Animate audio level and pan in Motion

You can use keyframes to automate level and pan changes over time. Audio keyframes for level and pan changes are visible in the Audio Timeline and Keyframe Editor. You can adjust these keyframes (and their curves) to create fade-ins and fade-outs, to drop audio levels for voiceovers and other sound effects, and to eliminate clipping. (For general information about using keyframes and editing curves, see Intro to keyframing.)

Add audio keyframes

In Motion, move the playhead to the frame where you want to record a keyframe.
Select an audio track in the Audio list or Audio Timeline, then do one of the following:
- Click the Record button in the timing toolbar, open the Audio Track Inspector, then adjust the Level slider or Pan slider.
- Open the Audio Track Inspector, adjust the Level slider or Pan slider, then click the Add Keyframe button (the diamond icon) to the right of the slider you adjusted.
A keyframe is added at the current frame. To see the keyframe in the Audio Editor, click the Show Keyframes button in the upper-right corner of the Timing pane.
Move the playhead to a new frame.
In the Audio Track Inspector, drag the Level slider or Pan slider to set a different value.
A keyframe is added at the current frame.

If you turned on keyframe recording in step 2 by clicking the Record button, click it again to turn off keyframe recording.

Edit audio keyframes

After you add Level or Pan keyframes, you can change their values in the Audio Timeline or Keyframe Editor. In the Audio Timeline, keyframes appear in sequence along a flat line, showing their relative positions in time. In the Keyframe Editor, keyframes appear in a two-dimensional graph showing their positions in time (horizontally) and their parameter values (vertically).

In Motion, do one of the following:

Edit keyframes in the Audio Timeline: Drag keyframes left or right to adjust their positions in time.
If you added Level and Pan keyframes at the same frame, dragging the keyframe in the Audio Timeline adjusts all audio keyframes at that frame.
Edit keyframes in the Keyframe Editor: Drag keyframes left or right to adjust their positions in time; drag keyframes up or down to change their Level or Pan values.

The Level and Pan parameters are adjusted using different numeric ranges:

Level curves range from –96 to 6 with 0 equivalent to 0 dB (unity gain).
Pan curves range from –100 to 100.

Because Level and Pan curves each use a different scale, it can be difficult to frame them at the same time in the Keyframe Editor.

Delete an audio keyframe

In Motion, do one of the following:

In the Audio Timeline, select a Level or Pan keyframe, then press delete.
In the Audio Timeline, Option-click a Level or Pan keyframe, then choose Delete from the shortcut menu.

Crossfade audio tracks

To create a crossfade between two audio tracks in Motion, add keyframes to the level curve of each track at the same (or nearly the same) points where you want the crossfade to start and end.

In Motion, move the playhead to the frame where you want to start the crossfade.
In the Audio list or Audio Timeline, select an audio track, then do one of the following:
- Click the Record button in the timing toolbar, open the Audio Track Inspector, then drag the Level slider to the left.
- Open the Audio Track Inspector, drag the Level slider to the left, then click the Add Keyframe button (the diamond icon) to the right of the slider you adjusted.
A keyframe is added at the current frame. To see the keyframe in the Audio Editor, click the Show Keyframes button in the upper-right corner of the Timing pane.
Move the playhead to the point where you want the audio completely faded out, then do one of the following:
- If you added a keyframe in step 2 using the Record button method, set the Level slider to zero.
- If you added a keyframe in step 2 using the Add Keyframe button method, click the Add Keyframe button again, then set the Level slider to 0.
A keyframe is added at the current frame.
In the Audio list or Audio Timeline, select another audio track, then do one of the following:
- If you used the Record button method in previous steps, open the Audio Track Inspector, then adjust the Level slider to 0.
- If you used the Add Keyframe button method in previous steps, open the Audio Track Inspector, adjust the Level slider to 0, then click the Add Keyframe button to the right of the slider you adjusted.
A keyframe is added at the current frame.
Move the playhead to the point where you want the audio completely faded in, then do one of the following:
- If you used the Record button method in previous steps, set the Level slider to the level you want.
- If you used the Add Keyframe button method in previous steps, click the Add Keyframe button again, then set the Level slider to 0.
A keyframe is added at the current frame.
If you used the Record button method in previous steps, click the Record button again to turn off keyframe recording.

Listen to the crossfade as you work. You may find that the best-sounding results are achieved by having the level curves for the two tracks be slightly asymmetrical. This is because the perceived loudness of different sounds with the same numerical value can be different.

Download this guide: PDF

Helpful?

Motion User Guide

Animate audio level and pan in Motion

Add audio keyframes

Edit audio keyframes

Delete an audio keyframe

Crossfade audio tracks