Adobe Audition: Just the Basics

Creating a project folder

Before opening Adobe Audition, make sure that all of your files are organized. First, create a folder on your thumb drive in which to save your sound (.wav) files as well as your Adobe Audition project file. This is your “project folder” (figure 1). Always keep the Audition project file and its associated .wav files in the same project folder. The project folder IS your project. If parts of your project get lost (.wav files, for example) your Adobe Audition file may not work.

You will create a project folder on your thumb drive, and work from that version of your project anytime you are using Audition.

To create your project folder, insert your thumb drive into a lab computer. Open the thumb drive window, then go to File and choose New Folder. Give the folder a name and date it (using dots instead of slashes). It should look something like this: “Interview Project 6.6.12”

Connect your computer to the Zoom H2 recorder that you used to conduct your interview (see “Transferring Files From Zoom H2”). Then move all of the .wav sound files from “Folder 1” on the Zoom H2 into your project folder. After the .wav files have finished transferring into your project folder, disconnect the Zoom H2.

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(Upated on 9/12/2012)

Opening Adobe Audition & importing a sound file

To open Adobe Audition, go to Go on the menu bar. Select Applications. Scroll to and select Adobe Audition. (Applications will be listed alphabetically and Adobe Audition will be in the “A” area).

(Quick note about Macs: always be aware of which program is actually open or “on top.” Unlike a PC, sometimes it’ll look like you’re in Audition, but in reality, you may be in the Mac’s Finder mode or some other program. To switch back to Audition, click anywhere in its interface. If you’re in Audition, the menu bar at the top of the screen will say “Audition.”)

Now, before you can actually do anything in Audition, you’ll need to import a sound file (“STE-00whatever.wav”) from your project folder on your thumb drive. To do this, go to File on the Adobe Audition menu. Go down to Import and select File (figure 2). Navigate to and select your .wav file (or files) from your project folder. Click Open to import the sound file. The .wav file will now appear in the Files area (upper-left corner) of Audition.

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Listening to your audio

After importing your .wav file, you will see it displayed in Audition’s Waveform view. Audition has two different ways of working with sound files: Multitrack (figure 3) and Waveform (figure 4). As the name implies, the Multitrack view allows you to work with multiple audio tracks at the same time. Later, You’ll use the Multitrack view to layout all of your sound bites in a way that makes sense (i.e.—one person talks, and then a different person talks, etc.). You’ll use the Waveform view to edit the content of your sound bites.

Click the Play button at bottom of the screen or the spacebar to play your .wav file in the Waveform view. You’ll see something that looks like a yellow guitar pick with a laser beam coming out of it moving across the screen. That is the Playhead. You can position it anywhere in the timeline by clicking and dragging it with your mouse.

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Zooming in and out

To get a tighter or wider view of your waveforms, you can use the Zoom In/ Zoom Out tools (figure 5). Go to View on the menu bar and choose Zoom In (or hit the “=” key on your keyboard). Doing this a few times will give you a much closer view of your waveforms and allow you to make much more precise edits.

Another way to view different parts of the audio file is to drag the selection bar in the upper area (figure 6) to quickly move to different points in your sound file.

To view the entire waveform again, simply go to View and choose Zoom Out (or hit “-” key on your keyboard).

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Using Markers to mark your keepers

As you listen to your interview, you may find yourself thinking, “That soundbite is a ‘keeper’—I’ll definitely wanna use it later.” To make note of those “keepers,” you’ll use the Markers feature (figure 11). You’ll notice that the area directly beneath the Files area contains several tabs. One of them says Markers. Click the Markers tab to activate it.

Move your Playhead to the start of a sound bite that you’d like to keep (figure 12), but leave a little pad before the incue. Click the Add Cue Marker button in the Marker area (or hit the “M” key on your keyboard). This will create a Marker (probably named “Marker 01”) on the timeline. Now you click on the generic “Marker 01” and give the sound bite a name to help you remember the content. You can add stars here to highlight your best sound. Repeat this process to mark all of your keeper sound bites. Listen carefully to the entire sound file.

In addition to appearing in the timeline, markers will also appear in the Markers area on the left. Double-click Markers in this area to quickly navigate to them. To delete a marker, select it in the Markers area and click the Trash icon in the Markers area.

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Doing a Save As

After adding your Markers, you will need to do a Save As. This will create an alternate version of your original .wav file. All of your Markers will be saved to it as well. Go to File on the menu bar and choose Save As. Make sure your .wav file is being saved to the project folder on your thumb drive. Then, give your .wav file a name and click Save.

Creating sound bites

After adding markers to your audio file, you’ll create sound bites for all of your “keepers.” In the Waveform area, hover your mouse pointer just before your first Marker. To grab some “pad” so you have some wiggle room when you’re editing, you’ll be selecting a little more of a sound bite than you actually need. In the Waveform area, click and drag from just before your first marker to just after your second marker (figure 13). The area will become highlighted. To copy this selection, go to Edit on the menu bar and choose Copy. Then, in the Files area of in the upper-left, click the New File button and choose New Audio File (figure 14). An empty audio file will appear. Go to Edit on the menu bar and choose Paste. In the New Audio File dialog box, name the sound bite something that will make sense later (figure 15). Repeat this process for your other “keepers.”

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Doing a Save All

At this point, you probably have several files listed in Audition’s Files area. Before doing anything else, save all of them. Go to File on the menu bar, and then choose Save All. A Save As dialog box will appear for each of your files. You don’t need to change any of the information in this box, but you do need to make sure the files are being saved to the project folder on your thumb drive (figure 16).

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Writing a draft script

As you identify your best sound bites, begin working on your script in a Word document. (Follow JAMS scripting format.) Transcribe the best sound bites and begin placing them in a logical order in your script. (If your piece uses narration, begin writing voice-over copy that will tell the rest of the story and serve as transitions between sound bites and natural sound.

Creating a Multitrack Session

Before you begin piecing your sound files together, you’ll need to create a Multitrack Session. A “track” is a space where you arrange sections of audio. Working with multiple tracks at the same time allows you to create the story using various sound bites, pieces of natural sound, and/or narration.

To create a Multitrack Session, go to File on the menu bar, choose New and then select Multitrack Session (figure 17). A New Multitrack Session dialog box will appear. NOTE: YOU MUST select 44100 in the Sample Rate drop down box (figure 18). Then, in the Folder Location area, click the Browse button and select your project folder on your thumb drive and click Choose. Be sure to give your Multitrack Session a name and then click OK. Empty audio tracks will appear.

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Adding sound bites to tracks

To add a sound bite to an audio track, simply click and drag it from the Files area into an empty track (figure 18). To position the sound bite within the track, simply click and drag its titlebar (green bar at top). Make sure the first sound bite is flush with the start of its track (figure 19). Stagger your sound bites between the first and second audio tracks—alternating between both (figure 20). Zoom in to make sure that each sound bite slightly overlaps the other. The goal is to arrange the audio files spatially with one another.

Because you will be staggering your sound bites, always use two tracks for each interviewee. Use one track for narration (if the story includes narration.) Use another track for natural and/or ambient room tone.

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Adjusitng pad and deleting sound bites

While positioning your sound bites in the Multitrack view, you’ll start with too much audio at the beginning and end of each sound bite. With that additional “pad,” you have room to fine-tune things. You’ll use the “pad” you added to the beginning and end of each sound bite to help create a natural rhythm to your audio story.

To fine-tune a sound bite, hover your mouse pointer at the beginning or end of it. When your mouse pointer sort of resembles a red “E” with arrows on either side of it you can click and drag in either direction to clean up the start or end point for the sound bite.

You may notice some “snapping” happening while fine-tuning your sound bites. To turn this off, go to Edit on the menu bar, and choose Snapping. Make sure Enabled is not selected (figure 20).

To delete a soundbite in the Multitrack view, simply select it and then hit the Delete key on your keyboard.

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Editing in the Waveform view

After you’ve created a logical order for your sound bites in the Multitrack view, you’ll need to adjust the content of your sound bites (making them shorter and tigher, adjusting audio levels, deleting “uhs,” etc.) To do these types of edits, you’ll need to enter the Waveform view (figure 21). Double-click the first sound bite in Track 1 to enter the Waveform view for that sound bite.

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Deleting part of a sound file

To delete part of a sound file that you don’t like, hover your mouse pointer near the beginning of the area you’d like to delete. Then simply click and drag to highlight the area you’d like to delete. The selected area should apear white. After you’ve selected the area you’d like to get rid of, listen to it to be sure. (Note: you can always delete a little bit and then delete more).

With the area you’d like to delete selected, control-click (or right-click) WITHIN the selected area. From the contextual menu that appears, select “Delete” (figure 26). The selected area will be deleted. You can also just hit “Delete” on your keyboard.

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Adjusting volume within a sound file

Ideally, the volume of your waveform should be fairly consistent and range from -12 to -6 decibels (figure 22). In other words, your levels should go from green into yellow most of the time. Occasionally, your levels may go slightly into the red, but you’ll want to make sure they never trigger the Peak Indicators. Peak Indicators are the squares at the end of the levels meter that stay red if your audio signal is too “hot” (figure 23).

If there are points in your waveform that are either too high or too low in volume, you can adjust those areas. To select a specific area, hover your mouse pointer over the waveform area until it becomes an I-beam pointer (just like you did while deleting an area). Click and drag to highlight the area you would like to adjust (figure 23). Use the ghostly-looking volume adjuster to adjust this area of the waveform (note: do not use the “Track Volume” control on the right to do this). Generally, it’s best to adjust your volume in 3 dB increments. Playback your audio as you make your adjustments and always wear headphones.

If your entire waveform is either too low or too high in volume, you can adjust its overall volume. Double click within your waveform area to select the whole thing. Use the ghostly-looking volume adjuster to adjust the entirety of the waveform volume (again, that’s the ghostly-control, not Track Volume on the right).

(Note: turning your waveform volume up as high as you can without peaking does not make it sound good. Do not confuse “loud” with “good.” Always aim to keep your audio sounding the way it did in real life.)

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Using the Auto Heal tool

Another option for adjusting the levels of a waveform is the Auto Heal tool. If a portion of a waveform is too “hot” or “peaking,” select that section of the waveform. Then, right-click the area and choose Auto Heal Selection (figure 25). Note: you should only use this tool on areas that are too loud. Applying the Auto Heal tool to portions of your waveform that are too low will only make them quieter.

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Using Undo and the History Panel

Occasionally, you might find you’ve overdone it with the tweaking or deletions. If this happens, you can always do an Undo. Go to Edit on the menu bar and select Undo (figure 27). Similarly, you can select specific points to undo in the History Panel in the lower-left (figure 28).

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Switching back to Multitrack view

To go from Waveform view back to your original Multitrack project, hit the Multitrack button in the upper-left (figure 29). Or, you can simply double-click your Multitrack project in the Files area. As you work with Audition, switching back and forth between the two views will become second nature.

Once you’re back in Multitrack view, you may notice some yellow triangles with explanation points in them near your sound bites (figure 30). These are very helpful warnings. The Multitrack view only references what’s happening in the Waveform. So, if delete content while in the Waveform view, what do you think happens to the overall length of the sound bite in the Multitrack view? That’s right. It becomes shorter. So, to correct this, you will need to reposition those yellow triangle sound bites in a way that doesn’t leave any space between them.

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Refining your script

As your story takes shape, update the script on your Word document, read through it and decide if the story makes sense and flows logically without raising questions in the listener’s mind.

Applying fades

To apply a fade to an audio file, click and drag the Fade Handles (figure 31). Note: Fade Handles will only appear in an audio file that is selected (dark black) in a track. As a general rule, every audio file in a track should have a slight fade applied to it. This makes transitions smoother from sound bite to sound bite. Also, always make sure the first audio file in your timeline has a very slight fade applied at the beginning.

Note about fade shape: as you click and drag your fade handles, aim for a fade shape pictured on the sound bites below. The shape of a fade affects the speed and way in way in which sound bites fade in and out.

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Controls on Audio Tracks

Name field: As the name implies, this allows you to change the name of a track. You should always name your tracks to avoid confusion in the long run. Mute (“M): Use this to silence a particular track. Solo (“S”): Will mute all tracks except for this track. Arm for Record (“R”): Used when recording directly into Audition in JAMS Audio Lab. Needs to be enabled when recording a voice over in Audio Lab.Track Volume: Controls the overall volume of the entire track. Note: this different from adjusting volume within a sound file.Pan: Controls where the sounds comes from in the stereo spectrum (i.e.—right, left or centered).Peak Indicators: Indicate if a track is peaking.

(For the purposes of the “Just the Basics” instructions, all other controls shouldn’t be futzed with.)

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Finalizing your script

When your sound bites, natural sound and narration are edited and positioned properly on the Multitrack, listen to the piece one more time to be sure it’s finished and sounds just the way you want it to. Then, listen to the piece while following along on your script. Be sure sound bites are transcribed correctly, and the story in the Multitrack “matches” the story on your Word document. When grading your piece, the instructor will listen to the audio story while following along on your script. Double-check that the script follows correct JAMS script format.

Exporting

When you are finished with your project, you can export it as an .mp3 file.

Go to File on the menu bar. Choose Export, Multitrack Mixdown, Entire Session. In the Export Multitrack Mixdown dialog box (figure 33), choose .mp3 from the Format drop down list. Click Browse and ensure the .mp3 will be saved to the project folder on your thumb drive. Give your .mp3 a name. For the purposes of JAMS coursework, maintain the default Format Settings (MP3 192 Kbps CBR) These settings will work with Soundslides and online portfolio websites. Click OK to export your .mp3 to your thumb drive. The .mp3 will appear in the project folder on your thumb drive as well the Files area of Audition.

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Saving all of your work!

When you have finished working with Audition, go to File on the menu bar and choose Save All (figure 34). This will ensure that you save all projects you have open. Then close Adobe Audition. Remember: when you copy a project to your Class Folder, copy your ENTIRE project folder.

Understanding what’s in your project folder

As stated earlier, you MUST keep the contents of your project folder together at all times (figure 35). If anything (such as the .wav file) is moved or deleted, YOUR PROJECT FILE WILL NOT WORK.

ALL OF THIS STUFF MUST BE IN YOUR PROJECT FOLDER.

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