This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Andrew Childress
As a video creator, you want polished and professional results. Audiences expect studio-grade productions, and it’s your job to meet those needs. A key part of a great video is the audio that supplements your scene. Audio ducking in DaVinci Resolve creates balance that helps your audio shine.
Think of your favorite movies or TV shows. What happens when characters begin speaking? The background music gets quieter! This is audio ducking at work. And you can do it in your own videos, right inside of Resolve.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use audio ducking in DaVinci Resolve 19. Audio ducking controls the volume level of audio tracks relative to one another. Let’s get started!
Why Is Audio Ducking So Useful?
Before diving into our tutorial, it helps to know the value of audio ducking in DaVinci Resolve 19. It’s a matter of balance.
There’s nothing more frustrating than hard-to-hear dialogue in a video. But all too often, background music will overpower the spoken word. And it would simply take too long to manually adjust each point on the track up and down.
Don’t fret - the fix is easy. With audio ducking in DaVinci Resolve, you can avoid this issue in your own videos. The last thing you want is your narration to be drowned out by background music. But at the same time, you want your audience to hear and enjoy that very same music.
Audio ducking is an automatic process in DaVinci Resolve. You’ll apply the effects, and the ducking effect will apply across your chosen Timeline clips. It’s critical to use ducking whenever you produce a video. Think of it as automated audio leveling.
How to Use DaVinci Resolve Audio Ducking Tools (Step by Step)
DaVinci Resolve 19 is the latest release, as of May 2024. Included with version 19 are an array of new features and editing tools. A new ducking menu is among them. It works as part of Fairlight, which is Resolve’s audio production toolkit.
Let’s learn how to use this all-new ducking feature, step by step.
1. Select Tracks from the Timeline
DaVinci Resolve audio ducking has only one requirement. You’ll need two audio tracks added to your Timeline. Ducking, as you learned above, involves lowering the volume of one track relative to another.
In most instances, the use is to lower music volume when spoken dialogue begins. When speech stops, the music will return to a louder volume.
As you can see above, I’ve added two audio tracks to my Timeline in DaVinci Resolve. Audio tracks are labeled A1, A2, and so forth. The best practice here is to place your narration or dialogue track on A1.
Below, you can add music. Here, my narration is on track A1. My background music (sourced here from Envato Elements) sits on track A2.
Notice that you can see audio waveforms previewed on the Timeline. In this example, they appear quite similar. On the narration track, you can see short periods of silence in between phrases. But the waveforms are roughly the same on both tracks.
If you play back this audio, the music overwhelms the narration. Ducking is imperative here, so read on as you learn how to add this impressive effect.
2. Open the Track Options
Using audio ducking in DaVinci Resolve begins by choosing an audio track to work with. Think of exactly what you’re trying to do. You want the music volume to lower when there is speech on another track. To start, let’s activate the Track Options for the music track.
Recall that track A2 is our music in this example. Find the label in the timeline that reads A2. Immediately to the left of it, you’ll see a vertical rectangle. It’s the narrow space immediately right of the green line. Place your cursor onto this rectangular area and click once.
Just like that, you’ve now engaged the Track Options and features for this track.
3. Navigate to the Inspector > Audio Panel
Let’s get to the heart of audio ducking in DaVinci Resolve 19. Once you’ve clicked on the Track Options rectangle, look in the upper right corner of your screen. Notice the tab labeled Inspector. Click on Inspector, and watch as a new panel opens.
On the Inspector panel, note the buttons across the top. Be sure that you’re working on the Audio panel. These are the Track Options that you activated earlier.
As you can see, there are several to choose from. You can control the volume, level out spoken dialogue, and more. But the last option is the most important for us: Ducker.
4. Adjust the Ducking Settings in Your Video
Audio ducking in DaVinci Resolve is completely controlled by the Ducker switch on the Inspector > Audio panel. Begin by clicking on the radio button to turn on audio ducking. You can tell when it’s active, because the radio button moves right and turns red.
In DaVinci Resolve 19, the Ducker tool offers two basic controls. First and foremost, you need to choose the Source. What does Source mean?
The Source clip is really the clip that controls the ducking. In other words, it is the track that will cause another track’s volume to be lowered. For ducking, the Source will always be your spoken track. Here, it defaults to Audio 1, which contains my recorded narration.
Secondly, you can control the Duck Level. This lets you steer the level of audio ducking. The number you see measures decibels. For example, if you see 12.0, that means that the music volume will duck (lower) by 12 decibels. The higher the number, the more noticeably quieter your music will be.
To adjust the level of ducking, simply click and drag on the slider bar. Or, if you want a precise ducking level, keyboard your desired decibel setting in the box. It’s as simple as that.
5. Play Back and Adjust Your Audio Levels
There’s no single right setting for audio ducking. The trick is to experiment and try different settings! Countless factors come into play. How loud is your narration? How loud is the music? How dramatic do you want the audio ducking to be?
Before exporting and sharing a finished video, always be sure to play it back. Can you clearly hear the dialogue? Is the music still audible, without making the words hard to hear? You can always return to the Track Options and adjust the ducking settings.
If you need even more precise control, notice the tab below the Duck Level slider. This is the Advanced dropdown. Click into it and check out the options. Here, you can adjust parameters of the ducking itself.
The two most important ones are Lookahead and Rise Time.
- Lookahead helps DaVinci Resolve more precisely perform ducking. It allows the app to “preview” speech just before it begins. The music levels can begin ducking milliseconds before the actual speech. This enables a smoother and more pleasant-sounding effect.
- Rise Time is essentially the speed of the ducking itself. The lower your rise time, the faster the reduction in volume. Again, this is a great parameter to experiment with. Try to set Rise Time to a level that sounds natural to your ears. The last thing you want is an abrupt cut to your music!
Never export a video without performing audio ducking first. You, and your audiences, will appreciate your studio-grade audio.
Learn More About DaVinci Resolve (Handy Tutorial Guides)
Today, you learned how to use DaVinci Resolve audio ducking features. This is but one of many cool edits that you can perform with Resolve. Want to boost your skills even more? Here are several tutorials full of tips and tricks that you can use right away:
How to Compress Audio With DaVinci Resolve—Fairlight for Beginners
How to Quickly Install and Use DaVinci Resolve Templates
How to Quickly Add Transitions in DaVinci Resolve (+5 Top Templates)
How to Make a Lyric Video in DaVinci Resolve
How to Insert & Add Video Clips Between in DaVinci Resolve
Try Audio Ducking in DaVinci Resolve Today
In this tutorial, you learned how to work with audio ducking in DaVinci Resolve 19. Thanks to powerful new features, the process is easier than ever. By using the Track Options toggle, you can control audio ducking in the project Inspector.
With just a few clicks, you can control which clips trigger audio ducking. Then, you can control the decibel level of the ducking itself. This kind of precise control lets you choose the settings that are just right for your specific project needs. With these options, you’ll be sure that your audio ducking sounds seamless and natural to your audience.
Why wait to start using audio ducking? If you’re producing videos with dialogue and background audio, think of ducking as a mandatory part of your editing workflow. It’s an effortless way to dramatically improve your playback quality. Try it to maintain balance, add emphasis on spoken phrases, and more.
This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Andrew Childress
Andrew Childress | Sciencx (2024-05-14T12:43:21+00:00) How to Use Audio Ducking in DaVinci Resolve 19: Tips and Tricks. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2024/05/14/how-to-use-audio-ducking-in-davinci-resolve-19-tips-and-tricks/
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