Allow Audio Volume Amplification Beyond 1.0 in Remotion (Willing to help with this)

[mileslow]

Feature Request: Allow Audio Volume Amplification Beyond 1.0 🔊

Use Case

Currently, Remotion's <Audio/> component limits volume control to a range of 0-1, which only allows for volume reduction but not amplification. There are common scenarios where users need to increase the volume of audio clips beyond their original levels:

• Working with audio clips that were recorded at low volumes
• Balancing audio levels between different clips in a composition
• Creating emphasis/dramatic effect by temporarily boosting certain audio segments
• Compensating for volume differences between music tracks and voice-overs

Possible Solution

Modify the <Audio/> component to:

1. Allow the volume prop to accept values greater than 1.0 (maybe a max of 3.0)
2. Implement volume amplification using the Web Audio API under the hood
3. Add optional props for controlling amplification behavior:

<Audio src={audioFile} volume={2.5} // Allow values > 1.0 maxVolume={3.0} // Optional cap on maximum volume preventClipping={true} // Optional flag to prevent audio distortion />

Technical Implementation Details

• Use Web Audio API's GainNode for volume manipulation
• Add safeguards against extreme amplification that could cause distortion
• Maintain backward compatibility with existing volume behavior
• Add warning in dev mode when volume exceeds 1.0 to help prevent unintended loud audio

Benefits

• Gives users more control over audio levels
• Reduces need for external audio preprocessing
• Simplifies workflow for balancing audio in complex compositions
• Maintains Remotion's ease-of-use while adding powerful functionality

Considerations

• Need to handle potential audio clipping/distortion, especially regarding decibel conversion
• Browser compatibility with Web Audio API
• Performance impact of audio processing
• Clear documentation about responsible usage of amplification

[JonnyBurger]

Thank your for this idea, it is great one!

During rendering, it is already possible using the allowAmplificationDuringRender prop (https://www.remotion.dev/docs/audio/#allowamplificationduringrender).

It would indeed be super nice if using the Web Audio API, this would also be possible during preview!

If you would like to experiment with this, I would be very happy to work with you on this.