Quick Workflow: Editing a Podcast in SOUND FORGE Audio StudioEditing a podcast efficiently means keeping your focus on the story and pacing while minimizing time spent wrestling with software. SOUND FORGE Audio Studio offers a fast, powerful single‑window environment tailored to audio editing tasks—cutting, cleaning, mixing, and exporting—so you can move from raw recordings to a polished episode quickly. This guide walks through a practical, repeatable workflow that covers preparation, detailed editing, noise cleanup, processing, mixing, and exporting. Where helpful, I include concrete tips, keyboard shortcuts, and examples you can apply to most conversational podcasts.
Before you start: project setup and best practices
- Organize your files: keep each episode in its own folder with subfolders for raw recordings, edited files, assets (music, ads), and exports.
- Use consistent naming: Episode01_guestname_take1.wav, etc.
- Work non‑destructively: make copies of original recordings before you begin editing. SOUND FORGE edits the audio file directly, so keep a backup.
Recommended session settings:
- Sample rate: 48 kHz (standard for video/podcasts) or match your recording rate.
- Bit depth: 24‑bit for best headroom during processing.
- Save often and enable automatic backups if available.
Step 1 — Import and organize tracks
- Open your primary host track(s) in SOUND FORGE Audio Studio. Use File > Open or drag-and-drop.
- If you have multiple speakers recorded on separate files, import each as its own file. For single‑file recordings with multiple speakers, consider creating voice regions or using marker points.
- Rename tracks logically (Host, Guest, Remote, Music, Ads). You can keep separate files in the editor and visually align them using timestamps or waveform peaks.
Tip: Zoom to waveform peaks (Ctrl + Mouse Wheel or zoom shortcuts) to quickly align edits.
Step 2 — Rough cut: remove long silences and mistakes
Goal: Create a coherent, continuous conversation flow before finer cleanup.
- Use the selection tool to highlight and delete long pauses, “ums,” and obvious flubs. Keep natural breathing and short pauses for pacing.
- Use Fade In/Fade Out (from the Edit menu or right‑click) on cuts to avoid clicks — 5–30 ms fades usually suffice.
- For repeated phrases, find the best take and delete the rest. SOUND FORGE’s waveform view makes visual spotting of loudest/cleanest takes fast.
Keyboard workflow:
- Spacebar to play/pause.
- Ctrl + Z to undo.
- Use Shift + Click to extend selection across files when aligning cuts.
Step 3 — Precise edits and crossfades
After the rough cut, do precise editing to tighten timing and create smooth transitions.
- Zoom in on edit points and use very short crossfades (10–50 ms) instead of hard cuts where speaker breaths or syllables might create pops.
- When removing an interjection, create an overlapping crossfade between the surrounding audio segments to preserve continuity.
- Normalize segments to a consistent perceived level before detailed processing to help your ears judge edits.
Step 4 — Noise reduction and cleanup
Cleaning background noise and mouth clicks makes a podcast sound professional.
- Static background hum/hiss: use the DeNoise tool/module. Capture a noise profile from a silent portion, then apply gentle reduction — aim to reduce noise without creating artifacts.
- Broadband noise: a modest noise reduction amount (start low, like 10–15%) often works best; preview in context.
- Clicks and mouth noises: use spectral editing or the Click Removal tool to surgically remove clicks. Zoom in and manually attenuate if automatic tools distort voice timbre.
- Low‑frequency rumble: apply a high‑pass filter at 60–100 Hz to remove handling noise and mic stand rumble (higher for female voices if needed). Use a gentle slope (12 dB/octave+).
Practical tip: Always A/B between processed and unprocessed audio to avoid overprocessing.
Step 5 — EQ and dynamics
Equalization and compression glue the voice and improve intelligibility.
- EQ:
- Use a low‑cut at 60–100 Hz to remove rumble.
- Slight presence boost around 3–5 kHz (+1–3 dB) can improve clarity.
- If recordings sound boxy, cut gently around 200–400 Hz (−1 to −3 dB).
- Compression:
- Aim for gentle, transparent compression: ratio 2:1 to 4:1, attack 5–20 ms, release 50–200 ms.
- Set threshold so gain reduction averages about 2–6 dB during louder speech.
- Use makeup gain to restore level after compression.
Use listeners’ perspective: compress enough to even levels but not so much that the voice sounds squashed or breathy.
Step 6 — Leveling and loudness
Consistent loudness ensures a good listening experience across players and platforms.
- Use a limiter as the final dynamic control to prevent peaks (set ceiling to −1 dBFS).
- Target integrated loudness: −16 LUFS for stereo podcast masters or −16 to −14 LUFS for spoken word (many podcasters use −16 LUFS as a practical target). Measure with the loudness meter and adjust gain accordingly.
- True Peak: keep true peak below −1 dBTP to avoid clipping on streaming encoders.
Note: Different platforms recommend different targets (e.g., −16 LUFS is commonly accepted for podcasts).
Step 7 — Music beds, stingers, and crossfades
Integrate music and effects cleanly.
- Place music in its own track and adjust level so it supports but does not overpower speech (often −18 to −20 dBFS for background beds).
- Use sidechain ducking (if available) or automate volume envelopes to lower music during speech and raise during gaps or transitions.
- Time music fades to natural breakpoints; apply short crossfades when switching beds or inserting stingers.
Step 8 — Final checks and export
- Listen through the entire episode at normal listening volume and with headphones to catch edits, plosives, or level jumps.
- Check metadata: add episode title, artist/host, episode number, and cover art if exporting MP3. SOUND FORGE allows ID3 tag editing on export.
- Export settings:
- WAV master: 48 kHz, 24‑bit (store as archive or for hosting).
- MP3 for distribution: 128–192 kbps for spoken word (or 192–256 kbps if you prefer higher quality). Use CBR or VBR depending on your platform requirements.
- Export a version with bumper music and another raw edited file without music if you need separate assets.
Recommended export flow:
- File > Save As > WAV (archive/master).
- File > Save As > MP3 (final for upload). Fill ID3 tags and embed cover art.
Quick keyboard shortcut cheat sheet (common actions)
- Play/Pause: Space
- Zoom in/out: Ctrl + Mouse Wheel (or +/-)
- Undo: Ctrl + Z
- Cut/Delete selection: Delete
- Apply fade: F (or use menu)
- Normalize: Ctrl + N (depends on version)
Troubleshooting common issues
- Metallic or “underwater” noise after denoising: reduce noise reduction amount and try multiband/noise profiling techniques.
- Harsh sibilance after EQ/compression: use a de‑esser or narrow EQ cut around 5–8 kHz.
- Level jumps between speakers: use clip gain automation or manual gain envelopes before compression, then apply gentle compression.
Example workflow timeline (60–90 minute episode)
- 0–10 min: Import files, rough alignment, rough cut.
- 10–30 min: Detailed edits, crossfades, remove breaths/clicks.
- 30–45 min: Noise reduction and EQ.
- 45–55 min: Compression, leveling, loudness target.
- 55–65 min: Add music, ducking, and transitions.
- 65–75 min: Final listen, metadata, export.
This workflow focuses on speed without sacrificing quality. SOUND FORGE Audio Studio’s waveform‑centric interface makes visual editing fast; pair its tools with a methodical approach (rough cut → precise edit → cleanup → processing → mix → export) and you’ll produce consistent, professional podcast episodes rapidly.
Leave a Reply