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Discovered a shortcut in my editing workflow that cut 2 hours off each project
I switched from manually adjusting audio levels in Premiere to using a batch compression tool and it saved me so much time, has anyone else found a weird trick that sped up their creative work?
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jana_shah1mo ago
oh man this is actually a really good point. i remember reading somewhere that a lot of broadcasters use a similar trick where they run all their field audio through a light compressor before editing, but they keep the raw files too just in case. seems like the key is knowing when to use it and when to let the manual work happen. i think people get too excited about saving time and end up trusting the tool too much without checking the output.
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dakotab931mo ago
Okay but hang on, batch compression isn't really the same as just a shortcut in your editing workflow, it's more of a preprocessing step. Like, I get what you're going for, but manually adjusting levels in Premiere is a totally different thing from batch compressing audio before you even bring it into the timeline. That's like saying you found a faster way to drive to work when you actually just started leaving from a different house. Still, it's a solid tip for anyone who's drowning in raw audio files, I just wanted to clarify because someone might think they can replace their mix work with a batch tool and end up with a mess. But yeah, I do that with dialogue tracks from interviews, just run them through a quick compressor before editing and it saves me from having to ride the gain constantly.
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grantp141mo ago
My buddy Mike tried that batch compression shortcut last year on a podcast project and it flattened his audio so bad he had to re-record four episodes. @dakotab93 is right that you can't just swap batch tools for actual mixing work, because the compressor doesn't know what's important in your dialogue. He still uses it for cleaning up room tone and background noise, but he learned the hard way that it's more of a rough draft helper than a final polish.
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