If you ever shot interviews, you probably know that problem: your talent is murmuring, and suddenly, he starts talking much louder. In this quick tip tutorial I’m going to show you how to get a consistent voice level of your talent quickly. Let’s take a closer look at it! Disclaimer: Let’s start by saying that I am not an Accusonus Ambassador. Like every other article on cinema5D, Accusonus, or any other brand, did not pay me to write this article. I bought this plugin with my own money, and this is my unbiased opinion. Inconsistent Voice Level Nearly every filmmaker that shoots interviews faces this problem one day or another: inconsistent voice level of the talent. The person you’re interviewing is a human, not a robot, so sometimes they talk louder than others. This is not a problem if you have a sound recordist with you, but if you’re a one-man-band filmmaker, you can’t adjust your audio level consistently. If you have a -6dB/-9dB difference in your audio recording, this is something you can fix in post. However, you can’t fix an inconsistent voice level by merely doing an audio normalization of your track in your editing software. An audio normalization simply takes the highest-peaking point of your audio signal and put it at 0dB. It means that the parts of your track that are quieter won’t be at the same level as the others. You can adjust the level of each part individually, but it is very time-consuming. Image credit: cinema5D Using ERA-4 Voice Leveler To save some time, I show you in this tutorial how to use a plugin by Accusonus called ERA-4 Voice Leveler. This “one-knob” plugin will automatically adjust the voice level of your talent by turning only one knob. The part of your audio signal that is quieter will get a boost, while the loud part will remain untouched. For this tutorial, I show you how to use them inside of Adobe Premiere Pro, but the ERA-4 plugins work with every video and audio editing software that accepts VSTs like Final Cut Pro X, DaVinci Resolve, ProTools, Avid, Logic Pro X and so on. Working with the ERA-4 Voice Leveler plugin is easy: drag and drop it onto your clip, open the plugin, and start playing with the central knob. There are a couple of settings you can adjust at the bottom of the plugin, including Breath Control and Emphasis. These settings are especially useful to tell the plugin that he should not raise the level of the parts that are silent and introduce unnecessary background noise. Of course, you can also run the ERA-4 Noise Remover after the ERA-4 Voice Leveler to fine-tune your result. I did an entire quick tip tutorial about the Noise Remover and Reverb Remover that you can watch here. Pricing and Availability You can try all the Accusonus ERA-4 plugins for free if you want to test them out and see if they improve your audio recordings. If you wish to purchase the ERA-4 Voice Leveler, you can do it individually at $59.00 per plugin, or get several plugins as a bundle. The ERA-4 Bundle Standard is $149.00, and the ERA Bundle Pro is $449.00. Alternatively, you can also buy them at B&H through the links below. What do you think of this Quick Tip tutorial? Did you find it useful? Do you often do manual voice leveling on your projects? Let us know in the comments below!

Accusonus’ ERA 4 Voice Leveler plugin is currently on sale – costing only $9 (instead of $59 regular price) – until the 8th of November. The one-knob tool might help your audio processes significantly, when it comes to leveling a person’s voice . Let’s take a closer look! ERA 4 Voice Leveler The Accusonus ERA 4 series of plugins are one-knob tools made for filmmakers that want to fix and improve their audio results, quickly. These plugins are compatible with every NLE and audio software on the market that accepts VSTs. If you wish to hear and learn more about these one-knob tools, you can take a look at the full review I did some time ago, which includes audio examples. So, what does this plugin do, and how can it help you? When you record someone speaking – the most typical scenario being a talking-head interview – the voice intensity of the person can vary a lot. Of course, you can adjust the volume input directly on set, on your camera or mixer, but as a one-man-crew, you have a lot of things to deal with already, and it’s nearly impossible to do. If you need the voice of the person speaking to be “constant” – not low at certain moments and higher at others – voice leveling the dialogue by hand is a time-consuming task. The ERA 4 Voice Leveler plugin helps you smooth out your voice track without adding background noise when the person is not speaking. I’ve used this plugin a lot for the past six months, and it does a fantastic job. Of course, you have to be gentle and subtle when you play with the knob, to get great results. It’s been a whole part of my audio chain process for interviews. Pricing and Availability Currently, there is a special offer for the ERA 4 Voice Leveler plugin that lasts until the 8th of November. You can get the plugin for only $9 (instead of $59 regular price). At this price, it’s a real bargain. If you are not quite sure yet if it can aid your workflow, you can try it for free. To get access to this offer, follow this link to the Accusonus website. Have you already tried ERA 4 plugins? What do you think of these easy to use tools? Let us know in the comments!

In a previous article, we talked about ERA Single Knob plugins developed by Accusonus. Upgrade to version 3.0 is now out and includes an update for every plugin in the bundle and the addition of a new plugin: ERA De-Clipper. Let’s take a look at how this new plugin can save you from re-recording. Overall Update The ERA Bundle is a comprehensive package that includes everything you need to improve your audio in post. Compatible with nearly every DAW available on the market, the standard bundle includes the Noise Remover, Reverb Remover, Voice Leveler, De-Esser, Plosive Remover. The Pro Bundle adds the ERA-D plugin to the list. With filmmakers in mind, ERA plugins are made to speed up your workflow. The concept is to improve your recordings with high-quality audio processing with just one turn of a knob and without extensive knowledge of sound post-production. This version 3.0 adds several updates, improvements and bug fixes for all available tools. In a nice addition, a new breath-control module appears in the Voice Leveler plugin. Finally, the exciting part of this update is a new plugin: ERA De-Clipper. ERA De-Clipper Let’s take an example that, I’m pretty sure, happened to every filmmaker. As a one-man crew, you have to take care of many things. Part of your job includes setting the camera(s), the lighting of the scene, the movement of the cameras and the sound. You are hired to shoot an interview, everything went fine during the shoot, and you come back to the office. As you are watching your nice looking footages, you quickly realize that parts of your sound recording are clipped. Clipping happens because you set your recording levels too high. Of course, you can’t re-shoot because the interviewee is out of town now. Also, let’s face it, it doesn’t look pro to have to do a re-shoot. The ERA De-Clipper is now here to help you restore saturated audio parts of your clip. De-clipping is not as simple as lowering the volume of your sound. When you reach the 0dB limits, everything that is over it is gone. The idea behind the ERA De-Clipper plugin is to automatically “re-create” the missing parts of the signal and also tune the thresholds for you. However, this is still a beta release to get feedback from users about the plugin. Pricing and Availability The upgrade to version 3 is free for all existing customers of the ERA Bundle Standard and ERA Bundle Pro. The ERA De-Clipper is part of the upgrade. Head over to their website to learn more or purchase. Alternatively, you can buy them also at B&H, links below. Did you already try the ERA plugins? What do you think about the new De-Clipper plugin? Let us know in the comments down below!

Accusonus, a company specialized in audio software, has recently launched a new series of exciting one knob plugins called ERA. These plugins are compatible with Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, Final Cut Pro X and nearly every DAW available. Designed with filmmakers in mind, let’s take a look at how quickly they can improve your next production. ERA Noise Remover The first plugin and one of the most impressive ones to me is the noise remover. If you are shooting many interviews – inside or outside, in uncontrolled environments – it can be a lifesaver. Nearly every filmmaker has faced a fan or an air conditioner that was impossible to shut off. With a single knob, that’s a thing of the past. The internal processing seems quite complicated, but the result is impressive. ERA Reverb Remover Filmmakers that shoot interviews/documentaries/short films in large rooms with lousy acoustics are familiar with echo and reverb. The ERA Reverb Remover improves your audio massively, while trying to stay as natural sounding as possible. Of course, the better the original sound is, the better the results are, but it can help a lot in tricky situations. ERA Voice Leveler When you record someone speaking, their voice intensity can vary a lot. Of course, you can adjust the volume input directly on set, but as a one-man-crew, it’s impossible to do. If you need the voice of the person speaking to be “constant” – not low at certain moments and higher at other – voice leveling the dialogue by hand is a time-consuming task. The ERA voice leveler plugin helps you smooth out your voice track without adding background noise when the person is not talking. ERA Plosive Remover Plosives – usually loud and “aggressive” P sounds at the beginning of a sentence – are hard to remove by hand because they are very inconsistent. The ERA plosive remover takes care of that with a single turn of a knob. ERA De-Esser Oftentimes, “s/z/ch/sh” sounds are harsh to the ear. To fight these, you usually use what’s called a de-esser. A lot of de-esser plugins are available on the market, but the ERA de-esser is probably the most simple one to use to remove “s” sounds: one turn of a knob, and they’re gone. ERA Bundle Standard vs ERA Bundle Pro There are two kinds of the ERA series of plugins available: the ERA bundle standard, which includes everything listed above and the ERA bundle pro that adds another plugin called ERA-D. ERA-D is a more advanced and sophisticated de-noise and de-reverberation plugin. With more fine-tuning adjustments available, you can control what you’re doing, more precisely. Pricing and Availability Until January 1st, there is a special end of the year sale : ERA Standard Bundle: $99 (RRP: $295) ERA Pro Bundle: $199 (RRP: $594) If you are hesitant, you can download a free 14-days trial. All of the ERA plugins are available now on the Accusonus website. Do you use 3rd party audio repair plugins in Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro X? What are your thoughts on the ERA series of plugins? Let us know in the comment section!