32 Adjusting Audio
Audio is just as important to a well-made video as the visuals. Most viewers may watch a video even if the visuals are not great, but not if the audio isn’t. Therefore, using OpenShot’s audio editing functions is an important step in creating your video. There are two main audio editing functionalities in OpenShot.
Adjusting Volume
To adjust an asset’s volume:
1. Right click on the asset
2. Select Volume > Entire Clip
3. Select an appropriate level (0% = completely silent)
Note: the ‘Reset Volume’ button is helpful for situations in which you would like to reset the volume back to its starting point, but you have made further changes to your video unrelated to the audio, meaning you cannot use the Undo button.
Separating Audio
As the name implies, this allows you to separate audio from a video clip. This allows you to make alterations to the audio without affecting the video (eg. cutting with the razor and replacing a poorly-recorded line with a better re-recording). To do this:
1. Right click on a video asset
2. Select Single Clip or Multiple Clips
Note: Separating the audio with Single Clip means that both the left and right channels of audio will be contained in a single clip, whereas Multiple Clips will produce two separate audio clips, one for both the left and right channel. In most cases, Single Clip is recommended.
After separating the audio from a video, it will not be possible to merge the two back together. Additionally, cutting and moving around the audio may mean that it becomes de-synced with the video. Keep these points in mind when separating your audio.
