Volume vs Loudness - LUFS & LKFS for Measuring Loudness for Video

[@curtisjudd]

You can see part II on how to loudness normalize here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onmxmat9pM95iLc

[@reirei9526]

i want to ask.. i record my video on smartphone and i have my record voice in -3 db but the volume on record is on 50-60% and i try to put music to see the bar its on -3 db but the volume its on 80 - 90%... so did i must gain up the volume my mic right? i confuse in here

[@Debtfreehomesteaders]

He hits me with a tongue twister @4:01 then leaves me with a cliff hanger! Thank goodness I'm subscribed! Awesome Lesson! Well done! -Will

[@curtisjudd]

Hahaha! Thanks Will!

[@EpicLightMedia]

I really needed this information!!! I’ve been looking for this for years!!! Thanks for being so smart!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks for coming by and thanks for teaching us all how to do lighting design!

[@BreezeA]

Same here, been searching for this simplified yet spot on tutorial

[@gibblsworthiscool]

@epiclightmedia is that one channel that I had to unsubscribe from due to their excessive amount of helpful high-quality videos that helped me get better ;)

[@curtisjudd]

@@gibblsworthiscool All that value is hard to digest... 🙃

[@vinyleyezz]

I LOVE learning more about hifi audio techniques/voice over, THANK YOU for all this great info Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@billsmith5166]

Well that starts to make sense. In some of your videos you talk about something being set for European LUFS. I thought it was short for Luftballons, but I figured it should have been set for 99. No wonder all of my stuff has been so darned loud.

[@curtisjudd]

Hahaha! Definitely do NOT aim for a target of 99 LUFS.

[@pingpongowo]

Nothing's louder than my creaky floors at 3AM

[@SoundSpeeds]

Run them thru an expander.

[@curtisjudd]

Perhaps you could use that as your target.

[@theBejourn]

Fantastic video. I found your channel while looking for a microphone and you've been dedicatedly putting out seriously high quality content for what looks like more than a decade! Props!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Bjorn.

[@EdoDijkgraaf]

This is why I subscribed many years ago mr Judd. An inspiring video. Cheers!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Edo.

[@marchomotion]

Glad you're touching the topic again! Your original loudness normalization video was the reason I subscribed!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@spelunkerd]

Glad to hear the remark at the end, it sounds like you're going to cover the question I was about to ask. I use FCPX with access to LogicProX, and want to know how to estimate my LUFS before I upload the video, ha ha. I always seem to undershoot, compared to professional style videos that somehow get it nearly perfect on stats for nerds.

[@curtisjudd]

I won't be able to cover FCPX in particular, but will show my process.

[@crumpetsbuttered]

3 year old video and still amazing. Thanks for the clear guidance.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@henrikolsen5]

Thank you so much for all your content and excellent delivery and production quality. Straight to the point (no BS) and textual summaries to start with, which I'm particularly fond of.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Henrik. 👍

[@jasonrlombard]

I've only been following you for about a year, Curtis, but I've learned so much in that year. Thank you not only for providing your insights and knowledge but also for giving those insights "handles" and showing us how to use them.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@KamilsView]

Great comment.

[@PianoManChuck]

This is the kind of material that sets this channel apart from all others. Good job!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks PianoManChuck!

[@BikeGremlinRS]

I've been struggling with video editing - and sound quality as an important aspect of it. So far, this video is the best explanation of the important terms that I could find, by a person who seems to know what they're talking about. :) Thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks, glad you found it helpful.

[@jackmanstudios]

Curtis, this is the clearest explanation of Volume vs Loudness I've ever heard. You have an incredible talent my friend.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Clarke! I hope you're doing well and it is good to hear from you!

[@danielpicard3994]

Great and precise explanation of a concept that is often misunderstood. Your last comment in regards to uploading spoken content on KZbin at a more conservative level is a very wise practice. Thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Daniel.

[@david243121]

Curtis, you are the MAN. Do you have any idea how much I've learned from you, and how much those lessons have had real life changes in my workflow and understanding what is going on, so I can make better choices? Thank you a million times over.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks so much, David!

[@ahmadfauzanperdana5703]

You teach me more than my lecturer did. Thank you for sharing this! Can't wait to wait to watch the next episode.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Ahmad.

[@davidhasbrouck7948]

When my team started creating content for KZbin I downloaded 5 or 6 videos from high quality talking head creators and brought them into RX4 to check out the loudness and see what the norm was. Turns out it was - 16 to - 18. I'm glad information like this is becoming easier to find.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@neilhaldar]

You’re the man! Best way to learn audio from the master. Thank you, Curtis 😊

[@curtisjudd]

🙏

[@AudioforContentCreators]

This makes me feel like I'm back in audio school. Loved it. Super clear explanation and really useful. Thanks, Curtis! ~Brian

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Brian! Means a lot coming from you!

[@genewaddlerandomstuff2122]

I do wish more people on KZbin would pay attention to this. So many are just too low. I have my playback volume set so that your videos are at the right level for my comfort since I know that you know how to do this correctly. I also adjust the loudness on my videos to -16. Thanks for the explanation.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@NoloCuban]

Curtis, Thank You again for sharing so much knowledge, we really appreciate it! Happy New Year to you and your family from Spain!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks and same to you and yours!

[@kyleethekelt]

Happy new year to you and yours. Thank you so much for explaining this so succinctly and well.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Kylee and happy new you to you!

[@jherr]

Your content is amazing. Thank you so much for this. I've been struggling with audio, particularly when it comes to loudness for a while. Part of that is me, and the fact that I feel the need to news commentator "shout" on camera. But there is also the technical factor of where I should be in terms of audio signals. And this helps with that tremendously. Can't wait for the next video where we learn about tooling.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Jack!

[@phloem4]

Thank you, Curtis! This video and part II is helping my video production immensely for producing my wife’s online fitness classes.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@alessandromasipersonal]

Hi, I have just discovered your channel during these holidays. Thank you for all these great and useful infos, just starting a youtube channel (music) and I've found (and still finding) lot of help from you

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Alessandro and best wishes on your channel!

[@GriffinConway]

Great video Curtis. You have a real skill for breaking down complex concepts and making them simple and easy to understand. Thanks for sharing!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Griffin!

[@SufiGuidanceChannel]

Awsome info

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Sufi.

[@SufiGuidanceChannel]

What I do is take live calls on live stream and have six dedicated wattsapp lines.. The audio technic used I have learnt through this your channel which I appreciate and THANXX u loads.. 👍

[@Vc1fxae]

I've been using Adobe Audition for years and I never dug into those terms in Match Loudness Settings but just follow my personal taste. This video helps A LOT for me!! Thank you for such clear-presented information!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Vc1fxae!

[@bryanbarajasBB]

Useful, because I recently began to investigate why my videos are so low and others higher, and this question of losing quality for loudness is useful! Thank you! 😇

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@902MediaUK]

Felt like this video was only 5 minutes but it's 10 minutes, I was so into it that it felt short. Thanks as always for the rich content, can't wait for the next video you mentioned at the end. Thanks again and happy new year.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@asidtone6465]

the audio is on another planet

[@insanejughead]

Wait, so if a tree falls on Mars, does it make a sound?

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@curtisjudd]

It absolutely does - the rover hears it.

[@hisnameisrentoo]

Great info! Can't wait for the next one on the topic. Ironically, I watched the video on mute with subtitles on, as my wife is busy working on something on the desk beside mine.

[@curtisjudd]

Hahaha! Good not to disturb the wife!

[@keensoundguy6637]

In the home audio world, some of us remember when "loudness" referred to a special EQ control based on the long historied Fletcher-Munson curves that describe human hearing as it relates to the perception of loudness. The usual take-away for mixing engineers was to mix a track so it sounds its best when played back at high volume. Hence the phrase, "crank it up, dude", right? Thanks for the link to the ITU document. Great discussion in it about true peak vs peak-sample metering -- certainly worth being aware of.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks

[@scotey]

Fantastic video. I've yet to encounter a channel that is more educational and trustworthy. If you're not a teacher somewhere in your life, you should be.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Scott. I'm a teacher here on KZbin and at my online school - LearnLightAndSound.com

[@sky.london]

This is the best video ever. Especially the online advice, really been a bit lost as to why -16/-17. Thanks

[@curtisjudd]

👍🙏

[@mozinoz_digital]

Curtis, many thanks for ongoing enlightenment on audio- an often underrated but crucial aspect in successful digital storytelling.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Moz.

[@MeridianMedia]

As always, this was informative and pleasant to watch. Thanks Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Meridian Media!

[@Commandelicious]

I have been doing youtube stuff for nearly eight years, I am better with my audio than most, because it's the first thing to bug me (and many, many others) in a video. But this was very helpfull, thank you!

[@curtisjudd]

Glad it was helpful!

[@BeauHannamGuitars]

Very interesting Curtis. Thanks- And the Stats for Nerds is cool- I had never heard of this before!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@l.s.11]

Embarrassed to say how long this has been in my Watch later playlist.... Glad I finally watched it tho. :)

[@curtisjudd]

Hope it was helpful!

[@Yoda8945]

Thank you! This will help so much with the levels that I have to deal with with customer's videos.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@ronspi]

When I was in high school (about 45 years ago), there were the Stereo Amplifier Kits. There was a push-button in the amplifier called Loudness, and its purpose was to allow low-frequency notes (bass) to be heard better when you would listen at low volume. It simply amplified only the low frequencies. It was very comfortable to listen to music at low volume while still hearing the bass while everyone else was sleeping.

[@curtisjudd]

Ah yes, I remember seeing that on an old hi-fi system.

[@minghaofei]

now this is what I'd call a proper lesson on Intro to Audio. Thank you Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Minghao.

[@martinjohannesK]

Thank you Curtis for yours recommendation to go with -16 in general. I will define this as Target for our company social media with podcasts and Videos.!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@alecmuellervisuals61]

Thanks for this video! Looking forward to part 2. I’ve been unsure of what audio levels to shoot for in premiere for years

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@VladislavDoroshuk]

Curtis, that's amazing, I've just sent a question about LUFS on KZbin in your online course, and you came with this video:) anyway, the question is - what is the right LUFS level for the KZbin videos in 2021, for mono and stereo? Updated: I've reached the end of your video and finally have the answer, thank you! Funny fact from Russia: the "statistics for nerds" was translated by KZbin as "statistics for system administrators ", so we're lacking some humor there🙃

[@curtisjudd]

For popular music, -14 LUFS for stereo, -17 LUFS for mono. My opinion: For spoken word content, I'd aim for -16 LUFS stereo or -19 LUFS mono.

[@Ditispeter]

@@curtisjudd And what do you recommend for videos with a mix of spoken word, music and sound design? I think you have to crush the dynamics too much to keep it on -14 LUFS without distortion.

[@curtisjudd]

@@Ditispeter -16 LUFS stereo unless the piece will air on broadcast TV.

[@Ditispeter]

@@curtisjudd Thanks! I will try that.

[@gabbo13]

@@curtisjudd I always use the --16/-17 LUFS for my KZbin videos, however I have to practice more in the audio part when I edit and mixing.

[@deanpettitt121]

Super informative Curtis, thanks! A volume related challenge I often face on my main channel is mixing my spoken work along with background music. I know you keep things clean on your content, but I wondered if you’d thought about making a video on that subject with tips and tricks. Background music can help cover a myriad of sins as well as stopping dead air when there’s a reason not to speak for a few seconds. Getting the levels right though can be an absolute pain.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Dean. Here's an older video on that topic but we'll also do an updated version using more sophisticated techniques: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKe4n2uiaJWJgsU

[@AmadoWildlifeVideos]

Very helpful and timely. Especially as I'm learning how to record/edit spoken word for audiobooks. Looking forward to next episode.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@alex_montoya]

Can't wait on the second video on lufs.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@rogberube6422]

That's clear, Curtis. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year. :)

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Rog Berube! Happy new year to you!

[@shashiekunthikumar7980]

most informative from all the videos I watched on this subject

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@sendittoherlihy]

Thanks Curtis, happy new year to you! Great video as always! Would you be able to recommend a sweet spot when working with something like very dynamic live orchestral for KZbin? Thanks

[@curtisjudd]

I'd recommend trying different targets to see how they each sound and choose from there. Best if you can get it to -16 LUFS and be satisfied that it doesn't sound too compressed.

[@sendittoherlihy]

@@curtisjudd cheers Curtis!

[@PaulSyng]

This is was very interesting. The lighting and sound always on point.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Paul.

[@SoundSpeeds]

I'd like to point out that television shows on TV have different technical requirements for audio than the commercials to. That allows TV commercials to be louder than program material.

[@curtisjudd]

More info, please? What are the targets for advertisements vs program? Thanks!

[@SoundSpeeds]

@@curtisjudd I'll clarify. Television shows and movies are produced for release on their platforms. Movies may be adjusted before airing to adhere to LUFS/LKFS guidelines too but TV stations often compress any program content. They also visually process shows too which is why TV is a terrible place to watch a movie or TV show. These are done within guidelines (which are minimum specs) to make it a better experience on TV. Movies and TV shows are produced to look and sound a certain way and if it were possible to air without changing anything, it would be ideal for those of us that worked on it but there are broadcast and cable cast regulations that must be followed. I worked on a show that aired on USA and me and the sound mixer heard all kinds of distortion and compression when the show aired because that's what the station does to all program content. My mixer recorded the show and sent it to post and asked them about some of the things he was hearing. They responded back that their master didn't sound like that and this was common in TV. If we bought the DVD of the show, it would sound better. He was right. It's been over 2 decades since I worked at a TV station and that was pre-HD but I'm sure stations still have safety measures to make sure audio doesn't go out too loud or that dark scenes don't go too dark. Commercials, on the other hand, want to be noticed and may do tricks to get attention. Extreme compression is one truck they'll use so that if you're watching a late night show and doze, you'll wake up and watch. Another trick they'll use it playing the A-weighting curve - boosting the crap out of mid and higher frequencies because you hear them better. Really annoying infomercials may even apply aggressive low and high pass filters so that there's more headroom for an annoying presence boost (for example). Commercials don't have to be cinematic masterpieces, their goal is to sell a product so if that means using tricks to sound louder and be noticed, they will. Commercials aren't immune to processing but aren't afraid of playing games.

[@curtisjudd]

@@SoundSpeeds Thanks Allen.

[@insanejughead]

@@SoundSpeeds No need to be brief here, sir. Tell me more... Hahaha, thanks for the wealth of input. Your information coupled with what Curtis conveyed tells me that by sustaining certain loudness levels with very few quiet moments, infomercials and such can be perceived to be louder but still fly below the standards that mainly account for dynamic range differences. Am I understanding you both correctly?

[@SoundSpeeds]

@@insanejughead I think I understand that and I think that's right. Curtis said sustained loudness over time is perceived louder than audio with more dynamics and that's 100% right. What I added is that sometimes commercials and infomercials will use tricks to maintain loudness for the entire time and/or boost frequencies humans have a more difficult time ignoring while cutting those we may tune out.

[@TommysOutdoors]

Oh man! I was looking for this type of information. In the upcoming video, please don't forget to cover the difference between stereo and mono loudness requirements. Cheers!

[@curtisjudd]

Will do!

[@yoshiu5167]

Great video. Happy New Year. Looking forward for the next video you mentioned how we practically achieve LUFS for KZbin!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@GarethWalkerPhotographer]

Brilliant explanation and can’t wait for the next instalment. Have learnt so much about great audio from your channel.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Gareth.

[@TheArizonaHooligan]

Another outstanding video Curtis. I can't thank you enough for sharing your knowledge and expertise. It has made a dramatic impact on my understanding of quality audio for my videography projects.

[@curtisjudd]

Thank you Thomas.

[@SoundSpeeds]

Awwww man... I started a similar video last week but delayed it to prep for the Epic stream. Great job as always sir.

[@GiancarloBiondi]

Allen do it too, you can add something based on your experience to Curtis' already good video. I already see you preparing mathematical graphs :-)

[@SoundSpeeds]

@@GiancarloBiondi You see wrong. I'm no mathematician. ;-) Curtis did a better job of explaining the difference between loudness and volume than I was planning to because I wasn't going to do more than mention domestic vs international but my conclusion is the same. In Curtis's part 2 he'll demonstrate the process. It's funny, I'm pretty aggressive with my leveling and compression on this channel but in the real world I'm not a huge fan of compression as much as I am leveling. Well, unless it's kinda like a brick wall limiter as it is when I used to DJ. I had a compressor going to my amps so I could never push them past a certain level; infinity to 1 ratio, hard knee, threshold set to -1 dB and no output gain running into an amp wide open. The amps wide open is common. I could give it whatever level I wanted to at the mixer and it would never push the amps too hard, it would only distort if it went to high. I'm sure Curtis is going to kill it in part 2 like he did in part 1 but if I see anything else to add (to benefit those that take things to the extreme or for trolls) then I may revive it. This wouldn't be the first time I've shelved a project. In the mean time I'm sure part 2 will teach me some things just like part 1 did.

[@curtisjudd]

I'm sorry. You've also beat me to several topics. We're like a team!

[@GiancarloBiondi]

@@SoundSpeeds Allen from your 32-bit floating point video we now expect rivers of mantisse and math :-)

[@GiancarloBiondi]

@@curtisjudd Curtis I also made a video on LUFS, LUKS, dB, EBU etc but in Italian a few months ago :-) Apart from the fact that I started making videos recently and just for pleasure, speaking in Italian I turn to a purely Italian audience that has a limited interest in these topics. Your channel and Allen's have always stimulated me and pushed me to make videos on KZbin

[@Nukemizer1]

Thank you Curtis, this IS a perfectly paced and described explanation. Very very helpful. That's why i am a.subscriber 😍🙋‍♂️.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Kevin!

[@SouthpawAutoworks]

Great lesson, as always. Thank you, Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks!

[@tubeman1983]

Great info! I'm looking forward to the 2nd part video. I hope you provide examples on how to go about measuring loudness and setting levels)) Fantastic content, thanks :))

[@curtisjudd]

Yes, will do. Thanks!

[@OroNZ]

Mind blown. I can't wait for the follow-up video... And hope the instruction will translate to Premiere, Reason Studio's Reason (DAW), and Resolve :) Thanks Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks OroNZ.

[@globofonia]

Always learn something new with You. Thanks

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Leonardo.

[@shs1415]

Thanks Curtis, this is great info. In your video on how to reach these targets it would also be great if you could suggest targets for music playing under voice over vs music playing on it’s own. That’s something I often struggle with.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Chris. I'll cover the mixing element as well, yes!

[@AjushiPhotography]

Great Job as Always! Definitely agree, I always try to normalize my KZbin uploads to -16 LUFS 👍🏻

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@insanejughead]

Curtis, if I had wanted a mouthful of something, I'd go get a Hardee's #3 double burger... Good stuff, sir! This is one of the many things that plague newbs on the processing side of things, myself included. Thanks again!

[@insanejughead]

Also, that thumbnail is such a sweet looking piece of work! I particularly love the dichotomy of the colors behind the dial.

[@curtisjudd]

Hahaha! Now you made me hungry for a burger!

[@curtisjudd]

Kacper, my thumbnail guy, does brilliant work.

[@ZachBoyce]

Interesting takeaways. I've always wondered if youtube has any standards because when I'm watching on my smart TV I have generally found the loudness of various videos compared to each other is all over the place, forcing me to ride my volume knob every new video.

[@curtisjudd]

Yes, turns out that they only enforce the upper loudness limit (-14 LUFS), and not anything that falls below that.

[@thomasfransson]

Is there a way to do Loudness Normalization in Premiere itself instead of taking the route through Wavelab/Audition? I end up using so many different softwares for my videos so I'm trying not to add more steps ;)

[@curtisjudd]

Yes, when you export, go to the effects area and choose loudness normalization.

[@studiotwentyone]

Excellent video.. Simple explanation, no giff gaff.. Thank you!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@jjang9445]

Will definitely need to work on this on my future videos! Thanks Curtis!

[@curtisjudd]

You're welcome and best wishes!

[@photojoseph]

Fantastic, thanks mate. Very much looking forward to the follow-up video! I feel like audio levels have been the Wild West here on KZbin. I didn’t even know that there was a -14 target set by KZbin! I typically master to around -6 db which now I wonder if is too loud… going to check the “stats for nerds” on som of my videos, and hope that your follow-up video comes before my next course is released ;-)

[@photojoseph]

Wild… one of my videos shows -5.3, another shows -2.5… another shows -10!! And these were all mastered to the same levels. Yep, I need your education!!

[@curtisjudd]

@@photojoseph Those pesky peaks push the loudness all over the place!

[@CraigHollabaugh]

Chris, in that upcoming segment, you're gonna need to address amps that go 11 in terms of LUFS. Thanks for the valuable info.

[@curtisjudd]

Ah, yes, that'll be in the volume segment. 😉

[@insanejughead]

I expect Curtis to be chewing gum as he tells us they go to eleven, too. Maybe even wearing a mullet wig...

[@andymation]

Thanks for this!

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@tvstafford1989]

This was SUPER helpful. Thanks to you and your team!

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Paul!

[@davidhellegouarch1622]

Thanks a lot! Very clear and accessible. I can't wait to watch the next video about that

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks David.

[@nimrod7785]

Coming from the loudness wars 13 LUFS seems quiet to me!! Great video Curtis, I was targeting 14 LUFS for KZbin, but I will try a bit lower next time.

[@curtisjudd]

I am doing my part to end the loudness wars. 😉

[@keinpodcast4053]

Finally I get the chance to learn about this thing. Thank you :)

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@dlapierre99]

This is gold, looking forward for the next video. Thanks a ton for that.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks dlapierre99.

[@dlapierre99]

@@curtisjudd I found the Loudness meters in my NLE. They are in LUFS, great. But there are 4 measurements: Momentary, Short, Integrated and Range. I guess that the numbers you gave for YT or Spotify is the integrated. But what about the Momentary and Short, what are good values for those?

[@curtisjudd]

@@dlapierre99 Yes, integrated is the measurement of the entire video but you have to play though the entire piece to get the final integrated measurement. The others are for analyzing and solving issues at particular spots within the piece, e.g., maybe I need to compress or level out this little bit here...

[@dlapierre99]

@@curtisjudd Thank you so much! I have an option to generate a loudness log during render so I can get the integrated value quite fast if I render only the audio. And I am able to graph each 4 metrics over time in Excel. Thanks a lot again, now I am able to understand what I am doing.

[@AlexanderLebedev_sortafreel]

Awesome video, thanks :) Just bought your "Dialogue Sound Post Processing with Adobe Audition" course, do you plan to record a course for Isotope tools? Looks like you're using Resolve instead of Audition for most of the mastering.

[@AlexanderLebedev_sortafreel]

Oh, it's already there :) Thanks once more!

[@AlexanderLebedev_sortafreel]

Still, I wough HIGHLY recommend adding this information to the course promo/landing page/description. So it's clear for potential buyers that the course is even bigger/better/etc. It would affect sales in a good way for sure.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Oleksandr. Yes, I do hope to make an Izotope RX course.

[@1BabaSalam]

Thank you so much for this, Curtis. I can't wait for the upcoming video. Stay safe.

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks 1 Baba Salam.

[@keithsanborn8508]

Clear and extremely useful. Now, what's the reference in LUFS for a DCP?

[@curtisjudd]

There is no specific requirement or legal standard. I'd aim for -24 LUFS unless told otherwise by whomever I was delivering to (e.g., film festival).

[@keithsanborn8508]

@@curtisjudd Thanks! Davinci Resolve seems to default to -23 in Project settings for the Fairlight audio section though it's not specifically for dcp's. I have heard that -24 seems to be the SMPTE standard now, which seems to be emerging as the 10,000 lb gorilla on the block because of Hollllllllllywood. Again thanks. I have found your tutorials extremely clear; I appreciate your identifying opinion as opinion and fact as fact-to the best of your knowledge.

[@alex_foster]

Very informative. Thank you.

[@curtisjudd]

You're welcome.

[@patrickchase5614]

I'd always wondered why LUFS was sometimes nonlinear when calculated over videos with long stretches of background noise, such that increasing the amplitude by X dB didn't always increase LUFS by the same amount. Obviously increasing overall amplitude was dragging the practical noise floor above the -70 dB threshold, and causing those parts of the clip to start contributing to the loudness computation. Thanks!

[@curtisjudd]

It is actually more complex than that. There’s another gate at -10 Loudness Units so the noise floor is still generally not included in the overall calculation. Unless there is a really loud noise floor. 😀

[@patrickchase5614]

@@curtisjudd I should have known. Maybe amplifying is causing some "marginal" content (I sometimes move away from the mic while speaking to test for coloration as f(distance) for example) to be included via that -10 LU gate? Thanks again!

[@curtisjudd]

@@patrickchase5614 Likely, yes.

[@DannerPlace]

This is a very excellent video. Thank you for posting it.

[@curtisjudd]

You’re most welcome, Dan.

[@MrMaxDelux]

This was super interesting... Very much looking forward to the upcoming one. Cheers

[@curtisjudd]

Cheers Max.

[@jann.s3442]

Thank so mutch, I love this Video. I think every pro video creater should use this method.

[@curtisjudd]

👍

[@shakedakrish1]

This video is great! Thanks Curtis! Typically when I edit a short video that has loads of different sound pieces, I edit each one separately and do a loudness normalize to it. I'm not sure if it is the correct way or I should export the sound as a whole and then make the loudness normalize to it. Will you be touching it on the next video? Thanks again!!

[@curtisjudd]

Yes. Here's the short version: Do your mix first. Then loudness normalize the entire mix as the very last step.

[@shakedakrish1]

@@curtisjudd Thank you! I will do it from now on :)

[@offcenterconcepthaus]

Excellent. Needed this. Would it be fair to say that loudness is the volume (as in integrating a function-calculus) under the waveform?

[@curtisjudd]

Good question - I need to take some calculus first!

[@offcenterconcepthaus]

@@curtisjudd 😈😂

[@JacksonParodi]

Great information, thanks. Looking forward to more

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Jackson.

[@caseyonlocation8257]

Thanks for the video, Curtis! Thumbs up! I'm curious, how about the term "gain". How would you describe gain as being similar or different to volume and loudness?

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Casey! Gain is amplification of an audio signal, usually from microphone level to line level. It translates into loudness when the audio signal is converted to digital.

[@caseyonlocation8257]

@@curtisjudd Thank you, Curtis! Two thumbs up high...as usual!! :-)

[@paulbvid]

This is great! I’ve always struggled with This. U r awesome

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks Paul.

[@przybylskipawel]

Great content! I can't wait for the second part :) Before that however, I have a question. If I mix acoustic recordings namely choir, orchestrea (or both), acoustic solo instrument (e.g. grand piano) with intention to put that on YT and I want to avoid compression at all costs (including that imposed by YT) yet I want the audio to be comfortably heard without cranking up the volume, what loudness should I aim for in Davinci Resolve 17? That is assuming that I use an audio track previously mixed in Audacity from 24-bit iso tracks normalized to -1dB peak and mixed such that the mix also peak at -1dB. ...which is probably too loud, but these are very rare instances and I will aim at -3dB in the future when preparing audio.

[@curtisjudd]

Since it is KZbin, you get the choose the loudness target. For orchestral types of music, I agree that less compression is generally going to be better but you have to balance that against how your audience will listen to the piece. If they'll listen on phone speakers in noisy places, you may want to apply a bit more compression so that you can boost the loudness to something that can be reasonably played back on poor quality phone speakers in a noise space and still be heard. But if most will be using high quality headphones, you have a bit more freedom.

[@przybylskipawel]

@@curtisjudd I assume that whoever wants to hear classical recording should use at least decent on-ears mobile headphones. So I guess I need to prepare mix with smallest possible amount of compression (if any) and since such recordings are not actually overall very loud, I should normalize it to -14 LUFS? BTW: does the process of loudness normalization to certain LUFS levels involves any compression embedded in it?

[@curtisjudd]

@@przybylskipawel You will likely have to target something closer to -23 LUFS if you don't do any compression. Yes, if you push the loudness to -14 LUFS, there will be limiting which probably will not sound good. Best to target -23 LUFS first and see how that goes.

[@przybylskipawel]

@@curtisjudd Oh, OK! And does it matter if that is stereo?

[@curtisjudd]

@@przybylskipawel Yes, -23 LUFS stereo or dual mono (which is what one should publish always anyway).

[@SonnyZamolo]

Thank you for the recommendation at the end ! I have always been wondering how loud should VO and dialogues be (it's a mess on KZbin as everyone sounds very different). What is your recommendation for the loudness and dynamic range of masters for videos with more tracks (including voices + music + atmos and background + FX)? If not pushed to the limit it could be perceived as lower quality, isn't it? Do you recommend the same loudness for the web and for higher quality watching (let's say high end TVs and more cinema like systems with proper sound) as we have no limits? It seems that the mindset for mastering music and mastering sound for videos is pretty different. In music, many engineers still push loudness pretty far, even if the loudness war has evolved a lot. Most of modern music is between -9 and -5 LUFs if you take the original masters. To some extents we like to hear compression (and limiting) and use hard clipping. Some music is made to be loud. I assume that this might not be pleasant in a film or might kill the realism? PS: It is not really the same topic (even if it is linked at some point) and I still need to explore your channel (maybe you have talked about it); but how do you approach compression for VO and dialogues? So far, among all the KZbin content I have seen, related to sound for videos; they never enter into details about compression. They only make a basic use of compressors to control peaks and retain some dynamic and once in a while they dare to talk about de-essing . So I am wondering if you guys use compression a lot (or if is not so useful compared to music where vocals always need to take their place among many elements), for example: - for volume shaping: emphasizing the attack in order to make words more audible - use opto to bring some more body and sustain while preserving the attack (I guess it would require a good cleaning as it can bring up the room and noises) - use upward compression to bring thickness - use sidechain (I guess the answer of this one is pretty obvious, even if I haven't seen anybody talking about it) - multiband (I guess it depends on the recording and the issues to be fixed) I know I ask a lot and I do not expect to get an answer for every point. Thank you for reading already. haha And if anyone else reading this have answers for me, I take it. :)

[@curtisjudd]

Hi Sonny - I would apply the same recommendations for video or film - the loudness target depends on where the audience will view/listen to the video or film. On the web/mobile, I'd target -16 LUFS. KZbin will allow you to go to -14 if you are ok with less dynamic range but that often sounds too crunchy for my taste. For theater, I'd target -23 or -24 LUFS where presumably, the theater will be sound isolated from the outside and will have a high quality playback system so you can take advantage of wider dynamic range. Interestingly for music, the streaming services and KZbin take those ridiculously mastered tracks and push them back down to -14 LUFS. You can see it peak out well below 0dB if you have an audio interface with a decent meter. I use compression for VO and dialogue in video to achieve my target loudness levels - just enough to tame the transients down so I can push up to -16 or -17 LUFS. My approach is pretty straightforward and the result usually adds a bit of thickness. I generally use a fast attack and 500ms or so release so it doesn't pump. Usually I keep the ratio around 3:1. I approach it something like this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onmxmat9pM95iLc

[@SonnyZamolo]

@@curtisjudd Thank you for the answer !

[@БогданКосолапов-у6е]

Your content is so touching

[@curtisjudd]

Thanks.

[@ToddSinclair]

The recommendation is -16 LUFS for YouYube with primarily voice. Got it. What happened to -23or -24 LUFS? Only for broadcast? BTW, saw the normalizing video. fantastic. Thanks!

[@curtisjudd]

-23 LUFS is the EBU target for broadcast television. -24 LKFS is the ITU target and is required for broadcast TV in the US. The internet is the Wild West with no requirements. My recommendation is -16 LUFS for online content.

[@mariachiaracolalongo7816]

Hi Curtis and thanks for your great job (as always..) Somewhere in your previous videos and somewhere else I saw there should be different standard LUFS levels whether tracks are stereo or mono. I remember something like -19 LUFS for mono tracks and -23 LUFS for stereo ones ...or viceversa? I'm confused..

[@curtisjudd]

We'll cover that in the follow-up video. -19 LUFS mono = -16 LUFS stereo or dual mono.

[@mariachiaracolalongo7816]

@@curtisjudd thanks for your kind reply..I look forward to seeing the follow up..