Using the Audio Track Mixer, you can apply changes to audio tracks as a sequence plays back. You can instantly hear the results of any changes you make. You can control the volume, pan, and mute settings of a track or its sends. You can control all effect options for track effects, including the bypass setting.

The Audio Track Mixer records the changes as track keyframes in the audio tracks. It doesn’t make changes to the source clips.

Each channel of the Audio track Mixer corresponds to an audio track in the Timeline. You can use the controls in each Audio Track Mixer channel to record changes to its corresponding audio track. For example, to vary the volume level of clips in the Audio 1 track, use the Volume slider in the Audio 1 channel of the Audio Track Mixer.

Preserve a track property while recording an audio mix

You can preserve the settings of a property while recording an audio mix, preventing a selected property from being edited. It protects that property across all tracks in a sequence.

Audio Track Mixer automation modes

Automation modes are set in the menu at the top of each track. For example, drag a track’s volume fader or pan control during playback. When you replay the audio with the track’s automation menu set to Read, Touch, or Latch, Premiere Pro plays back the track with the adjustments you made. As you make adjustments in channels of the Audio Track Mixer, Premiere Pro applies the changes to their respective tracks by creating track keyframes in a Timeline panel. Conversely, audio track keyframes you add or edit in a Timeline panel set values (such as fader positions) in the Audio Track Mixer.

For each audio track, the selection in the automation options menu determines the track’s automation state during the mixing process:

Ignores the track’s stored settings during playback. Off allows real-time use of Audio Track Mixer controls without interference from existing keyframes. However, changes to the audio track aren’t recorded in Off mode.

Reads the track’s keyframes and uses them to control the track during playback. If a track has no keyframes, adjusting a track option (such as volume) affects the entire track uniformly. If you adjust an option for a track that’s set to Read automation, the option returns to its former value (before the current automated changes were recorded) when you stop adjusting it. The rate of return is determined by the Automatch Time preference.

Records adjustments you make to any automatable track settings that aren’t set to Safe During Write, and creates corresponding track keyframes in a Timeline panel. Write mode writes automation as soon as playback starts without waiting for a setting to change. You can modify this behavior by choosing the Switch To Touch After Write command from the Audio Track Mixer menu. After playback stops or a playback loop cycle is completed, the Switch To Touch After Write command switches all Write mode tracks to Touch mode.

Identical to Write, except that automation doesn’t start until you begin adjusting a property. The initial property settings are from the previous adjustment.

Identical to Write, except that automation doesn’t start until you begin adjusting a property. When you stop adjusting a property, its option settings return to their previous state before the current automated changes were recorded. The rate of return is determined by the Automatch Time audio preference.

Set Automatch Time for Touch mode and Read mode

When you stop adjusting an effect property in Touch mode, the property returns to its initial value. This is also the case while in Read mode if a keyframe exists for the affected parameter. The Automatch Time preference specifies the time for an effect property to return to its initial value.

Automating audio changes in the Audio Track Mixer can create more keyframes than necessary in the audio track, causing a degradation in performance. To avoid creating unnecessary keyframes, thereby ensuring both quality interpretation and minimal performance degradation, set the Automation Keyframe Optimization preference. In addition to the other benefits, you can edit individual keyframes much easier if they are assembled less densely in the track.

Specify automated keyframe creation

Automating audio changes in the Audio Track Mixer can create more keyframes than necessary in the audio track, degrading performance. To avoid creating unnecessary keyframes, thereby ensuring both quality interpretation and minimal performance degradation, set the Automation Keyframe Optimization preference. In addition to providing other benefits, this preference makes editing individual keyframes easier because they are less densely arranged on the keyframe graph. For information about the Linear Keyframe Thinning and Minimum Time Interval Thinning options, see Audio Preferences.