STEP 02 optimizing audioNORMALIZING

The next step is to open the exported audio in an audio wave-editing tool.

At http://hillmancurtis.com, we use SoundForge XP4.5 on Windows systems and SoundEdit 16 on Macs, but there are many decent digital audio software-processing packages available. CoolEdit Pro and Steinberg's WaveLab 2.0 come to mind. Just make sure that the software you use is capable of applying two very important functions for processing voiceovers : normalizing and applying noise gates.

Normalizing audio evens out the highs and lows of an audio signal. SoundForge normalizes a file by raising its volume so that the highest-level sample in the file reaches a user -specified level. In real life, normalizing an audio clip takes a fair amount of experimentation and practice. I recommend wearing headphones while trying different values. To normalize an audio file in SoundForge, follow these steps:

1. Open the file into the sound editor.

2. With the whole clip selected, choose Process > Normalize, as shown in figure 07:04.

   
   

   Figure 07:04.

   

   
   

   To normalize a file means to raise its volume so that the highest-level sample in the file reaches a user-defined level. I use this function to make sure I am fully utilizing the dynamic range available.

3. Adjust the slider to the desired level. What you want here is the biggest wave form, or loudest signal, without hearing any distortion. It usually takes me a few tries before I reach that point (see figure 07:05).

   
   

   Figure 07:05.