Silence Detection
This section is an overview of the Silence Detection options available in TimeBolt.
Note: Refer to Multi-track Audio Silence Detection if you want TimeBolt to detect silences on a different audio track or a combination of Audio Tracks in your File.
Silence Detection Options
Note that for the vast bulk of recordings default settings are already best!
Filter Below Sound Level
The “Filter Below Sound Level” is the measurement of the loudness of the sound. A section below this level is marked as silent (red), and a section above it is kept (green).
An intuitive understanding of how to find the right value for your file is by either making the value more negative or by making it less negative.
Making the value more negative (say changing from -35dB to -45dB)
→ will capture more Green Sections.
And making the value less negative (say changing from -45dB to -35dB)
→ will capture less Green Sections.
Usually, the best settings for the files we’ve worked with are between -30dB and -42dB.
Remove Silence Longer Than
Controls the number of cuts. If rendering in TimeBolt a value of .5 or greater is the recommended value.
Any value less than .5 seconds can result in too many cuts!
For less cuts, increase to .75 seconds or more.
Ignore Detections Shorter Than
Used to remove random mic strikes, and filler sounds.
A value greater than .75 may cut off important connector words and is not recommended. To preview what's in the red super fast use Flip Timeline.
Left Padding / Right Padding
Left padding is the buffer amount before you start speaking. When you start to talk, audio is defined, so you can be aggressive with left padding, at .01 (but never less).
Right padding pads the end of a sentence. To catch long S and P sounds, leave right padding at .15. Any value less than .15 is not recommended.
Update Silence Detection
Important: You have to click the “Update Silence Detection” button after changing any of the above values.
Enhancing Detections Further Using Settings
If your audio is squished vertically in the Timeline (low volume) or the audio boundaries aren’t clearly defined or are flat, you can go into TimeBolt Settings and Turn On some these three options to aid silence detection.
- Audio Normalization
- Noise Reduction
- Volume Increase
You don’t have to turn all of them on, just the ones you think might help.
You’ll need to restart the app after making changes to this part of the Settings for them to take effect.
Note: The audio preview after switching these settings on might sound slightly degraded, note that this is only for purposed of silence detection and preview. If you render the file, it will pull sound from the original file and will sound just fine.