Audio ducking for a podcast with several microphones
When two people record with separate microphones, each microphone also picks up a bit of the other person, the room echo and noise. If every microphone stays open all the time, you hear reverb and distracting sounds. Audio ducking lowers the microphones of whoever is not talking.
How to do it by hand
In Premiere Pro you can add volume keyframes to each microphone clip: lower the volume when the other person talks and bring it back when they finish. It works, but in a long episode that is hundreds of keyframes. The Ducking in the Essential Sound panel is made to lower music under dialogue, not to alternate between two microphones.
How Chismozo does it
- It analyzes each microphone to know who is talking at each moment.
- Turn on "Lower the other microphones while someone talks".
- Choose how many dB to lower. The default is 6.
- Choose "if they talk at least": a short interjection does not lower the other microphone. The default is 2 seconds.
- Cut the sequence. Chismozo adds volume keyframes to each microphone clip, with short fades.
Clips that already have volume keyframes are left alone, so your earlier work is respected. The preview shades the stretches where a microphone is lowered.
In DaVinci Resolve
Resolve does not let a plugin change volume, so Chismozo turns off the microphone of whoever is not talking in those stretches. It requires Resolve Studio.
Frequently asked questions
How many dB should I lower?
Start with 6 dB. If you still hear a lot of microphone bleed, go to 9 or 12.
Is the change noticeable?
Short fades avoid sudden jumps in volume.