Best way to edit for ACX's loudness requirements?

[Basilosauridae]

So I'm working on editing an audiobook that has some very dramatic scenes where characters are yelling at each other. I'm hesitant to post a clip since it isn't released yet but I have a screenshot that shows the variability.

I've done plenty of audiobooks but none with parts where raising my voice was involved, and so my regular effects set up isn't passing the ACX Checker because once I normalize to -3 dB the quietest parts aren't loud enough for the required specifications.

How do I edit this file to even out the peaks and regular speech more? I tried compressing but it didn't do much but I'm not sure what to tinker with to get it to compress it more aggressively. I have it set at -12dB threshold and I tried 2:1, 4:1, 8:1 and those didn't seem to be too different so I'm guessing I should try something else. So far the only way I can figure out to get it to pass is to normalize to -3dB and then amplify it by like 4dB to make the low volume parts louder and then set a limiter at -3dB to cap the peaks, but thats probably not a good way to do it.

Here is what ACX requires:

Each file must measure between -23dB and -18dB RMS. ​

Each file must have peak values no higher than -3dB.​

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[bouldersoundguy]

"Loud" doesn't have to be literally loud. Just your tone of voice will give that impression.

I would manually edit the gain section by section, bringing the volumes closer together. Then I would apply a bit of compression followed by a good mastering limiter.

On the compressor, you might need a lower threshold to get the amount of reduction desired. Also adjust the attack and release to make it as transparent as possible.

 

[TalismanRich]

I think adding the limiter will give you what you need. You'll probably have to play with the settings, don't just set it to -3dB, but maybe go harder so that you can keep the quiet sections loud enough.

As BSG, it don't have to really be loud, as much as it needs the aggression that you get when you shout.