To show the audio level in After Effects, you need to access the Audio panel. Here's how:
Accessing the Audio Panel
- Go to the Window menu at the top of your After Effects interface.
- Select Audio.
This will open the Audio panel, which displays the audio levels as you play back your composition.
Understanding the Audio Panel
The Audio panel provides a visual representation of the audio levels using a volume meter. This meter allows you to monitor the loudness of your audio and prevent clipping (distortion caused by exceeding the maximum audio level). You'll see the levels represented graphically, typically with green, yellow, and red sections indicating the audio volume. The panel also allows you to adjust the playback volume.
Adjusting Audio Levels
Within the audio panel, you can usually find a slider or numerical input field to control the overall output volume during playback in After Effects. Note that adjusting the volume here only affects playback within After Effects; it doesn't modify the actual audio file itself. To adjust the actual audio levels in your composition, you will need to use the audio levels property on your audio layers in the timeline.
