Normalize Audio

Why normalize audio

Normalization can make dialogue and long-form media more consistent before a finished export or editor handoff. Sequence provides controls for target loudness, dynamic range, and true-peak limiting. Read Why LUFS Matters for more context.

This is useful when an interview is too quiet, a podcast has uneven levels, or you want the exported edit to start from a cleaner audio baseline before finishing it in your editor.

Key controls

Target loudness is measured in LUFS. Dynamic range controls how strongly Sequence evens out quieter and louder sections. True-peak limiting sets the output ceiling.

Sequence includes Social, Podcast, and Film presets. You can also set target LUFS, dynamic range, and true peak manually. Treat presets as starting points and confirm the current delivery specification for the job.

Applying normalization

1. Select the variant or programme and open Audio Edit → Normalize Audio.
2. Check the displayed audio source. Linked external audio takes precedence over the recording’s embedded stream or saved mix. If that linked file is missing, relink it first; Sequence does not silently normalize camera audio instead.
3. Choose a preset or adjust LUFS, dynamic range, and true peak.
4. Choose Preview to audition sample ranges. Switch between Original and Normalised while playing, and compare the available ranges in a long recording. Changing settings regenerates the preview.
5. Apply the preview settings to the full source. If Sequence asks for a save location, choose where to keep the prepared audio.

For a file source, Sequence creates a prepared audio sidecar instead of changing the original. For a saved live audio mix, it stores loudness-processing settings for that mix rather than creating a replacement file. Playback and export use the resulting audio choice. Leaving preview restores the previous player position and playback state.

You can continue using Sequence while the normalization job runs, and the Action Center keeps track of progress.

Attach and synchronize external audio

For a separately recorded microphone or recorder file:

1. Open Audio Edit → Normalize Audio and find External Audio.
2. Click Choose Audio File… and select the recording. Keep the file available after linking; this is not an imported backup copy.
3. Use Auto Sync to compare it with the main recording's audio. Review the result and listen to speech against the picture before treating the alignment as final.
4. Fine-tune with the F, S, or MS nudge controls for frames, seconds, or milliseconds. Use Re-Analyze when you need another automatic analysis.
5. Normalize the linked source if needed, then review playback again.

The linked file replaces the main audio source; it is not an independently timed music layer. To place background music without replacing dialogue, use Layers and Reusable Assets. Missing linked audio must be relinked rather than silently falling back to the camera.

Use the external-audio row's trash action or the corresponding Metadata remove action to unlink it when you intend to return to the recording's audio. Read the confirmation before removing any associated prepared audio. For several synchronized cameras or microphones, follow Multi-Cam Editing.

Managing normalized audio

The Audio Edit inspector shows existing normalization settings. Remove the existing normalization before preparing a replacement with different settings. File-based results also appear in Metadata; relink a moved file instead of processing the source again.

Deleting a normalized derivative returns playback to its original linked source or other selected audio; it does not remove the original recording.

Variants and shared Multi-Cam audio

Ordinary variants keep their own prepared audio or live-mix normalization settings. A programme without shared external audio also keeps its own result rather than changing a reference camera’s variant.

When a Multi-Cam folder has linked external audio, its normalized result is shared by every programme and attached camera variant using that source. Normalizing from one of those tabs therefore updates the shared audio, not just that tab.

Finished media and supported editor exports use the active edit’s resolved audio, including this shared-source rule.