Image & Sound Optimization

Download the Media Bits

Find the link to the Image and Sound Optimization Materials above.

Download the Media Bits

Open a clip by double-clicking. Click on the arrow to download each clip

Import the Media

• Open a new Premiere Project and import the 12 images and 2 sound files.

• We’re working with still images (they’re faster to download) and short sound clips.

Assemble the Timeline

• Switch Workspace to Assembly. Assemble the related clips on the timeline. I’m using the two sound files first, then the image files, Latimer first, Little second, Ahlfeldt third, Tolland fourth.

Part 1: Sound Optimization

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING!• FIX YOUR LEVELS AND TRANSITIONS (quick cross fades)

FIRST!• Fix all your audio levels and layerings in your whole piece

first.• Make sure you have nat-sound (B-roll sound) so your b-roll

isn’t ‘airless.’• Make sure this sound is ‘J’ cut in whenever possible (with a

fade.) • When someone is talking, ‘duck’ the audio of any

background sound.

Switch Workspace to Audio and resize the audio tracks so you can

see the audio waveforms.

Listen to the John Oliver clip; note how strong it sounds. Listen to the second sound

clip; note how it sounds less strong.

We’re going to apply an Effect to the second clip:AUDynamics Processor

Under Individual Parameters, I set:- Compression Threshold & Headroom to 9 (apx.)- Master Gain to 5 (apx.)

• When adjusting for your doc project, your settings may need to be adjusted.The goal is to get consistently higher voltages without clipping (going into the red.)

View the Audio Track Mixer pane and note how the voltage is now consistently stronger with the applied effect.

From -8 to -4 may not appear to be much but the difference in sound and viewer attention is important. Your sound clips, especially your Narration/VO and your sound bites may improve more dramaticallyThe goal is to get all speaking (Sound Bites and Narration/VO to consistently peak at -4 or better to be competitive with tv/web viewing)

Part 2: Image Optimization

Switch Workspace to Color Correction

• Let’s start with the first Latimer clip.

• Notice how the (blue) waveform depicts the brightness levels of the image.

• There are many ways to adjust brightness levels and color balance.

• I’m choosing to use Video Effects/Adjust/Auto Levels

• Drag that effect onto the first clip.

• Under Auto Levels, I adjusted the White Clip until I brought the skin tones in the bright part of the face to around 70 ire.

• Remember, levels are set to skin tones generally.

• I also go and add the Video Effects/Color Correction/Fast Color Corrector filter; the color looks a little too intense and hot.

• I’m interested only in nudging the color balance a teeny bit away from the yellow-green.

• More importantly, I turn down the Saturation a bit.

• Here’s the result.

• 100 ire

• 7 ire

• Usually, many shots from the same camera session will require the same filter correction.

• Once you figure out one, you can copy and paste the filters with their settings and apply them to the similar clips.