Creative Media Edit Suite – ‘Quick Tips’ Guide This document contains hints and tips on the key software contained on the creative media edit suite.

Contents Audacity – The Basics .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

GarageBand – The Basics ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

iMovie – The Basics ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

1

Audacity – The Basics Introduction to the Workspace

Trim Editing Tools

Zoom In/Out

Fit to Selection

Fit to Project

Project Space

Audio Tracks Playback Controls

Playback Head Audio Waveforms

2

Hints and Tips

Importing

Audacity will let you edit pre-recorded audio, such as an MP3 file by using File>Import.

Editing

The Selection Tool is the main tool that allows you to select areas of audio for editing.

The Time Shift Tool is used for dragging tracks backwards and forwards along the project space; this is useful if you

want to change the order of audio in your project.

The Envelope Tool allows you to adjust the audio levels in your

project. You can select the blue line at the top of the track and raise or

lower it to change the sound levels of the whole track. Alternatively, you

can just edit the audio level of a particular point on your track. Click on

the blue line along the track and this will insert a white control point,

you can then adjust the levels between control points on the track. This

could be used to create a fade on a track. To delete a control point,

drag it above the track until it disappears.

Fades can quickly be created by selecting the area of audio which is to

be faded (in or out) using the selection tool. Select Effects>Fade In or Fade Out and Audacity will create the fade for you.

The audio waves are displayed visually, which allows for precise editing. Zooming in on the project space (Zoom Tool

or cmd+1) allows you to see the individual waveforms, which can be very useful when trying to edit out unwanted sounds, like

a cough or sneeze. When using the zoom tool, right clicking (or cmd+3) allows you to zoom back out.

Zooming in and out can get very repetitive; using the Fit to Selection in Window Tool (i.e. an area of audio that has been

highlighted with the selection tool) and Fit to Project in Window Tool (whole audio track) can help speed things up.

3

The cut, copy and paste tools are in the Edit Menu Bar, and they work the

exact same way that you would expect them too. The split new, trim and

silence tools which are also in the Edit menu can be useful. The Silence tool

removes the selected audio, and inserts silence in the selected area. This

maintains the original duration of the track. The Trim tool deletes

everything but the selected area; use the Trim icon as a shortcut. The

Split New command (as shown on the screenshot) moves the selected

audio on to a new track, and deletes the audio from the original track.

Exporting

To make your audio playable outside of Audacity, it has to be exported

using File>Export. Files can be exported as an uncompressed lossless format, such as a WAV file, or a compressed lossy

format such as an MP3 file. MP3 files usually give a good mix between file size, compatibility and quality. The MP3 format is

required if you are producing audio for a podcast. If you only want to export part of your project, you can select an area of

audio and use the File>Export Selection menu.

When exporting as an MP3, you will be given the option to input metadata about your track. This is for Album and Artist data

for programs like iTunes and Windows Media Player to use, but can just skip this step if you want.

4

GarageBand – The Basics Introduction to the Workspace

Track drop down menu

Master Volume Control

Loops

Media Browser

Loop Browser

Timeline

Playback Controls

Playback Head

Track Volume Control

Track Mute

Record Button

5

Hints and Tips Importing

It is important to select the correct type of Project when starting to create media in GarageBand. If you are creating a

podcast, choose a Podcast Project. If you want to create a piece of music, choose a Loops Project. When creating sound

for your Video, you should choose a Movie Project.

GarageBand is designed for creating music rather than importing and editing existing music, although it is possible to import

music from iTunes using the Media Browser Menu. You can import Videos in to GarageBand; this allows you to match

sound effects and loops precisely to the action, without having to go back to your video editing software. This option is only

available in a Movie Project.

Editing / Creating

GarageBand contains a wide selection of music loops and samples to use in your projects. These range from a few seconds

long to over a minute; you can use the Loop Browser to find the required style of music and then just drag it on to the

timeline. To extend the loop, move the mouse to the top right hand edge of the clip. When the loop symbol appears

you can drag the loop and extend it.

You can also create music from scratch by selecting Track>New Track>Software Instrument. Opening the keyboard

(Window>On Screen Keyboard or Window>Musical Typing) allows you to play a variety of instruments. The audio will

only be recorded on the timeline after the record button has been selected.

The Master Volume Control at the bottom of the timeline allows you to change the volume of the whole project. You can

adjust the properties of each track separately by selecting the drop down menu to the right of the track volume control. If

you select Track Volume, a line appears across the top of the selected track.

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You can drag the line up or down to change the volume of the selected track. For more flexible control you can create

Control Points by clicking on the line, and adjusting the volume between the points.

When working with a Movie Project, you can watch a preview of your video by double clicking the thumbnail of your video

in the left hand pane.

Exporting

To export a Movie Project as a finished video and audio file, choose Share>Export as QuickTime Movie. This will export an

MOV file using the default compression settings.

To make your Loops Project playable outside of GarageBand, it has to be exported using Share>Export to Disk. As default,

files are exported as an uncompressed lossless format, such as a WAV of AIFF file. Compressed MP3 files (Share>Export to

Disk>Compress check box and select MP3) usually give a good mix between file size, compatibility and quality. MP3 files are

suitable for use as podcasts.

7

iMovie – The Basics Introduction to the Workspace

Viewer Source Video

Playhead

Full Screen Playback

Show / Hide audio levels

Timeline scale

Crop tool

Timeline

Title Tool

Transitions Tool

Select and drag clip selection to timeline

Voiceover tool iMovie Toolbar

Import from camera

8

Hints and Tips

Importing

Go to File>Import>Movies and navigate to the location of your files.

Choose ‘Large file’ and un-tick ‘Optimize Video’

Select the video files and click ‘OK’

Note – You can only edit existing video files in the creative media edit suite. If you wish to use footage from a tape, then

please use the creative media room.

Editing

Unlike some other editing software, iMovie does not explicitly use ‘tracks’ for video.

There is a workaround for this. When you drag a clip from the source video window on

to another clip in your timeline, a popup menu appears. If you select ‘Cutaway’, the clip

is placed on a new track above the original, allowing for more advanced editing. This

works for still images and video, but only when importing to the timeline.

Select the cog to the left of a clip to access more features, such as colour correction, brightness adjustment and increasing the speed of the clip.

You can crop clips and images to hide or emphasise parts of the image.

You can also adjust the length of clips in the timeline by using the Clip Trimmer

tool, which is accessed from the cog icon on the left side of every clip. This also

allows you to extend the length of the clip, as well as shorten it .The Precision

Editor tool gives you accurate control over where you want the cut point between

two clips to be.

If you want to remove the audio from your clips, right click on the video clip and select detach audio. You can now delete

the audio using the backspace key, or use it on another clip.

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You can record voiceovers for your video inside iMovie. To record audio, select the voiceover button. iMovie will prompt you

to select the clip you want to start the recording on. After you press the record button, iMovie will count down from 3 and

start recording. The mic will keep recording until you click stop, or you reach the end of the film.

The Transitions tool offers a powerful array of cuts and fades for you to use in

your film. You can just drag the transition to the edit point in your film. Double

clicking the transition opens up Inspector which allows you to adjust the duration;

however a transition can never have a duration that’s greater than half of the

length of the shortest clip either side of it. You can also access a live preview of all

of the available transitions from the Transition drop down menu inside Inspector.

Exporting

When you have finished editing, you will need to ‘export’ your video. This makes it playable outside of iMovie. Use the

Share>Export menu, and select the desired export quality depending on your playback method (phone, DVD etc.). Exporting

usually takes around two times the length of your completed project, so leave plenty of time for this!

If you want to create music or add sound effects to your video, you can import your project into GarageBand. To do this,

select Share>Media Browser. When you have opened GarageBand, you should create a Movie project and add the

appropriate project from the Media Browser.