Auto ducking in DaVinci Resolve is one of the best time-saving features in the entire program, automatically lowering the volume of one audio track when another track becomes active. Most people will use it to reduce background music while dialogue is playing. Manually ducking music so that a voice track can be heard properly takes forever and is tedious work, so follow along as we show you how to automate the entire process.
Takeaways:
- Is there a quick and easy way to duck audio in Davinci Resolve?
- Learn how to use the auto ducker feature in Davinci Resolve to automatically lower music when a voice track is playing.
Table of Contents
Prepare your Audio Tracks to Use the Auto Ducker
Before you start using the Audo Ducker feature in Davinci Resolve, there are quite a few little things you need to prepare first. They will make the final results better, so don't skip them.
First, set the normal volume levels for each track. These are the levels you want to hear when the tracks are not interacting with each other. If you have a really loud track, lower the volume of the track before beginning. Here are a few general rules to follow.
- Dialogue should sit at a comfortable listening level.
- Music should sound balanced underneath the scene.
- Neither track should be clipping or too quiet.
If you don't do this, you will have average results when you start using the Auto Ducker.
How to Use Auto Ducking in DaVinci Resolve
- Make sure the Inspector panel is visible in your workspace.
- If it is hidden, enable it from the top right corner of the interface.
- Click the audio track you want to reduce in volume during dialogue.
- In most cases, this will be your music track.
- The ducking controls will appear in the Inspector once the track is selected.
- Inside the Inspector, locate the ducking section and activate it using the toggle switch.
- Once enabled, Resolve will allow one track to automatically react to another.
- Use the dropdown menu to select the audio source that will trigger the ducking effect.
- Typically, this will be your main dialogue track. Whenever speech is detected on that track, the music volume will be lowered automatically.
How to Add Multiple Dialogue Sources
If your project contains more than one dialogue track, you can include them all as ducking triggers.
Click the plus button to add more dialogue sources. This is useful for a few different scenarios
- Interviews with multiple speakers.
- Podcast-style edits.
- Multi-camera productions.
- Narrative scenes with several actors.
Each selected dialogue track can trigger the music reduction independently.
How to Adjust the Ducking Controls
For the final part of the process, you will need to adjust the Ducker controls to get the exact result that you want. By default, it's going to be a little too aggressive for most people so tweak it to find the sweet spot.
Duck Level: Controls how much the music volume is reduced during dialogue. A subtle reduction often sounds more natural than muting the music completely.
Look Ahead: Allows Resolve to anticipate incoming dialogue slightly before it happens. This helps create smoother transitions.
Rise Time: Determines how quickly the music lowers after dialogue begins. Shorter times create faster reactions.
Hold Time: Keeps the music lowered briefly after dialogue ends. This prevents the volume from bouncing up and down too rapidly between words.
Recovery Time: Controls how long it takes for the music to return to its normal level. Longer recovery times usually sound smoother and more cinematic.
