Audio editing terms every beginner video editor needs to know

Audio has its own vocabulary and it can sound like a foreign language when you are new to editing. The good news is that you only need a small set of terms to handle most video projects. This glossary covers the essential ones without the engineering theory.

Level and loudness

• dBFS: decibels relative to full scale. 0 dBFS is the digital maximum before clipping. Dialogue should peak around -6 dBFS.
• LUFS: loudness units relative to full scale. Measures how loud something sounds over time. YouTube targets -14 LUFS.
• Headroom: the space between your loudest peak and 0 dBFS. More headroom means safer mixing.
• Gain: the amount of amplification or reduction applied to a signal.

Editing and mixing

• Clip gain: the volume control of a single audio clip, before track effects and automation.
• Track volume: the overall level of an entire track in the timeline.
• Automation: level or parameter changes that are written and played back over time.
• Pan: the placement of a sound between left and right speakers. Center means equal in both ears.

Processing

• EQ: equalization, the boosting or cutting of specific frequencies to shape tone.
• High-pass filter: removes low frequencies, often used to remove rumble below 80 Hz.
• Compression: reduces dynamic range by lowering loud parts so the whole signal can be turned up.
• Limiter: a fast compressor that stops peaks from exceeding a ceiling, usually at the end of the chain.
• Noise reduction: a process that removes background noise using a noise profile.

Format and quality

• Sample rate: how many times per second audio is sampled. 48 kHz is the video standard.
• Bit depth: how many bits describe each sample. 24 bit is the standard for editing; 16 bit is common for final delivery.
• WAV: an uncompressed audio format used for editing and delivery.
• MP3: a compressed, lossy format used for smaller files and streaming previews.
• AAC: a compressed format used by YouTube, Vimeo, and many cameras.