Greetings!
I spend a lot of time editing long interviews, and unfortunately the microphones in our studio are set to drastically different volumes (not something I can easily correct due to limitations in our board and the way the studio was built). So I usually have to fix these differences in audio levels using extensive volume envelopes in Audition 2.0. I do this by either raising the track volume or clip volume, and then using the envelope automation points to dip where necessary.
This can be really time-consuming, and it seems to me that there's got to be a better way. I've tried using the multiband compressor built-in to Audition 2, but it sounds rather unnatural (a lot of "pumping" action) compared to using envelopes. Hard limiting helps, but only to a certain extent -- again envelopes really get the job done more naturally (though it takes so long to do). I've also tried to use The Levelator, but again it can sound artificial and rather compressed (pumping) at times. Also, it does not appear to play well with music, if present during the interview.
One option I've found interesting is Audacity's "leveller" function. This effect makes quiet passages louder and loud passages quieter -- and it sounds more natural. I understand that Adobe's Soundbooth has an equivalent "Volume Correction" function that can match the volume levels within a single audio clip.
So my question is: Is there an equivalent function in Audition 2.0 that can do this? If not, are there an VST or DirectX plugins that can achieve this result? Curious to hear your thoughts.
Thanks in advance for your time!
Sincerely,
Stephen