Video sound: volume, pitch and equalizers
Sound is set on two pages of the AUDIO section. The "Video sound" page works with the track that was already in the original. The "Additional audio" page works with the music you added yourself. Both pages are built in a similar way, and some labels on them match word for word. The ranges work the same way as for picture settings: see the breakdown in how uniquification works.
Settings on the "Video sound" page
| Label | What it does | Range and units | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Change volume" | Volume of the original track | percent, from -100% to +100% | on, from -10 to 10 |
| "Change audio pitch" | Shifts the pitch of the sound. The tempo does not change | percent, from -50% to +50% | off, from -5 to 5 |
| "Audio equalizer" | The card switch. Opens the five bands below | switch | off |
| "Cut the lowest frequencies" | Cuts the bottom end of the spectrum | hertz, from 1 Hz to 500 Hz | off, from 20 to 80 |
| "Cut the highest frequencies" | Cuts the top end of the spectrum | hertz, from 2000 Hz to 20000 Hz | off, from 15000 to 19000 |
| "Change low frequencies" | Boosts or cuts the bass | decibels, from -20 dB to 20 dB | off, from -3 to 3 |
| "Change high frequencies" | Boosts or cuts the top | decibels, from -20 dB to 20 dB | off, from -3 to 3 |
| "Change mid frequencies" | Boosts or cuts the middle. The slider sets only the strength | decibels, from -20 dB to 20 dB | off, from -4 to 4 |
The center frequency of the mid band cannot be set. The app picks it at random, between 200 Hz and 6000 Hz, and does not show it on the screen.
Settings on the "Additional audio" page
| Label | What it does | Range and units | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Add additional audio" | The main switch of the page. Mixes your own track into the video | switch | off, the file list is empty |
| "Change volume" | Volume of the added track, separate from the video volume | percent, from -100% to +100% | off, from -15 to 15 |
| "Loop playback" | Repeats a short track until the end of the video | switch | off |
| "Play from a random position" | For each copy the track starts from a different point | switch | off |
| "Change speed when video duration changes" | Stretches the added track together with the video | switch | off |
| "Change tone" | Shifts the pitch of the added music without touching the tempo | percent, from -50% to 50% | off, from -10 to 10 |
| "Audio equalizer" | The second equalizer, for the added track | switch | off |
The five bands of the second equalizer are labeled the same way as the first five and have the same ranges and defaults.
The source can be an audio file or a video. The sound is extracted from a video automatically. For each copy a random file from the list is taken.
Why there are two equalizers
They are two sets of settings for two different tracks.
| "Video sound" | "Additional audio" | |
|---|---|---|
| What it processes | the sound that was already in the original | the music you added yourself |
| When it is visible | always | only with "Add additional audio" on |
| Results table columns | "Audio: High-pass filter" and the other four with the "Audio:" prefix | the same five with the "Extra audio:" prefix |
Three consequences worth knowing in advance.
- The values are drawn separately. The same cut in both equalizers gives different numbers on one copy. One number for the original sound, another for the music.
- The processing order is: first each track separately, then the mix. The volume, pitch and equalizer of the original are applied before the music is mixed in. The music's own settings are also applied to it before the mix.
- The two pitch settings work the same way. On the "Video sound" page the setting is called "Change audio pitch", on the "Additional audio" page - "Change tone". These are two different settings, not one setting in two places.
The point of the split is simple. The same music under a hundred copies would give a hundred identical audio fingerprints.
A video without sound and additional audio
If the original has no audio track, the music is still added: the finished video has only the music, for the whole length of the video. The settings of the "Video sound" page are not applied to such a video: there is nothing to process.
What depends on what
- "Add additional audio" opens the whole page. With the switch off, the page body is hidden entirely.
- "Audio equalizer" opens its five bands. Turning the switch off disables all five at once without resetting their settings.
- The nesting on the "Additional audio" page has three levels: page, equalizer, bands.
- The "Video sound" page is not locked by anything. All its settings are always shown.
- "Change speed when video duration changes" makes sense only together with the "Change video duration" setting from the FRAME section.
If "Add additional audio" is on and the file list is empty, video creation does not start. The check before start shows the row "Add additional audio".
Time cost
Sound settings cost almost nothing. None of them touches the picture.
| How much it slows down | Settings |
|---|---|
| Almost no slowdown | Both pitch settings |
| No cost of its own | Volume, both equalizers, all ten bands, additional audio and its three switches |
What you hear at the edges of the range
| Setting | What you hear at the edge |
|---|---|
| "Change volume" | -100%: complete silence. +100%: twice as loud, clipping is possible |
| "Change audio pitch" and "Change tone" | -50%: the voice is about an octave lower. +50%: the voice is higher and thinner |
| "Cut the lowest frequencies" | At 20-80 Hz you hear nothing. 500 Hz: the sound becomes telephone-like |
| "Cut the highest frequencies" | Above 15000 Hz people hear almost nothing. 2000 Hz: the sound is muffled |
| "Change low frequencies" | ±3 dB is unnoticeable. ±20 dB: the timbre is audibly different |
| "Change high frequencies" | ±3 dB is unnoticeable. ±20 dB: hissing sounds are much louder or almost inaudible |
| "Change mid frequencies" | ±4 dB is unnoticeable. ±20 dB: the voice sounds noticeably different |
Frequently asked questions
I turned on additional audio, but there is no music in the finished video. Why?
The most common reason is that the chosen music file has no audio track. The second reason is an empty file list, but then video creation does not start at all.
On which page does "Change volume" apply to the music?
On the "Additional audio" page. The exact same label on the "Video sound" page applies to the original track. You can tell them apart only by the page.
Why change the pitch of the music if it is my own anyway?
The same music under all copies gives the same audio fingerprint. A pitch shift makes it different. The tempo stays the same, so the change is almost impossible to hear.
Which equalizer values are safe?
The default values are chosen exactly to be safe. These are cuts at 20-80 Hz and 15000-19000 Hz, and bands within 3-4 dB. Such values change the spectrum while the sound stays the same to the ear. From ±10 dB the difference is audible.
Can you hear that the track starts from a random point?
Usually not. "Play from a random position" shifts the music start point for each copy. If the track starts with silence or a spoken intro, the difference will be noticeable.