In the last episode I showed how to get an edited podcast mixed down and mastered to the correct loudness standard accepted for podcasts.
Following that episode I got an email through the website asking whether it would be correct to match the loudness to the correct standard in the edit or after the final mixdown before saving and uploading.
My answer is both!
Match the clip loudness in editing means that the clips you’ll be editing will all be starting at the same loudness standard and same perceived loudness. But you’ll probably be adding some processing to your clips, maybe Deesser, EQ, compression which will all affect the volume of that clip when it gets mixed down.
Say you have a podcast with a host and guest and you’ll be adding Desser, EQ and compression to each voice you’ll then find that your final mixdown could exceed the loudness standard. Also, say you have talk over music in the background, that would push your overall loudness up. Even a simple thing like two people bantering and talking over each other would push your final mix above the loudness standard.
By all means match the clip loudness in the multitrack before you start editing but don’t forget it’s your final mixdown that has to hit the loudness standard so once the edit is done and your happy, mix it down and run match loudness one final time to ensure your podcast will be at the right standard (-16 LUFS) when you add your tags, save it and upload it.
Remember, if podcast editing and producing seems daunting to you then let me take care of that for you – https://markdenholm.com/podcasting/
