Getting a good Audio mix

Question

SPOILER ALERT - rookie here...
..it's getting better, but i've had some difficulties getting a good final audio output.   There are 2 tracks, dialog and "background" music,
and i basically mix to bring up the dialog sometimes, (while also reducing the music), or vice versa, depending on the clip.
I'm using the audio mixer with the "Touch" method of automation.  Actually, my first burn had an acceptable "mix", although
the ENTIRE level was too low, so i remixed, turning down my computer speakers,  and running each track a little hotter.  I'm a little
confused as to which meter i should be watching - the master meter in the mixer, or the meter that appears alongside the
timeline, which seems to vary somewhat.   If i use the timeline meter, it's hard to get it UP to -12db, and the audio mixer meter
doesn't seem to be adjustable.    Often, the audio 1 dialog  can be pretty high, but the output volume just isn't a lot. 
I've also played with the normalize track feature, and discovered that if i set it at, say "-8db",
it churns for awhile and gives me an errmsg regarding having to go to 0db, therefore not possible.  I've been through a few tuts
but not finding some of the fundamentals i think i need to get this right.  In short, the mix is pretty good, it's just that the final output
level seems too low.   (I have to play it at about 85 % volume on the dvd player).   MAYBE this is much ado about nothing, and
it's all perfectly normal, but i don't know enough yet to know one way or the other.    After working with vectorscopes and RGB parades
for awhile, i find it comforting for the system to tell me if it's correct, instead of relying on my own observation, although i guess that's
what needs to prevail at the end of the day/   

Answer 1

Using the audio gain feature is for sure the easiest method of turning an entire sequence up, just as Jim correctly described by nesting everything then turning the gain up.
One thing I'd really recommend though taking a look at using in the future is a compressor. Once I started using one for my audio levels I found that it made my life extremely easy. Once you have it setup correctly it will raise your lows and lower your peaks for you. Basically what it does is reduce volume once it reaches a certain threshold. Then using the makeup gain option it also adds gain to the audio. I generally just apply the dynamics effect to entire audio tracks. The other great part about the dynamics effect is that it has a limiter on it as well. Which is wonderful because you can set a limit of -10db for example and it won't allow anything to go over that point. So it makes it very easy to achieve consistent audio levels. So normally I always put a dynamics effect on my master track, with only the limiter enabled. So that nothing can go over whatever value I set. Then I use the dynamics effect using the compressor/makeup gain only as needed for the rest of the tracks. However depending on what your exact needs are that setup may or may not make since for you. I really think that it sounds like using this effect could be helpful for you though, so you might want to try it out.