Become an Audio Levels Keyframing Ninja

If you make all your audio keyframes by holding down OPT while using the default Selection Tool (A), you are a Shortcutter and I duly salute you. If you want to take your levels-setting skills up to ninja levels, here’s the shortcut: OPT CMD K

Hitting OPT CMD K while in the Timeline (Timeline in focus) will place a levels keyframe wherever your Playhead happens to be. The auto-select toggle functionality applies here or you can simply make sure the clip you want to keyframe is selected and it will recognize stereo pairs (will lay keyframes for both tracks of a pair simultaneously). You should also have your “clip overlays” on (OPT W) so you can see what you’re doing, but note that this works even if they’re off.

Since holding the OPT modifier is such an easy, smooth shortcut, why would one want to bother with OPT CMD K, you may ask? Ah, Shortcutter, there are some very appropriate times indeed to use this one! Let’s say you’ve got a timeline with several VO segments over a music bed–you know well the scenario: you need to drop the levels down for each VO segment and it can be a bit tedious. Yes, you can use the Audio Mixer to animate your keyframes and then go back and clean them up with the Selection Tool (and that’s a wise way to go in many cases), but often, perhaps in shorter pieces, you might find it easier to play the timeline (with JK and L of course) and stop the playhead everywhere you want a keyframe. Instead of reaching for the mouse (along with your OPT modifier), you can simply hit OPT CMD K to plant the keyframes as you go.

The OPT modifier is a much better way to go than to select the Pen tool, of course. The Audio Mixer is a great way to get a lot of keyframes roughed into place. The OPT CMD K shortcut is a very clean, mouse-free way to lay levels keyframes in most cases. The wise Shortcutter has many moves in his repertoire and the wisdom to choose the most efficient one for each task.

After the jump, a bit of Friday Ninja-level shortcut entertainment…