Lesson 8: Working with Sound Apple Pro Training Series Final
Cut Pro X, 2nd Edition Instructor: Sam Edsall
Working with Sound We watch TV, but sound should never be
underestimated Dialogue, voice-over, sound effects, and music when
properly selected and combined, draws the audience into a more
immersive experience The unsung hero Sound thats too loud, too
soft, poorly mixed will make your audience restless and frustrated
On the other hand
Working with Sound Evaluate the current status of your primary
audio in your project Sound bytes and narration Before adding music
and SFX Is it at the proper level? Are the levels consistent from
clip to clip? Is the nat sound from your B-roll too loud to hear
the voiceover? What to check
Working with Sound Using the Audio meter and clip waveforms as
guides to correct audio levels in the timeline Once you have
optimized the current settings, you will be ready for the next
steps in sound design How to fix
Create a New Project Make sure your external drive is booted
and on your desktop. Choose File > Open Library > LESSON 8 If
you dont see LESSON 8 choose Other and then select LESSON 8
Preparing the Project From the Library select the Zero to Hero
Mix project and duplicate and title it ZTH Mix Done and load into
the Timeline.
Audio Meters Small Audio meter in the Dashboard Large Audio
meter pane that opens in the timeline Two choices Click on the
smaller audio meter in the dashboard Open Audio pane
Open and Adjust the Audio Pane In the toolbar click the small
Audio meter icon to open the large Audio meters pane to the right
of the timeline. Increase the size of the meters by positioning the
pointer between the audio meter pane and the timeline and drag
left.
Audio Meters As audio approaches 0 dB the level color changes
from green to yellow When the audio level exceeds 0dB, the level
color turns from yellow to red Peak indicators on top turn red if
the level exceeds 0dB Monitoring the level
What is a Good Level? No audio should exceed 0dB or the sound
will be clipped and distorted Set the primary audio around -6dB
Dialogue and narration Set secondary audio around -15 to -18dB
Music and SFX Shoot for - 6
Monitor the Levels Play through the project and monitor the
audio levels. Notice that the music gets too loud around the 20
second mark so that it will need adjusting. First, lets get the
primary sound optimized before the music.
Controlling Audio Focus on the primary audio first and get that
optimized Then work on secondary audio sources like music and SFX
One thing at a time Disable secondary audio sources while you work
on the primary sources Once done, turn them back one and optimize
them How
Have a Better Look In the timeline, click the Clip Appearance
button. Select the second clip appearance from the left so you can
see the audio waveform better.
Controlling Audio Shut down the music: Command-click both of
the Battle lines audio clips and press V to disable them.
Controlling Audio Isolates the sound from one or more clips so
thats the only sound you hear Sing a solo Select the Solo button on
the Toolbar or select then press Option S How its done
Controlling Audio With both cuts of Battle Lines music
selected, press V to enable both the clips. Deselect the clips by
clicking on an empty space.
Controlling Audio Select the three John Force interview clips.
Click on the Solo button in the Toolbar or press Option S. Press
the Solo button again to return normal playback.
Controlling Audio Select the first Tony Schumacher clip and
press the Solo button. Watch the audio meters. --notice that the
level peaks during the sound bite.
Controlling Audio Video and audio clips will show yellow and
red audio peaks indicating where the audio is near or at 0dB This
is the same color coding displayed in the audio meters What you
see
Controlling Audio Click on the horizontal volume control line
and drag up or down Fixing the audio Pop-up window will indicate
the current dB setting Indicators
Controlling Audio Fix the audio: Move your pointer over the
horizontal volume control line. -- shows you the current dB setting
of 11dB Drag down to 4dB and release. Play the clip.
Comparing Audio With the Tony Schumacher clip selected, Command
click both Tony Pedregon clips. Solo these clips and then play them
all. -- Tony P is too low.
Controlling Audio Modify > Volume > Up or Down Menu
options Volume up CTRL = (+) Volume down CTRL - Shortcut
options
Comparing Audio Command click the Tony Schumacher clip to
deselect it. -- now we can fix the Tony P clips. Choose Modify >
Volume > Up or press Control = 6-7 times to raise the clip
levels to 4-5 dB.
Return Things Back to Normal Press the Solo button so all the
clips are activated again.
Controlling Audio Set start and end points in the clip that
needs adjusting and change the levels Then just drag the audio to a
new level When part of a clip needs work
Controlling Audio Solo, then play the last Tony Schumacher clip
-- first 2 seconds the audio is low After Tony says, People dream
press O to set an End point. In that range drag the volume up from
2 dB to 4 dB.
Controlling Audio FCP creates key frames to ramp up the volume
of the selected area, then back down for the remaining portion of
the clip What happened?
Controlling Audio This byte is still a little soft. Select the
whole Tony Schumacher clip. Press Control = three times to raise
the clips dB by 3 dBs. Turn off Solo.
Controlling Audio Fix some more audio: Select the 2 Antron
Brown clips and lower levels by 2dB -- CTRL & - to get levels
out of red Select both Battle Lines music clips and lower levels by
-10 dB -- CTRL & - to get levels out of the red
Controlling Audio Fix some more audio: Raise the Crash clip
level by +10 dB (-17dB to -7dB) Lower the JF hold trophy, flame out
and race start clips by -15dB. -- press CTRL a bunch of times so it
looks like Crash.
Audio Sweetening FCPX has a sound library with SFX and music
that is free to download Select FCP > Download Additional
Content Oddly, if you had this content from an earlier version of
FCPX, you will need to download it again Free Stuff for You
Audio Sweetening Adding music and sound effects to a project
Sweetening audio Music and Sound Browser has over 1,000
royalty-free music and sound effects to sweeten your projects audio
Content
Sweetening Audio Sweeten audio: In the toolbar click the Music
and Sound Browser. Click on the dimple in the middle and drag down
about half way. We will add some SFX to the crash clip
Music and Sound Browser Folders and sub-folders of music and
SFX files Source folders from iTunes library and Garage Band Top
window Files from the selected folder on top Bottom window Help you
find a particular file name Search window
Sweetening Audio Sweeten audio: In the top window select the
FCP Sound Effects folder. Scroll down to the Explosion 6.caf file
and double-click the file to play it.
Make a Keyword Collection for SFX Clips In the Event Browser,
create a new Keyword Collection in the Zero to Hero Event, label it
Crash SFX
Add Some SFX Drag Explosion 6.caf into the Zero to Hero Event.
Select the Explosion 6 clip, then press Control 3 to add it to the
keyword collection.
Sweetening Audio In the Search field, type auto to locate Auto
Crash Concrete.caf and Auto Skid 1.caf Click the Play button to
play them, then drag both of them to the Crash SFX Keyword
Collection. Close the browser when done.
Adding Sound to Connected Clips Once connected clips are where
they are needed, combine them into the primary story line Easier to
see what you are doing when connecting music and SFX clips Make
things easier
Sweetening Audio Select both Battle Fields music clips and
press V to disable them for now. Control click the crash clip and
choose Overwrite to Primary Storyline Place the play head to the
first frame of the crash clip.
Sweetening Audio In the Event Browser select the Auto Skid 1
clip. Drag to select the first 27 frames and press Q to connect
edit this SFX to the Timeline.
Sweetening Audio In the Event Browser select the entire Auto
Crash Concrete clip. Press Q to connect this entire clip at the end
of Auto Skid 1 clip.
Layering Sound Rather than have one sound finish before the
next sound starts, overlapping the SFX may provide a more realistic
overall sound effect. Overlap sounds
Sweetening Audio In the Timeline park the play head at 12:42.
In the Event Browser select the Explosion 6 clip and select about
the first 2 seconds of the clip, and press Q to connect edit this
clip Lower the volume of all three clips to -14dB and check your
levels.
Grouping Clips Collecting separate SFX clips into one group by
making a compound clip will keep you from accidentally separating
or moving individual clips Neatens up your timeline, too.
Compounding audio clips
Grouping Clips Drag a selection rectangle around the three
sound effect clips, then Control click and choose New Compound Clip
--Option G Name the new compound clip Crash SFX
Turn the Music On Select both Battle Lines clips and enable
them by pressing V. Check out the mix with music and SFX.
Using the Audio Inspector Another way to adjust the sound of a
clip Other features to add effects and filters to enhance and
improve the quality or style of the sound The Inspector
Using the Audio Inspector In the Library duplicate the
Delicious Peace_mix project and save as Delicious Peace Mix Done
and load into the Timeline. Shift Z to see the whole project and
play the timeline. We will first focus on the primary audio Ed
ONeills voice over.
Using the Audio Inspector Select over all the voiceover clips
and press Option S to solo these clips. Skim to the first clip
VO_10 and press / to play the clip and check the levels -- a little
hot over -6dB -- all these clips are a little too high
Using the Audio Inspector In the toolbar select the Inspector
icon and click the Audio tab. Double-click the Volume field and
type 6 Look at the voiceover waveforms in the timeline and press
Return. --lowered levels by 2dB
Using the Audio Inspector Press Option S again to activate all
clips Select the 2nd xylophone music clip and skim to the
beginning. In the Inspector drag the Volume slider left and right
and settle on a volume level of -24dB Set the other xylophone clips
to -24dB
Using the Audio Inspector By dragging your pointer in the
Volume field you can raise or lower the absolute dB level If you
have 2 or more clips selected you can raise or lower the relative
dB level of the selected clips Up/Down Arrows
Using the Audio Inspector Skim over the woman picks beans, man
picks beans and beans being hulled clips. -- each has a different
dB setting Select all 3 clips and in the Inspector Audio tab, drag
the arrows down until the peak of the 3rd clip is below the volume
control line.
Using the Audio Inspector Directing the sound from one speaker
to the other Like the balance knob on your stereo Panning
Using the Audio Inspector In the Audio Inspector, click the Pan
Mode pop-up menu, and choose Stereo Left/Right In the timeline
press Shift Z to see the whole project. Select the 2nd xylophone
clip and press Option S to solo it.
Using the Audio Inspector Press / to play the clip. In the
Inspector drag the Pan Amount slider right and left to move the
music to each speaker. Check the audio meters and notice how the
levels increase the decrease depending where you send the sound
to.
Using the Audio Inspector To the far right of the Pan Amount
slider, click the animation menu and choose Reset Parameter to
center the Pan Amount. Press Option S again to enable all the clips
again.
The Four Steps of Sound Speed at which the sound moves from
silence to its peak level Attack Time a sound moves from its
initial peak to the sustain level Decay The main duration of the
sound How long it lasts Sustain The time it takes for the sound to
decay back to silence Release
The Four Steps of Sound When editing clips, the natural
waveform shapes are often cut off at the beginning and end of a
clip The problem with A-D-S-R To fix the chopped waveforms, you
change or ramp the sound levels by applying fades and crossfades
The solution
Adding Fades & Crossfades Select Zero to Hero_fades,
duplicate and rename to ZTH Fades Done and open in the Timeline.
Place the play head at the beginning of the project and zoom into
this location. Change the track height so you can see the audio
tracks better.
Adding Fades & Crossfades Select the first 2 clips wall low
angle and crowd ots and solo them Option S
Adding Fades & Crossfades Select the fade handle at the end
of wall low angle and drag left until at the beginning of the track
below it (-1;10) Adjust the fade handle of crowd ots right so the
fade ends at the end of the upper track (+1;09) Option S to turn
off solo and play the new mix.
Fade Options The fade changes at a constant rate Linear The
fade eases in and out with a midpoint at 0dB S-Curve The fade
starts slowly and then moves quickly to the end Default fade +3 dB
The fade starts quickly and then tapers off at the end. Good choice
for a fast fade-out -3 dB
Adding Fades & Crossfades Press Shift Z to see the whole
timeline. Select both Battle Lines clips and Option S to solo them.
Play the last few seconds of the 2nd Battle Lines clip while
looking at the waveform -- steep fade cuts into the final beat
Adding Fades & Crossfades Place your pointer over the clips
fade handle to select it. 2-finger click it to open the shortcut
menu and choose +3 dB, then play the clip.
Audio Crossfades In order for two audio clips to crossfade,
they must first be turned into a storyline Transition = storyline
Select the audio clips that need crossfades between them 2-finger
click for the shortcut menu or press Command G How its done
Adding Fades & Crossfades While the two Battle Lines clips
are still selected, Control click one of the clips and choose
Create Storyline from the shortcut menu. Click off the clips to
deselect them, then select an edit point between the two clips and
Command T to add a crossfade.
Adding Fades & Crossfades Option S to enable all the clips
again. Move the play head to 5:10, select B for the blade tool and
cut Battle Lines at this point. Move the play head to 18:40 and cut
the clip again.
Adding Fades & Crossfades For the new clip that begins at
5:10, drag the volume control down to -13 dB For the last clip that
begins at 18:40, drag the volume control down to -16 dB Select the
last two Battle Lines clips and press Command T to add crossfades
to all the clips
Recording Voiceovers Allows you to record straight to your
laptop You can record several takes of yourself reading narration
Using the Audition feature, you can choose which is the best take
Record Audio feature
Recording Voiceovers Laptops built-in microphone Not good since
it will pick up other sounds including computer noises Hard drive
spinning Plug-in USB microphone Good idea since the source is
focused on you and nothing else Check them out in the equipment
room Microphone sources
Recording Voiceovers Go back to the Delicious Peace_mix project
you saved. In the Event Browser, select the Delicious Peace Event.
In the timeline play the VO_10 clip at the end of the project to
become familiar with its content, then press V to disable it.
Recording Voiceovers Turn down the volume of your laptop. Move
the play head to the beginning of the disabled VO clip. Choose
Window > Record Audio
Recording Voiceovers Set the following options: Destination:
Delicious Peace Input Device: Built-in Microphone (or your USB
mike) Gain: 2-3 Monitor: leave off unless you are wearing
earphones
Recording Voiceovers In the Record Audio window, click the
Record button and read the CG in the Viewer. Press the spacebar
when you are done --you can also click the record button again.
--your VO is saved in the Event and attached to the primary
storyline.
Auditioning Voiceovers You can make multiple takes of your VO,
then audition them to see which one is the best on the timeline
Choosing the best take
Recording Voiceovers Record 2 more takes changing the emphasis
on the words in the CG. When done you should have 3 VOs under the
original one. Keep your first VO, but delete the other two from the
timeline for now.
Auditioning Voiceovers In the Event Browser, select Voiceover 2
and Voiceover 3 and drag them onto the Voiceover 1 clip. From the
shortcut menu choose Add to Audition.
Auditioning Voiceovers Notice the audition spotlight icon on
the clip. Click the Audition icon to open the audition filmstrip.
Press the left and right arrow keys to select which voiceover to
audition. Turn up your volume and play each take then choose the
best one.
Correcting Problem Audio Part of the Audio Inspector Takes care
to audio problems like hum, background noise and loudness Audio
Enhancement tool
Correcting Problem Audio In the Library select Fairly Legal_hum
and duplicate as FL Hum Fixed and open in the Timeline. In the
timeline, select the 4A-2 110(B)_hum clip and play it. -- hows it
sound? -- lets see if the hum has been fixed yet
Correcting Problem Audio Open the Inspector Audio tab and open
Audio Enhancements. Loudness = OK Background = Yellow could be
trouble Click in the box by Hum Removal to turn it off and on and
listen to the difference!
Correcting Problem Audio The equalization pop- up menu allows
you to enhance audio in the - High-end Midrange Low-end
Equalization
Correcting Problem Audio In the upper-left corner of the Audio
Enhancements pane, click the arrow to return to the Audio
Inspector. Click the Equalization pop- up menu and choose Hum
Reduction and listen to your clip again.
Correcting Problem Audio Create audio envelopes to control
audio right on the audio clip Key framing
Correcting Problem Audio Play the first clip 4B- 1_110(B) and
notice the audio level when the stack of papers are dropped to the
desk. We will fix this spike by adding 3 key frames and then
lowering the middle key frame.
Correcting Problem Audio Zoom into this clip so you can see the
peak clearly. To set a keyframe on the spike, Option-click on the
volume control line where the spike is. Move the skimmer to 1:00
and 2:05 and Option click to set down 3 points.
Correcting Problem Audio Click on the middle keyframe --turns
into a yellow diamond Drag the keyframe down until the info flag
reads -2 dB Play the clip and check your audio meters.
Shortcuts Raise the audio level by 1 dB Control = (+) while
pointer on audio control Lower the audio level by 1 dB Control
while pointer on audio control Enable or disable a clip for
playback V Solo selected items in the Timeline Option S
Shortcuts Create a keyframe Option click on a clips volume
control Create a new compound clipOption G Create a storyline from
a selection of connected clips Command G Add a cross dissolve to
the selection Command T
Homework Assignment: 1. Load up the ZHH Mix Done project you
made. 2. Fix all the audio and SFX in the project and make sure the
balance is correct. a. I should hear the added crash SFX sounds on
the crash portion of the project. 3. Share as an iPod video and
post on iTunes U as (your name) HW 8.m4v
Lesson 8: Working with Sound Apple Pro Training Series Final
Cut Pro X, 2nd Edition Instructor: Sam Edsall