I made some videos of me playing bass along with an audio track. I'd like some help figuring out how to optimize the LUFS for social media videos. I'm using Garageband for the recording and then iMovie for the video editing. My latest video is -28DB in YouTube's nerd tools. Very low output overall. I was told I need to get it to around 0db in YouTube, which is like -14db in other standards. Is that right? How do I go about that? The -28DB recording has the bass track at max volume in the DAW. I recorded it through a Scarlett 2i2 2nd gen interface, with the gain at about 11am (green, probably could re-record it at a slightly higher gain without hitting the red). And is there a good free plugin for Garageband to view LUFS metrics in Garageband? If so, am I right that I would want to set the LUFS to -14db?

Hi InFocus - You are correct, you'll want your LUFS level to be approximately -14 [I believe that's still what YouTube uses as their LUFS reference level]. You want a full playback of the entire file to show an *Integrated* readout of around -14LUFS. GarageBand doesn't include a LUFS meter [Logic does, if you were inclined to upgrade], but you should be able to find a free or inexpensive LUFS meter AudioUnit plug-in that you can insert at the end of the Master plug-in list [Master Track > Smart Controls, from the AU folder in the plug-ins list]. Options might include https://www.kvraudio.com/product/youlean-loudness-meter-by-youlean https://www.kvraudio.com/product/hornet-elm128-mk2-by-hornet https://www.klangfreund.com/discountedlufsmeter/ https://hofa-plugins.de/en/plugins/4u/ You might want to check out the relevant videos [ 9–12] in the course linked above [see video#9 below, also #12] for more technical information on LUFS and broadcast & streaming level standards..

Thanks. I found a plug-in and started using compression and master track volume to boost LUFS.