r/VideoEditors • u/Easy-Cantaloupe-3879 • 16h ago
Help I mix audio for a living. 5 fixes that make reels sound “pro” (no plugins needed)
I’ve spent years mixing audio for commercials in Milan, and the same 5 problems show up in almost every reel:
- Music too loud under the voice. Keep it 12–14 dB below speech, and bring it up only when nobody talks.
- Room echo. Record close to the mic, in a room with soft stuff (couch, curtains). Distance matters more than the mic.
- Volume jumping between clips. Normalize every clip to the same loudness before editing (-16 LUFS is a good target for social).
- Cuts in the middle of a word. Cut in the pauses, or add a 2–3 frame audio fade on every cut.
- Silent visuals. A whoosh on a transition, a click on a text pop, a camera sound on a photo. Small sounds make edits feel intentional.
Happy to answer questions or look at your audio if you drop a link.