What is clipping?
In video editing, clipping is the loss of detail in video or audio, which occurs when either the brightness levels or volume go beyond the threshold the video or audio recorder can handle.
Always monitor both video exposure and audio levels during recording to prevent clipping from happening. Proper lighting, exposure settings, and sound level adjustments are essential to avoid this issue.
Why should clipping be avoided?
Clipping causes you to lose important details in video or audio. Once clipping happens, it's hard to recover the lost details. In post-production, you can attempt to fix clipping by adjusting light and sound levels, but success can be limited, depending on the severity of the clipping.
What does it mean when a video is clipped?
Clipping occurs in highlights when the scene is too bright, causing portions of the video to turn pure white, losing detail in those areas. But clipping can occur in dark conditions —when shadows become too dark, areas turn black. Monitor exposure while filming using tools like a histogram or zebra stripes to keep light levels within the acceptable range and avoid over/underexposing footage.
How to tell if the audio is clipping
Audio clipping results in a harsh or crackling sound. It occurs when sound exceeds maximum volume level. Use tools like limiters or compression to control volume levels and avoid audio clipping during recording.
How to avoid clipping when recording audio with Riverside
If you've recorded audio that sounds like its distorted or clipping, you won't be able to improve it via editing. Clipping generally occurs when the input gain or volume is set too high during the recording, or there is a sudden increase in volume from the source.
How to normalize audio in Riverside
If a participant in your recording was much louder or much quieter than the others, apply audio processing to balance the sound levels when you export the recording from the Editor.
- Log in to your Riverside account.
- Open a recording in the editor or upload an external file to start editing.
- In the top right corner of the Editor, click Share.
- In the Export Options dialog box, click the toggle next to Normalize Audio Levels.
- Click Export.
The normalization applies to all tracks in the clip, including anything played on the media board. Riverside normalizes the audio to the EBU R 128 loudness standard of -23 LUFS (Loudness units relative to full scale).
