Audio mixing questions

Since starting with Final Cut, I've set levels in the timeline. Problem is, when I set my first keyframe, whose level I don't want to change, most of the time I inadvertently lower the level by a few decibels. Not a huge deal, but a time waster that adds up and minor embarrassment when the client is sitting next to me. Any way to avoid this?
On the other hand, I've tried switching to the audio mixer, and I don't like that you can only set keyframes when the play head is moving. Is there a way to, using the audio mixer, set a keyframe when the playhead isn't moving, scroll to the desired location of the next keyframe, set a keyframe and adjust it's level, all while the playhead isn't moving?
Seems to me that this process is easier in Avid...but maybe there's an FCP feature I'm overlooking or misunderstanding.
Also, is it possible to gang tracks in FCP's audio mixer? I can't seem to figure that out.
Thanks in advance for help.

For me I have a completely different method when working with audio. Others might think this way is crazy but it works for me. I rarely use "rubberbanding" or keyframes when working with audio. I treat my audio clips the same as video...using edits. I will make an edit where I want the audio level to change and then add an audio cross dissolve between the clips. The only time I will add keyframes is if there is a random peak that I can't knock out using the Compressor/Limiter filter. Like I said though, I rarely need to. Not sure if this is the type of answer you're looking for as it changes the workflow, but I hated the finickyness of the audio keyframes so I just avoid using them.

Similar Messages

Audio Mixer question

I did search first and did try to find an answer in the on line help.
Can the audio mixer controls be ganged like they could in premiere 6.0 which is what I up graded from?
Thanks
Dennis

Dennis,
Back in PrPro 2.0, they could not. I tried to find every possible way to do it, and everyone's answer was "no." After months of reading, poking and trying, that became my answer to. Unless something has changed, it's probably still the correct answer. Now, I did submit my Feature Request, but do not believe that it was ever acted upon. I miss that ability! I also did not realize that it was available in earlier versions of Pr. I wanted it from my old analog days, when I could gang the pots on a mixing board. Heck if earlier Pr versions had it, please Adobe, bring it back.
Do file a feature request and maybe, just maybe, it will come back.
Good luck, and if you DO find a way to do it, please post back,
Hunt

Audio levels on the timeline & Audio Mixer

I'm confused why when you change the audio levels on a clip using the Audio Mixer it changes the levels for everything on the track?
I'm from an FCP & Avid background where you can adjust each clip using the Audio Mixer, is there a way I can do this? I find using the yellow sliders in each clip is very unaccurate and having to open each audio clip in the viewer is such a time waster.
Thanks, Andy

Audio in Premiere Pro is different--but quite a lot, in many circumstances. I'd recommend going through the help file's audio section to get a better idea of what some of the main controls are: Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 & CS5.5 * Editing Audio
But to answer your question more directly: the Audio Mixer controls track volume, not clip volume. By default, the Audio Mixer isn't set to drop keyframes, so it will affect the level of a track as a whole; check out Recording audio mixes to get more background on setting up the Audio Mixer for automation, so that you can record level changes.
The rubberbands (the yellow lines you're referring to) can be more finitely controlled by holding down the Ctrl/Cmd key as you drag; the values will move in smaller increments, then.
You don't have to load a clip into the Source Monitor to adjust the levels, if you want to adjust by the numbers. Just single click a clip in the sequence, and if the Effects Controls panel is forward, you'll be able to adjust the volume with the standard effects sliders/dials. Note that keyframing is enabled by default for the Level property, so if all you want to do is adjust the total level of a clip, it might be faster to do it in the sequence.
Audio mixing in Premiere Pro is pretty capable and the feature set is pretty deep, but I'll grant you it's a little overwhelming coming from a different NLE. I don't know if any of the previous helps you, but post back with any specific questions and we'll try to figure out a way to approach this in a fashion that makes sense to you.

Hardware for Premiere's Audio Mixer?

Hey Adobe Community!
I probably know the answer to this question but I'll ask the experts, you guys, to be certain of it
When Im 'teching out' and getting very perfectionist with my edits, a mouse and digital mixer on premiere just cant satisfy me.
I've been wondering....is there a hardware device somewhere in this tech savvy world that can be programmed to adjust the audio tracks individually in premiere's audio mixer? To fine tune each track to your liking without having to click here and there?
I thought the ShuttlePro V2 can do that but it's more towards the actual video editing.
If anyone can provide me any possible info, or 'hack' so to speak, or straight up tell me it's not possible, then it can settle my mind a lot.
Thanks in advance peeps.

So any device that has the Mackie Protocol can work with premiere? Even if there is a control surface that was made primarily for AVID, as long as it has the Mackie Protocol it can work for premiere?
And is it just the Mackie or can other protocols such as ENCON or Red Rover (just saw an adobe video stating these other control surface protocols)?

5.1 Audio Mixer window

Can anyone tell me what the order of the meters are in a 5.1 project with a 5.1 audio master? The meters appear to be L, R, Ls, Rs, C, Lfe while the surcode plugin is looking for L,R,C,Lfe,Ls,Rs.
Is there any way to change the order of the audio mixer meter to ensure it matches with the surcode plugin?
Also, is there any way to send audio exclusively to the Lfe instead of to L,R,Ls,Rs and Lfe?
THX!

There are several questions and considerations here.
1. the order of the VU meters is predicated on the Audio Tracks (AT) in PrPro. At this stage of things, you place source material on the various AT's and then position them spatially. Effects (say a filter on an AT that you want to go to the LFE channel) also can play a role, but you make the decisions.
2. the "standard order of channels in say a WMA file, with the individual tracks set for stripping to discreet mono WAV elements, is as per below:
Track Number
Track Name
1
Left (front)
2
Right (front)
3
Center (front)
4
LFE
5
Left Surround (rear)
6
Right Surround (rear)
Now, with the SurCode DD 5.1 SS encoding, things change a bit. This does come into play if you go to a program, like Audition:
Track Number
Track Name
1
Left (front)
2
Center (front)
3
Right (front)
4
Left Surround (rear)
5
Right Surround (rear)
6
LFE
Hope that this helps. If you are Importing and placing "standard" discreet SS files onto AT's, use the first table. [I also rename each AT to reflect exactly what is going to be one it.] If you are Exporting, via SurCode to then plan on using table #2, when dealing with the discrete mono files.
Hunt

What to do when the client asks for changes after final audio mix?

Sometimes a client will want changes after the final audio mix has been done. That is, I've already sent the project from Premiere Pro to Audition, done a master mix, and sent it back to Premiere Pro. If I'm then asked to make changes to the video, I don't know of any way to preserve the work I've already done in Audition and just update it with changes. I find myself making the changes in Premiere Pro and re-sending the whole project back to Audition for a completely new mix. This isn't very time efficient, and I'm wondering if anyone knows if I can update a project in Audition with changes in Premiere Pro without having to start again?
Obviously it's best to have picture lock before doing the final mix, but things happen and people change their minds.
I'm working in CS6.
Thanks
Carolyn

"The only question I have is whether it is possible to save any of the work
I've done in Audition when I am resending back from Premiere."
A: Absolutely
"When I add more elements to my sequence and unmute the original track and export the
new sequence to Audition, I am basically starting on a fresh mix, right?"
A: Yes
"It's a new sequence?"
No. It's the same sequence. But without the tracks (stems) you previously had in it.
"The only option seems to be to overwrite. My question is whether I can save any of the work I've already done in Audition- there is often a couple of hours of work in already.
A: Before you do anything, save whatever work you've done in Audtion as a session.

Adobe Premiere Pro Help | Overview of audio and the Audio Mixer

This question was posted in response to the following article: http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/overview-audio-audio-mixer.html

The last section "Customize a VST effect in an options window" for a beginner working their way through the manual makes no sense. VST and how to apply it is not explained, and no explanation appears prior in the manual. To be blunt, it's just a nonsense.

How to setup an artist mix (audio mixer) on final cut pro 7?

how to setup an artist mix (audio mixer) on final cut pro 7?

Hi Meatpuppet,
I'm having the same issue with not getting my audio through to the client on Ichat theater preveiew. I'm on a mac pro with a small DV camera attached via firewire. when I start the chat, the person on the other side sees and hears me fine, but then when I start sharing in FCP, the video switches so that the remote person sees the time line, but loses the audio from me and doesn't hear the audio from the time line...
The manual recommends "disconnecting and external video device" ( then what do us mac pro folks do?)
So my question for you, and I know that you're on and Apogee Duet, is: Was your tinkering in FCP, your system sound settings, or iChat? in other words, where was the disconnect?
thanks.

Understanding Audio Mixing

I'm trying to understand audio mixing. Is this the same as FCP audio tracks being in stereo? This question stems from a project that is still in the rough cut stage that was put to DVD where one channel of audio couldn't be heard. When other DVD's of the project where played on various DVD players (stand alone and computer) both channels can be heard. Usually when I create FCP projects I'm dealing with narration/dialoge and any b-roll audio that may be needed; therefore, I pan my A1 channel to -1 and my A2 channel to 1. This works for outputing to DV cam for an outside audio house to do the final mix. Due to budgeting constraints I'm now being asked to "finish" projects and just want to understand what mixing is and how do you go about doing it.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Mac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7) Final Cut Pro 5.0.4

I can't imagine any DVD player would be mono. DVD is a new enough technology that all DVD players should be capable of a stereo audio signal.
So, if your important audio is panned up the middle, the problem isn't your stereo mix, and it's not the DVD player. It's that someone has set it up wrong. And I don't mix my programs down because some moron can't set up their DVD player properly.
Sounds to me like someone left one of the audio plugs out of their player/tv connection. Or the TV only has one input and they didn't bother bridging the R/L together.
Call me an elitist, call me an a*hole, whatever you want, but I mix my program so it sounds good. From 5.1 down to stereo. I don't mess with mono unless a client specifically requests it.
Imagine what life would be if classic action movies like Seven or the Fifth Element had been mixed for that moron with a cable unplugged in the back of their tv. I'm not going to dumb down my program for these types. Hollywood isn't, why should I? They've obviously become used to only hearing half the program.
If your client specifically requests a mono program, do it. I'm generally my own client, and I wouldn't put out a mono program to cater to the folks who can't hook their equipment up properly.

Audio Mixing Board for PPCS4

Does anyone know of or use an audio mixing board that would control the audio mixer in PPCS4? One that moves the slider in PP when the physical sliders on the board are moved. Thanks

It is an area that would get a lot of flexing and pressure. I bet someone that knows how to solder can fix those up just fine.
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Audio Mix Down

Might be a silly question but here it goes! What is the point of doing an audio mix down at the end of a project in FCP? Does it improve the sound?

HI there
Doesnt improve the sound at all. when you edit you place your music , sfx , source sound on probably 3+ tracks .. "Mix down " combines all these tracks and their audio into two or even 1 usable track/s.

Unable to perform multi audio tracks mixing with Audio Mixer

How do you get a simple multi track mix with the Premier Pro 1.5 Audio Mixer?
I got 2 audio clips, each sitting at the start of its own separate track (Audio 1 and Audio 2). I just want to mix them into the Master track. Simple enough.
So I go to the Audio Mixer. Position the CTI at the start of the tracks and hit the red RECORD button. The red spot starts blinking. Then I hit the START/STOP button expecting the tracks to start mixing into the Master track. Instead, I get this error message
"PLAYER ERROR: You cannot record without enabling at least one track for recording."
I get the same problem if I try the mix onto a submix track.
What am I missing? I combed through the Premiere Pro User Guide and J. Rosenberg's Premiere Pro Studio Techniques but to no avail.
Thanks for any help.
JB.

Jacques, I havn't seen 1.5 for a while, so I need to stress that what I'm about to say is more of an educated guess linked to a rough memory.
Each audio track in the mixer has a small chip (tickbox in 1.5??) that you click in order to enable that track for recording. In CS3 it's a little microphone.
Having said that, I DON'T think that's going to give you what you want, as the intention of the recording functionality in PP is to record audio FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE (like a microphone) straight to an audio track, say, when doing a Voice Over for some video.
You can't "mix down" to the master, as the master is not a track per se. It's just a "final" level control. The master will always be the sum of the active tracks, and THAT'S what will be rendered in the final output.
You can still "live mix" your audio with the faders, it's just that those movements get recorded as keyframes on each of the tracks you modify (including, BTW, the Master).
The advantage to this workflow is that every fader move you make is infinitley editable... a small error when riding the faders can easily be fixed by dragging keyframes.
HTH.
Matthew

__is there a way to save a preset for audio mixer settings...??

I have CS5
Looking to speed up the process so that I don't have to redo the audio mixer settings for every project - rather just tweak where needed.
So wanted to setup the audio mixer how I want it - and just have it set as default for all projects or have some automated way to apply the same audio mixer settings to each new project.
What's the best way to do this my people ?
Thanks!

I agree with Jim Simon. Creating your own template is a good workaround to what would be a good feature.
The ability to save audio presets (and more) is in my feature request list for Pr:
http://forums.adobe.com/message/4392211#4392211
Please add your voice to the chorus requesting this feature, and any (or all) of the other useful features on my list. Adobe listens. Strength in numbers. Here's the feature request link:
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform
Bookmark it.

5.1 Surround audio mixing

Does anyone have some recommendations for a good 5.1 surround audio mixing program?

You might be interested in my post from the Compressor forum on exporting from FCP to Compressor 2 for Dolby Digital:
Here is my procedure for a basic 5 channel project consiting of one stereo pair for the front speakers, a mono track for the center, and a stereo pair for the rear speakers.
First make a copy of your FCP surround project and name it as such.
i.e. My Project saved as My Project_surround
This will leave your original project untouched as a two channel mix should you wish to provide the user of your DVD with a seperate mix optimized for stereo only playback.
We will now be changing audio track assignments.
"My Project_surround" will now not play all tracks in your stereo audio monitoring environment unless you have a soundcard with at least 5 outputs.feeding a surround speaker set-up.
(or you use the Audio Mixer from the Tools drop down to monitor a downmix to two channels)
Open My Project_surround.
Let's assume that your timeline has a stereo pair "A1/A2" for the front L/R speakers, a mono file "A5" for the Center, and a stereo pair "A3/A4" for the rear speakers, Ls, Rs.
Use command "0" (zero) to open the project properties.
Go to the Audio Outputs tab.
Choose 6 from the Outputs Tab.
in the 1/2 grouping choose stereo (leave downmix at "0").
in the 3/4 grouping choose stereo (leave downmix at "0")
in the 5/6 grouping choose "dual mono" (turn off 6 using the downmix drop-down)
Click OK. (ignore the warning that pops up)
In your timeline we will assign your tracks to the appropriate output channels.
In the empty gray area next to the lock icon on track A1 right click, or control click, and you will get a dropdown menu
In the audio outputs sub menu choose 1 & 2.
Do the same for A2. (choose 1 & 2)
For A3 and A4 use the same procedure now choosing outputs 3 & 4.
For A5 choose 5.
Save the project.
In FCP export menu choose Export/Audio to AIFF(s)
(create a new folder on your media drive to hold your exported files)
You will get four files named after the project appended by: 1-2, 3-4, 5 and 6.
Delete "6" as it is a dummy/empty file.
Close your project.
Close FCP.
Open Compressor. In the batch window click on the speaker icon to open the "import surround sound group".
In the graphical interface either drag the file with the 1-2 suffix to the left speaker icon, or click the icon and choose the file.
Compressor will intelligently assign the left channel of the file.
Repeat by dragging or choosing the same file for the right speaker.
Compressor will intelligently assign the right channel of the file.
For the mono center file either drag the file with the "5" suffix to the center speaker icon, or click the icon and choose the file.
Use the same procedure for the Ls and Rs assignments.
Once done click OK.
Click to select your new group in the Batch window and from the dropdown menu choose "audio formats/Dolby 5.1"
Setting up your Dolby settings as a preset for this project is now up to you.

Audio Mixer Won't Slide

We are currently editing a project that has lots of sound fx. When I open the audio mixer I can only adjust the level slider on 3 of my tracks. All of the other tracks say -inf, and they won't move. Even if I enter a number in the box it stays at 0. Any ideas?

You have to have your playhead in the timeline parked over what you want to adjust. If there is no audio where the playhead is located, the audio mixer will behave like you describe.
In order to adjust audio where your playhead is not, highlight the clip/s in the timeline and use modify -> audio -> gain +/-

Audio mixing questions

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