, it's a lot to take in if you're not already well informed about audio production. Your advice has really helped me understand what to manage with levels and now the voice tracks sounds fantastic. Thanks again!

[@curtisjudd]

trun0jay Glad to hear it (no pun intended)! Thanks!

[@mishalharbi777]

Thanks Curtis ! spent few hours watching videos on this topic and your tutorial is the only one that explains the process clearly step by step in few minutes. the other related topic you covered and I found to be extremely helpful for improving dialogue voice is removing echo/reverb which can be present to varying degrees in room recordings. I highly recommend everyone to watch it too. keep it up and thanks again.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Mishal!

[@Bobbylopezcreative]

I just started to dip my toe into the audio recording world with my recent purchase of a zoom h1. Your videos are fantastic. They get me to consider things I never even thought of before. I've been so focused on getting the right gear to get the image looking good and there is a whole slew of things I need to know to get the audio sounding equally well. I like to joke that youtube is my film school and if that's so, then you're one of my professors! Keep up the great work, Curtis.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Bobby!

[@editor5648]

I remember this was one of the only videos on KZbin, for improving audio. I keep coming back to this. Thank you, Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Editor!

[@mynameiswit]

Great tutorial, thanks alot for the time and work you put into it! As I was watching it, I got more and more excited to get to work!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks--good luck on your recordings!

[@lowkeyyoutube3673]

9 years later still better than most videos made today thanks man

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@jox313]

Dude you are NUMBER ONE... Its the first time to me to understand what compression really is.. Thanks a lot

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Basil.

[@PhontaineJudd]

Just wanted to send you a note telling you how grateful I am for your videos and sharing your knowledge. Your audio tutorial here has really helped my productions immensely. I am a professional video editor by trade (Dirty Jobs, American Chopper, Biggest Loser,, etc.), but I was never trained in audio. I would always go to the final mix, but had no idea what they were doing. So when I would try to make personal videos, they always looked good but had audio issues. Your tutorials have given me great insights as to how to better mix my own audio, and what a difference. Thanks!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Phontaine! And good job on your editing!

[@skaterboy1542]

Hey!!! Great video!! (As always) you should try adding a small room reverb (and also brimg down the wet sounds) to give it a little more life. I record music, so its a little diffrent but they are really close. But in the dialogue i have edited small room reverb helps... Great video! Again just something to try.

[@MogrifyStudioMarketing]

This video was published nearly 3 years ago but it's still golden content. Thanks for this awesome tutorial, Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

You're welcome and thanks for the feedback!

[@MagicBoyProduxions]

Thank you! I appreciate it! Thanks for all the great content on your channel!

[@ultimomos5918]

Thanks for the awesome video! I just recently graduated from a local audio engineering school and just wrapped sound mixing for my first local film. I'm used to editing all my audio in Protools but unfortunately won't have that entirely available for our post production process, so this guide is a very helpful look into Audition. Thanks again!

[@curtisjudd]

Colin Myers Congrats on your graduation and best wishes in getting your career going!

[@Levithecreator]

Infinitely helpful.. thanks Curtis! Keep doing what you're doing, you are helping so many people through your videos

[@57thplacefilms38]

You are, by far, the best channel on youtube for audio editing i have found! Thank you so much!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks! By the way, your prom proposal video: Awesome!

[@bacontrees]

I use similar techniques, been doing so for years and this video is great! We need more videos on dialogue editing and preparation for various media. Very cool!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks bacontrees! A few weeks ago I posted an updated episode that covers loudness normalization in detail since my workflow for editing dialogue has evolved some since: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJSwgHWomcd7nc0

[@sevhall2969]

Thank YOU SOOO MUCH FOR THIS. I use adobe. The way you put it was GREAT. Ive seen many videos and read a lot on compression but the way you explained it and showed it. AMAZING

[@curtisjudd]

Sev Hall Thanks Sev!

[@stylz1]

Always nice to have a clear and concise refresher. Thanks.

[@MaSTARMedia]

Thanks a lot this saved my audio!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@curtisjudd]

+MaSTAR Media you're most welcome!

[@Merffinn]

DUDE WHAT?! YOUR HERE?!

[@Playerdue]

Awesome video! Thank you very much, I'm always struggling a lot with the audio of my tutorials! Great content as always! :D

[@jamesgray1456]

Great tutorial. Thanks for keeping it simple and explaining how the settings work rather than just showing which buttons to push!

[@curtisjudd]

James Gray Thanks James!

[@CourseBuildersAcademy]

This guy has one of the most valuable resources on KZbin for audio - first class dude!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Andrew - very kind of you!

[@zafvideoprods]

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise Curtis, your video helped me to perfect the audio from an event I shot! Wish you all the best.

[@curtisjudd]

Glad to hear it zafeer!

[@Junction133]

Fantastic straight forward tutorial on compression with Audition. Crazy how old this video is but still relevant (at least for me!). Thank you!!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@ChrystianDanucalov]

this was one of the few tutorials about compression that really taught me something, thanks!

[@curtisjudd]

Chrystian Danucalov Thanks, glad it was helpful!

[@JDExists]

Extremely helpful video. Gonna recommend this to some VA buds.

[@ookamidesu]

As always, very helpful Curtis. Thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

Sure. Which version are you using? Reason I ask is that the newest version (Creative Cloud) has all the exact same plugins as Audacity, including all of those I use in this video. Older versions are a little more limited.

[@curtisjudd]

Great idea--added to the queue.

[@TheAbsolutePeach]

Thanks for this Curtis. simply and succinctly put. Compression is one of those things I've toyed with but never fully understood. Your explanation definitely filled in some gaps in my knowledge. Cheers, Ben

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks for the feedback Ben!

[@stevenrix7277]

This was extremely useful b/c i did not know how to apply compression and had the same problems with normalization after applying compression, this video definitively made my sound sounds much better. So far with all your tutorials i was able to improve my audio quality, there was many many things i was ignorant about, and now i feel a little bit more credible in my audio setup ^_^ Thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

+Steven Rix Thanks!

[@MuttCat131]

Really detailed tutorial. You're great at explaining these things. Thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks.

[@davidblock6319]

This video was made in 2013 and is still spot on today 2022. A timeless lesson. Thank you

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks David.

[@shayanphothanayagam4949]

Thank you so mach for your Tutorial its really help me out :)

[@sportmood5654]

You are the only youtuber across youtube who explained clearly and simply the tresh ration gain... Thanks man

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@MagicBoyProduxions]

That was extremely helpful! Thanks so much!

[@tuber2kh]

I'm a videographer (depositions) and I've been using compression in the field for many years. Your video is a very good intro for other videographers to understand why we want to use it, and the settings you used are close to what I recommend for field compression. That was a good example that demonstrated the audible difference too. I'm glad I ran across your video. Post processing is one way to add compression, but you can actually compress in the field too, and then you don't have to use post! I use small portable units like the FMR RNC (around $150). Some of your viewers might not have audio processing software, and field compression is another way to get it done. The biggest benefit to field compression is the the additional freedom that it gives the videographer. With the lows boosted by makeup gain, and the high volume parts attenuated, the audio naturally takes much more care of itself and leaves you to focus your attention on other aspects of the job. It's practically automatic audio. Great video, thanks for posting it!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Kelly, I appreciate the feedback. Great point on the hardware compressor during recording!

[@Mike-lu6up]

Nice tutorial. Very helpful. Thank you.

[@MyWorldInShadows]

This is amazing ...as all your tutorials! Thank you!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@sswat]

Thank you Curtis for your great explanation!

[@curtisjudd]

+Jonathan dos Santos 👍

[@mrkumaran]

a really fantastic tutorial, made me understand compression and normalization much better. thank you

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks *****

[@huyked]

Thank you, Curtis! I'm new to sound, so that was totally helpful!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks huyked. This is an oldie. Glad it was still helpful!

[@michaelradford5532]

Absolutely excellent! Just what I needed. Thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks, glad it helped!

[@markhaleston1607]

Thank you. I'm just trying to get better audio thru study and working with my systems. Excited to try these several affects to add some clarity to my voice overs.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@musabinho]

brilliant, one of the best tutorials about normalizing and compressing 🔥

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Musab.

[@JewellDWilliams]

This was a great tutorial and helped me out a bunch. Thanks for taking the time to make this.

[@curtisjudd]

You're welcome and thanks for the feedback Jewell!

[@ConsumerTeamPete]

good stuff Chris. I enjoy your videos. Easy delivery to listen to and nice pace.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Peter.

[@gabrielthemessenger]

You explain so well Curtis, thank you so much!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Gabriel!

[@Ezrashah]

Absolutely agree with Manish. You did a great job explaining it and this video is the perfect starting point for someone who wants to learn this skill. Thanks buddy!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Imraan!

[@Shamrok2007]

Thanks a lot. It was very helpful.

[@KevinMarchese]

Thank you sooooooo much for this video. Audio is difficult to understand, not like video editing, and so you made my value increase. For this I thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

You are welcome and thank you for the feedback!

[@TwoTrakMind]

Great tutorial! Thank you! One thing that should be mentioned is that normalization doesn't always return the desired outcome. At times, the levels may actually unexpectedly drop significantly, for no apparent reason. The reason for this is that there are often mic pops, or electronic spikes in the audio that shoot above 0dB, causing the normalization to lower the overall volume. This can be really difficult to address, because even a single sample containing a pop will result in a lowering of the levels, and will be very difficult to isolate.

[@curtisjudd]

Agreed. This is one of my older videos. These days I loudness normalize using LUFS/LKFS instead of peak normalizing like here.

[@dr-johngy-brongen]

i really like your explanation, thank you very much for this video!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Kirill!

[@almcdonnell6522]

Very clear, concise and practical explanations... 👍👍 Thanks very much for the content!!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks AL!

[@davidbialik1878]

Curtis, in 11min's you have helped me raise the production value bar several notches on all my productions. I shoot a lot of interviews and have been looking for ways to make improvements. Would you say it's too conservative to set interview audio record levels so they don't peak above -6db? I've been told by some that "digital" recording is more likely to distort above -6 and not like the days of analog where a signal above 0db might distort.

[@AshrafEzzat]

Very informative, it helped me a lot. One more thing though, I'd like to find out how did you set up that awesome lighting?

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks. This episode covers the lighting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iH2pd52KdtRni6c

[@RoleyChiu]

Thanks Curits!! I followed your video along with my Audition opened. very helpful as a tutorial!!!! :)

[@curtisjudd]

Glad it helped, thanks Roley!

[@geekdromesucks]

Excellent video to help a newbie like me. Thanks!

[@GatesRick]

Thanks Curtis, this is very helpful.

[@krisaustria8652]

Hey Curtis, bumped into you again. This is exactly what I needed to learn. Thanks for this video!

[@curtisjudd]

You're most welcome! 👍

[@skribblez]

can you tell me why my level meter in adobe 3.o starts with a yellow line then continuous as normal

[@PavyAimee]

Thanks Curtis! Right to the point, concise, and helpful!! :)

[@curtisjudd]

+Aimee Pavy thanks!

[@healinglight333]

I know this is an old video and you've probably learnt a lot by then but thank you so much for sharing your knowledge in an easy to understand way. There's a wealth of information in the comments section also. Just my two cents on how the compressed signal sounds. It sounds kind of unnatural but then again I know this is just a demonstration of the basic compression settings (perhaps even softer settings would make it sound more natural). Also what's good with a compressor is that it leaves more headroom for sound engineers to work with their mixes. It's a tradeoff as always. And also it can be a lifesaver if there is a huge dynamic difference in the signal recorded and also for live streams because in this way you voice won't make someone's ears bleed if you start shouting and they are using headphones. So lot's of uses for that. It's true also what you said that it brings the voice more in the "foreground" than in the "middle" of the recording. I am almost a complete newbie myself, but I have an appreciation for good sounding audio and am trying to learn more. Cheers and thank you again! :)

[@curtisjudd]

Yes, learned a LOT since I made this video. Biggest thing is to use a longer release time for spoken word content. I find that starting at around 500ms on the release helps a LOT to produce a more transparent sounding compression.

[@healinglight333]

@@curtisjudd Thank you again for sharing your knowledge and information freely. It’s wonderful and I think it evolves us a species. Cheers! 🙂

[@arajo306]

The video is very helpful. It helps me to understand the basic concept of nomalization and compressor. Thank you!!!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Summer Jo!

[@pixelpushmedia1538]

Thanks, Curtis! This video just came in handy for me today.

[@curtisjudd]

+PixelPush Media Glad it helped!

[@djdeviate99]

Excellent tutorial, thanks!

[@benclark7551]

Thanks Curtis, your video really helped me out with my work :P

[@DanielAVphotomassacre]

I definitely appreciate this.

[@iron-yyy3284]

Thank you for your brief and clear explanation sir!

[@curtisjudd]

You're welcome!

[@PostcardsFromJapan]

Excellent tutorial, right to the point, without unnecessary cheesy jokes and a "without further ado..." like in many tutorials these days.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks. Old but glad to hear it is still useful. 👍

[@jcolema7]

Thanks for the post...

[@RashleysBorderQue]

Thanks for clearing up a subject that was largely mystery to me.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@arvinyan9629]

Thanks very much Sir Curtis about this video tutorial. I really learned a lot and got a depth understanding on how to use the compression and processing. As well as i got an additional idea about normalizing the audio. Right now is 2021. It still helped me even this video was 7 years ago. hopefully you will have more video to come. Thanks. New subscriber here.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Arvin.

[@arvinyan9629]

@@curtisjudd you're welcome sir

[@SufiGuidanceChannel]

Simply amazing 👆

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@Matmax42]

This video helped me to understand some things about using compressor. Thanks a lot!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@BallisticTech]

Curtis Judd When in this process would you recommend doing noise reduction? At the very end?

[@curtisjudd]

Usually, the noise reduction I do is a high-pass filter at about 80Hz and cut off everything below that fairly aggressively (-36db per octave). I apply that right after normalizing the sound but before compression.

[@whitepathxx22]

Hi Curtis, that was very helpful. thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@chickenmuffin]

Such a fantastic video. Thank you so much you are such a great video maker.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Sean.

[@123andjump]

I listen to this for the 2nd time. Curtis: very good, that you ALSO explains some theory, helps me a lot. Most other videos are useless compared to yours. Regards from Denmark !

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Michael!

[@bongchica2709]

Thanks for this... I learned a lot..

[@royalsalute8678]

you're great, sir. I do respect your skill. Keep up with your great tutorial! :)

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks sunyang lim!

[@mickeyromeo]

I've never met anyone with photography as their middle name. thanks for the video, it helped a lot.

[@Fernanderas2011]

Thank you for your time, very grateful- Gracias

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@Riteshkrpanda]

Thanks man I was looking for this kind of tuitorial for months though I don't have a pc still I learned great information

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Ritesh.

[@Riteshkrpanda]

@@curtisjudd wow you replied to a 7 years old videos comment 😊

[@curtisjudd]

👍 For you.

[@vhslostandfound]

Super helpful and concise, thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

John Sellars Thanks!

[@RaymondPetersonTheMoreIvreet]

Good tutorial. I've seen a couple of other tuts on compression, but did not understand how to read the dB meter in relation to setting threshold,

[@curtisjudd]

+Raymond Peterson Thanks!

[@curtisjudd]

Sorry, I meant same plugins as Audition, not Audacity.

[@FredTrevinoColor]

Great video! Learned a lot. I have a quick question: in what situation would you go beyond this and additionally EQ a dialogue track? Would you say these steps would cover most situations?

[@curtisjudd]

I almost always also apply EQ, or at the very least, a high pass filter.

[@shamanhealer6039]

Had no clue. Good basic info. Sounded better even on Mac laptop speakers. Great channel.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@extremewrestlingarchive5483]

Wonderful tutorial, thanks a lot!

[@curtisjudd]

+Extreme Wrestling Archive you’re welcome!

[@rdo736]

Very clear information, sir

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@B4NTO]

Using this method for my video today :) used singelband compressor before but this tube one seems to work good :)

[@curtisjudd]

Glad to hear it. Keep making great videos!