Video Editing Glossary

Ducking

Automatically lowering music when dialogue or narration plays.

Ducking lowers the volume of music or background audio whenever a voice is present, so dialogue stays clear, then brings it back up in the gaps. It can be done manually with keyframes or automatically with side-chain compression, and it is essential for clean, intelligible mixes.

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Written & reviewed by
Faran@432
Production Lead & Consultant · Studio432

Faran is the production lead at Studio432 — the studio arm of Club432, the Karachi collective behind 100+ filmed live sessions and concert films. He plans and consults on shoots worldwide, and owns the gear, settings and craft standards behind everything published here.

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