Edit PRE audio in Audacity theory or workable?

[Cinde]

Before I get too far along in this project of editing a wav from PRE… I have a theory but I’m having a problem wrapping my mind around it. I don’t know if I am making progress in my theory or simply confusing myself. I’ll try to break this down into sections.

When we have a still photo in PRE, we can choose to edit the original in PSE, then save in PSE… the changes are updated in PRE.

My theory… I wonder if this will work for audio files edited in Audacity? Maybe someone has already tried this and knows whether or not it will update changes in the file on the Audio, Narration, or Soundtracks on the timeline.

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Section 1
In my current PRE project I have 25 audio files. Some of these files came from music CDs that I own, some were downloaded from the internet (some are music only, some are of people talking only, some have music in the background and people talking at the same time). Some were captured from the internet via audio capture software. Some are family members recorded (using my computer’s microphone) over a period of several days. The problem is that I can’t get the volume levels to match.

I exported the complete audio timeline as a wav file. Then I dropped the new wav file onto the Soundtrack. I don’t want to lose all the original edits I have done so I simply disabled the originals on Audio 1. This way I can work with the new wav file on the Soundtrack.

I have already tried normalizing. I have also tried using the Dynamics Audio Effect Workaround tip from RJ Johnson. Then I manually split the clips where needed and tried audio gain to manually raise or lower the volume. Neither of these alone or a combination gets me to the point where I think the whole timeline is the same or nearly the same volume.

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Section 2
Here’s what I have found so far: Audacity will not open a wav file I made in PRE 7 using Export>Audio.
I have already determined that it will work if I open the wav file in a different sound editor (Roxio). I do not make any changes and save it immediately with the same file name. It will then open in Audacity… so far so good.

I have already been able to change the “pitch” of the microphone-recorded section. And that’s a good thing, so I’ll keep using Audacity if for no other reason.

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Section 3
Now if I could only understand how to use Audacity to get the volume levels to where I want them. The problem I first have is the envelope. I can define it, but it doesn’t allow me to listen to the clips on each side of it when I preview the change. It’s really frustrating to deselect the envelope, listen to the change and then have to select the same envelope again to try a different change.

This is after only 1 test, so maybe some of you know an easier way.

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Section 4
This where I get really confused.
Export wav using the same file name as the original? Will it overwrite the original file?
Will the edited file (with the same name) update itself on the timeline?
Or save as a new wav and drop it onto the timeline to replace the original?

I am ready to “throw in the towel” But then I think of how confused I was when I first came here two years ago. I remember how much help I have received in those two years and think…. Hang in there… you have friends here who will help you or tell you it can’t be done.

Sorry about the way too long post, It's 2 am and I shouldn't be allowed on the internet after midnight!

[Chuck Engels]

Well Cinde, now you can see why audio guys get paid really well for what they do

Audio from a bunch of different sources, not to mention low grade microphones and stuff recorded from the internet, creates kind of a mess.
Getting all of that to match will not be an easy task and doing it one clip at a time might be the only way.

Have you tried using Audacity to Normalize the exported project audio? I think that Audacity's Normalize effect works better than Premiere Elements.

If you save the edited audio file to the same location with the same name it will ask you if you want to overwrite the file, I would not.
I would use a new name as to not harm the original if I have to go back to it again for some reason. Save it with a new name and replace the old audio on the timeline with the new one.

[Cinde]

Thanks Chuck. That's exactly what I wanted to know!
This is a personal project. It's good to know what can and can't be done before I accept a for-hire project.


You deserve the award of the day for just reading that verbose episode of a post. You are my hero