Audio Suggestions - Workflow

We do a show that's 28 minutes long. We break up the show into 6 parts since PP can't handle multi editors on the same project. Once the 6 parts are all done, we stitch them all together to make one big project and then realize all our audio levels are naturally all different in all 6 parts.
I have a two part question.
1. How can I handle this situation best? What's the best audio workflow for this set up?
2. What's the best way to crank up a clip's audio that is much lower than the surrounding clips? I've got some clips that are very low compared to the surrounding audio and I have them cranked up with the volume bar as high as they'll go, but they are still low.
Right now we are exporting each part with DNxHD and then just bringing in the .MOV files to the final project. I would like to dynamically link them, but for some reason it keeps crashing in PP and Encore every time we do this, so the best "fix" has been for us to export a movie out of each part and use the movie files in our final render. I don't like doing that because we are adding generations, but I don't know how else to do it and still keep the projects stable.

1. Define the projects needs clearly regarding audio levels, and make sure each editor understands (and follows) them.
2. Right click>Audio Gain...

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TechCommSuite suggested workflow for New Documentation

Hi there,
We plan to buy TechComSuite2 to help with our new product documentation. Previously I have used Robohelp to create .chm files and the like, however now we want to produce several outputs:
Quick start guide
Detailed user manual
Configruation (internal use) documentation
and video help/training materials
TC2 has FM, Robohelp and adobe air etc.
What would teh suggested workflow be to produce and maintain documentation?
Am I right that it should be authored in FM with proper 'tags' set up so that sections are included/excluded from certain outputs.
RobotHelp manages the database of images/screengrabs and videos etc, and then batch processest he generation of output formats?
or, should it be written in robohelp and outputted from there?
im not sure really where best to start, and the videos and tutorials I have seen seem to be a little bit too focused on how to do things rather than how the workflow should be structured.
Any suggestions or advise?
cheers
peter brown

thank you. that is helpful.
The images that are in FM - does FM maintain a 'database' of images, so that if an image is used in multiple places in the document and needs to be updated - am I right to say that it is updated in one place only and the change ripples through?
Also, supposing our Quick start guide is a subset of the larger usermanual - are these "tags" (not sure if thats the right terminology) configured in FM so that RH then extracts the correct tags into the corretc output document?
thanks again for help and advice,
very useful to a noob.

No AVCHD lite import - really? Suggested Workflow?

Being thrilled as I was to upgrade to Aperture 3, I now find myself stuck and disappointed with one of the main features I was excited about - video import along with photos. I shoot with a Panasonic GF1 that shoots both RAW images and AVCHD lite video. This is an amazing camera for having the best of both worlds - great photos and beautiful video. But Aperture 3 doesn't recognize the video!!! Huh? There are many consumer and pro cameras that are AVCHD video enabled and it seems strange and disappointing that Apple would not support this widely used format. So now, in addition to not having A3 support the RAW format on the GF1 (which will hopefully change soon), the video is not supported either.
Does anyone have a suggested workflow for easily getting this video into a Aperture 3 project?
-dm

I found a possible solution that does not (exactly) require transcoding and allows the video to be loaded into Aperture (and edited directly in iMovie):
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2411037
The product is called ClipWrap 2 and it worked with a test file of AVCHD lite video from the Panasonic GF1. I downloaded the trial version of the software and it seemed to work perfectly with the sample .mts file. It unwraps the mts file (a H.264 variant) and rewraps into a QT format (H.264 format with .mov extension) without transcoding (it also has options for transcoding). It is VERY fast and there is no generational loss. It can be found here:
http://www.clipwrap.com/
I haven't purchased it yet, but plan to when my GF1 arrives next week (after I perform additional tests). I don't see many downsides to using this (other that spending $50!). It seems to preserve the original video quality and it imports into Aperture. The main downside I see is that Aperture regards the re-wrapping date as the creation date, so metadata is not preserved. On the other hand, you keep the small file size and video quality of the original file. You can always transcode these files if you want something to edit in FCP, although iMovie seems to handle these files without problems.
Dave

Recording narration on tape - extracting audio only - workflow suggestions?

I have a bunch of students who are recording their narration tracks onto tape via a camcorder.
What is the best workflow to get these clips with audio only into iMovie 08?
Presently, we are capturing all the clips iMovie 08, then using Movie Tools Convert to AIFF droplet, dragging the aiff's into iTunes and accessing them in iMovie from iTunes.
Alternative suggestions? There are lots of narration clips and lots of students working in a noisy computer lab, so direct recording is really not a good choice here.
Don't have QTPro on the computers.
If I'm doing the CMD+Shift drag technique correctly, you must drop the clip ONTO an existing clip to get the audio separated from the video.
There is no way to extract the audio any other way in iMovie 08?
Is the better workflow to install iMovie 06 and use it's Extract Audio feature?
There would still be several steps to getting the extracted tracks into iMovie 08.
thanks for any suggestions or pointers

the 'Export with Quicktime..' option allows you to choose 'Aiff' as option.. that exports the audio-only of any project..
so, one option of workflow is: import camcorder-narrations into an Event, create Project, Export As Aiff, (process in Garageband), and the usage of iTunes is in my opinion a very clever way.. (using Playlist to organize audio before usage in iM) ..
another way is, to do all audio work in Garageband.. which is the intended workflow in iLife08.. edit in iM08, 'share', and do all audio in GB ..
consider to install iMHD6 on one computer as 'audio workstation': import tapes into an iMHD6 project, Export as Aiff, share those audio files to other Macs (LAN, usb sticks) - a good naming scheme is of paramount importance
.. There would still be several steps to getting the extracted tracks into iMovie 08.
basicly: yes.

Audio Editing Workflow

Can anyone suggest a brief workflow outline for editing audio? I can then look up the details on my own.
BTW: The audio in question was recorded using Logic into 9 tracks, with ten songs done sequentially. So, I have one song file with a very long arrange window. (Not recorded w/a click-track & don't need it for this project).
How does this sound?
I plan on creating & saving channel strip settings for each audio source; saving the main song file as a project; then doing a 'save as song', one for each of the takes; then open each song file, remove unwanted audio & mix. Perhaps there's a better way to do this, but that's where I stand now.
Now, on to editing & mixing.
Here's my guess at a workflow:
1. Clean the tracks in sample editor:
- remove noise & silence unwanted audio
- replace bad sounds (like bass & drum misses, etc). Is there a way to say, move a bass hit left or right?
- normalize? if so, how many db of headroom does one normally leave for effects.
2. Overdubs: I imagine some magical use of folders to take the best overdubbed bits of each track and mix down into one good take.
3. Finalize effects & Use automation to mix volumes, etc.
4. Bounce / Done.
5. Give project to a professional to do properly.
Any help would be very greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
BTW. I have found the Logic ref manual quite like reading the Korg Triton manual - not very helpful for getting started, but great for paper airplanes. Other softwares have whole help sections on workflows, like photoshop's "how-tos". Again, thanks.

Hi Mark,
A few notes here:
- normalize? if so, how many db of headroom does one normally leave for effects.
Normally, I would not unless it was a gain adjustment for an entire track which had really low levels, then I would do this for the same amount of gain for each file of the same track - so the mix template could be easily reused. A mix template will save a lot of time in this case.
Is there a way to say, move a bass hit left or right?
Yes, though you'll often want to do this after you have divided the sessions per song, usually there is not enough resolution in the Arrange for the job if your several song .lso is 60 minutes, for example.
3
Search copying Audio Configurations, and remember to use the same Audio objects (track) for each instrument so the mix template transfers without hitches. Then of course, mix to taste.
J

Audio-sync workflow without losing meta-data or project bloat?

So I love the FCPX keywords and metadata system and media organization but I'm running into a bit of a problem: I don't know how to use it while also using sync-sound. At least, not without duplicating lots of footage and losing metadata.
For instance, I have a interview project with 20 clips, all with baked-in audio and high quality seperate audio. Here's the only solutions I've found.
Workflow #1
Normally I just tag and organize the 20 clips and then see what I like and what I need. I then run into a problem though, the audio isn't synced, and syncing it after organizing will create compound clips which don't keep the keywords and organization (favorite, rejected, etc) of the original video file. Also, I now have two copies of the same clip. One with two audio tracks and the original.
Workflow #2
I could of course also sync-sound everything before I even start organizing and tagging and then "reject" all the original clips so I can hide them easily and only show my synced files. The problem with this is that I might spend a lot of time syncing files that I'll never end up using.
An even bigger problem with workflow #1 is that I can't make a rough cut to see what I need and don't need without having to re-do everything. Say I edit a simple timeline and I use clip 2, clip 5 and clip 8. If I then want to sync-sound them I can, but they will lose all keywords and data, and I also have to re-edit the synced clips to the timeline. Doing this for a project with 50 or a 100 or more clips basically means you have to re-do the entire edit.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but this all seems really clunky. I don't see why FCPX can't just automatically find and add any sync-sound the clips that are already edited to the timeline.
I realise that PluralEyes does something sort of similar, but it has more problems:
-It adds workflow bloat... it's a bunch of extra steps and time you have to spend outside of FCPX not editing
-You still have to manually find the audio clips that correspond to the clips on the timeline and line them up roughly
-PluralEyes will mess up your timeline and add lots of gaps that then need to be cleaned up.
-With longer audio-files it seems to not work a lot of the time, and It'll just leave your timeline a mess and without an actual solution
Does anybody know if there's a better workflow for this? Because it all seems very convoluted and non-sensical. Our computers are really fast and audiofiles are relatively small and easy to decode and analyse. I don't understand why there's just not an option to have Final Cut scan your event's audiofiles and compare them to the clips in the timeline and then just automatically sync the sound. It could even make compound clips for all I care, as long as it automatically places them in the timeline in the same place as the original clip and keeps the keywords etc in the event browser.
Not that any of these ways are any worse than what I always used to do in the old FCP or Premiere, but still. There has to be a better way!
Please tell me I'm missing something, or doing something wrong.

_Freighter_, I support your statement 100%.
I need to cut a documentary shot over 10 days for which I keyworded everything. Now I need to sync audio and I face the exact same issues as you and I don't know how to get started ...

5.1 audio suggestions for FCS2 with a Decklink Extreme and Mac Pro?

I'm using a Mac Pro with Final Cut Studio, and I'm wondering if I can get 5.1 sound out of the decklink card. When I use a Firewire interface (M-audio firewire 410) to output audio, it is out of sync with the video coming out of the decklink card. So I guess the alternative is to find out how to get AES/EBU to output the 12 channels it says it can do in HD. I can't afford an HDCAM deck with 12 outputs, so how would any of you suggest I go about doing something like this? I really just want to get 5.1 going and in sync for the Final Cut Studio 2 release.
Thanks so much for any help!
Bob Stovall

Hi Bob,
I'm using a Mac Pro with Final Cut Studio, and I'm
wondering if I can get 5.1 sound out of the decklink
card. When I use a Firewire interface (M-audio
firewire 410) to output audio, it is out of sync with
the video coming out of the decklink card.
See my response to your other post on this. Note that M-Audio is not famous for excellence with Core Audio drivers.
So I
guess the alternative is to find out how to get
AES/EBU to output the 12 channels it says it can do
in HD. I can't afford an HDCAM deck with 12 outputs,
so how would any of you suggest I go about doing
something like this?
The Decklink AES/EBU hardware output will only source 2 channels of audio. If you have the 410, just use that with your audio software and set up the offset as I previously described. Plug its analog outs into your surround controller. It's very straight forward and you shouldn't have too much trouble.
If you tell us what audio software you're intending to use to produce your soundtrack, we could probably be more helpful.

Suggested Workflow when correcting Perspective in external Editor

I am using PTLens as an external editor to correct perspective distortion on wide angle shots. I'm writing a TIFF for PTLens and stacking it with the original RAW upon return to LR.
What would the recommended workflow be for doing that?
Do basic development first on RAW, then edit in PTLens, then crop?
Do edit in PTLens first, then go on with basic development on the TIFF?
I see the following issues:
After "burning" the TIFF for PTLens, I lose the ability to alter the corrections made on the RAW (e.g. local adjustments)
I need to do at least a crop in LR after correcting perspective in PTLens
Thanks for any suggestions.
Beat Gossweiler
Switzerland

Beat,
It is frustrating to have multiple version of the same images due to having to go to outside programs to perform certain functions. Ultimately, I believe LR will accommodate our needs in lens distortion as well as noise removal (and a few other key areas) in the RAW pipeline either through improved LR features or through the allowing of plug-ins directly into the pipeline. In the meantime, I use the following workflow (only for images that I take outside of LR, either PS or other programs, which is a few as possible):
1.     develop in LR using my camera specific default settings
2.     fix white balance as it seems to work best with the RAW file before conversion to TIFF (definately before conversion to JPEG)
3.     export to TIFF into outside program
4.     perform outside program modifications
5.     import the modified TIFF (hopefully automatically) back into LR
6.     stack the TIFF with the RAW and make the TIFF the top image (automatically if possible)
7.     make all other adjustments (cropping, exposure, adj brusth, etc.) to the TIFF, treating it as the negative
It seems to keep me from getting confused about which image to work on when in LR.
Everybody of course has their own strategy. Hopefully you will come up with one that works for you. Good luck.
Jeff

Audio Suggestions for Filming School Plays

I'm trying to obtain a better quality soundtrack for my wife's school plays (she's the music teacher). They don't have much of a sound system although I can combine the music from a digital source and the audio from the microphones (for speaking parts) into one stereo mini-jack. What is missing is the general audio; that is she has 100 kids on stage at once singing and there are no omni directional mic's that can pick that up. I have a Sony SR12 set up at the back of the auditorium and the audio is atrocious from that distance (and with that equipment).
Any recommendations? I'm looking for mic setup suggestions and recording source equipment that I can later take into Final Cut and sync with the video.
Keep in mind as best you can that while I do love my gadgets, I don't have $2000 bucks to spend on equipment, but I want to get this as close to professional as I can.
Thanks in Advance.

I video school plays as well: three cams (two HDV for following actors/action, one DV to cover the whole stage); My best audio has come from using a Rode NT4 dual capsule X/Y mic in the center, and a matched pair of Rode NT5's with omni capsules hard left and right.
The NT4 center gets good stereo and minimized the sound stage shift (left and right) as a centered actor turns his head left and right. Wide set stereo mics can have the sound stage flying all over the place as actors move their heads, but don't actually travel anywhere on the stage. The Rode needs phantom power OR a battery and plugs right into an XLR input on my HDV or DV cams. This mic pair I consider the stereo master audio track, so I use the DV camera (uncompressed PCM).
The two omni mics set left and right are used for overall ambiance if I need to add it (lightly), enhanced stereo, and uneven volume when actors speak from hard stage left/right, or even in the wings. I use the NT5 pair because they are a good match for the NT4 capsules from an audio perspecive, and they are small. They need phantom power and plug into XLR camera input.
The third camera only records audio for sync purposes, and I use the on camera mic.
Newer alternative that I've only tried on a short piece, but it worked well:
A Zoom H4n digital recorder. It has decent (not as good as the Rode's) on board mics that are in an X/Y pattern at 90 or 120 degrees (more centered / more stereo). It also has two XLR or 1/4" input jacks that can supply phantom power to external microphones. It will record all 4 tracks at once in 16 bit 48kHz uncompresed (WAV), or various compressed formats. It takes SD/HC cards, and a 8MB card (about $20 or less from Amazon) will hold hours of audio. It runs on batteries (risky or a wall wart that is included. It can mount to a camera tripod mount, and a mic stand adapter is included.
It's cheap enough, and for many uses, the onboard X/Y mics would be fine. Our theater stage is quite large, so the outboard external mics are needed to even things out.
Note also that I avoid whatever sound-reinforcement mics/speakers the theater wants to use. Too many ground loop issues, and reinforcement is different than audio for video. Keep your mics away from the speakers
The Zoom is about $350 from Sweetwater.
Then you can use your on camera mic for backup (something goes whoops, you still have sound, and you have flexibility in mic placement; the Zoom goes center, but maybe a bit back from the stage to pick up a more even sound stage; the omni l/r mics at about the same distance. Since the four tracks are two stereo pairs, you can play with delays if you get chorusing or echoing due to sound delays. But they are close enough to the audio source (the singers), that ambient echos are reduced and can be dealt with using compression, gates, etc. in FCP.
If you want to get more serious about audio for video, there's alway Logic or ProTools depending on your needs. I have ProTools for my studio (audio only), but have only used the LT version once for a problematic HVAC noise background I need to deal with. Probably could have done it in Sound Track Pro, but I'm just more familiar with PT.
Good Luck.
Eddie O
Message was edited by: Edward A. Oates

Scratchy face makes scratchy audio-suggestions?

I was looking for a FCP filter to reduce the noise from an interview. His face/beard scratches against his shirt collar and makes a prickly noise. I've tried adjusting the high and medium frequencies in the 3 band equalizer, as well as the DeEsser. I don't want to have to export this to Soundtrack if I can help it, but the FCP forum said I probably would have to do it in Soundtrack. I haven't used it much - any suggestions?

I've run in to a similar situation with audio. As EQing is really the only way you might be able to reduce the noise (certainly not eliminate it) there's probably no good reason to use STP. Although, STP does have some better EQ tools than does FCP. Either way, don't expect miracles. Again, you might be able to reduce it some but you'll likely not eliminate it altogether.

Audio setup in CS5 and audio overlay workflow

Here is the situation: I have a 720p mpeg 2 file of a football game that is the original tv broadcast. The file contains muxed A/V. I also have the radio version of the same game in mp3 format with different announcers for the game. I would like to overlay the radio audio with the television video and keep everything in sync.
1. What would be a good workflow to achieve this? Can this be done in Premiere or Encore?
2. I would like to give the viewer the option to watch the game using the TV audio or radio audio. Similiar to a dvd movie with English or Spanish versions. How can i set up a menu option for this in Encore.
thanks for any help.

Bill, thanks for the help. I have 2 other questions.
1. How do i convert the mp3 to .WAV and
2. what is the workflow to do a "Audio Setup" option in the main menu?
thanks.

Suggested Workflows

Hi,
I'm editing in FCP but also using imported still digital images. Can anyone suggest a good workflow for editing in color after? Should I color correct all my images before importing? Or import them after color?
I am lost,
Thanks,
Tracey

Just to make sure we're totally on the same page...
Filter layers that make up a photoshop image stored as a psd are not the way that COLOR works, and psd as a format is not supported by COLOR.
But corrections made to a jpg in COLOR will be the same as that applied to any other supported format and rendered ("flattened") as such as a new jpg.
jPo

N8 AUDIO suggestion

I GOT MY N8 FOR A MONTH NOW
I TS A COOL DEVICE RATHER THE COOLEST ONE
HOWEVER   THE AUDIO IS NOT LOUD ENOUGH FOR ME
FOR LISTENING TO MUSIC OR OVER HEADPHONE THE OINLY SETTING THAT WORKS IS NEAR THE MAX VOLUME
THE SAME FOR RINGER VOLUME IN A TWO STORY HOUSE IF THE HANDSET IS ON FIRST FLOOR UNABLE TO LISTEN TO RINGER
EVEN SIMPLE HANSEDS FROM LOCAL MANUFACTURES LIKE SPICE OR VIDEOCON ARE LOUDER THAN N8
THE EARLIER NOKIA HANDSET THAT MY DAD USES HAS A LOUDER RINGTONE
I ALSO HAVE AN E5 WHICH I GOT LAST NOV ITS MAX VOLUME IS EVEN LESS THAN N8
listening to music on its speaker is not a good exp . neither on headphones
for n8 i donot know whether this issue is with set or common .....
but it is supposed to be a mutimedia device    a few videos i put in it    and showed to my friend ...... u have to hold the mobile in your hands and at max volume so that the two people can get audio
tried putting it on a table nearby with some support   the audio fades away ( the spakers were not covered in that case)
i request nokia to plz make hansets audio louder    if someone has any problem it can be lowered by using volume keys

Bad headphones are connected, you need to connect until it becomes audible click

Multicamera and audio suggestions

Hi,
I have two cameras recording of an event. I have a separate audio recorded from someone else that I would like to incorporate in the final multicamera editing. What is the best work flow for this? In other words, I don't want the audio from the cameras. I want to use the audio from the separate recording in the final multicam output.
thanks!!!

Just bring the audio onto the timeline and visually align the waveform to the audio from the video. It's not hard. I do it all the time with music videos I make of myself fingerpicking acoustic guitar. No mic I stick on the cam is going to be anywhere near the quality I can achieve from a good 1/2" condenser a foot away from the guitar, so I record a wave into Audtion as I'm videotaping, do whatever editing I need to do with it, and then export and bring into Premeiere afterwards. It's really very easy.
In case you're wondering, I couldn't get as good of results running my mic into a cam even if it had good XLR ins and volume controls because acoustic instruments require some processing. Guitars especially love compression and reverb. There's not a plugin in the world for either compression or reverb that can come close to my hardware units, so I choose to run a mic through my mixing desk and add effects live as I'm playing. Of course this has nothing to do with your case. I'm just saying....

Suggested Workflow for Mail?

A few months ago I switched over from using Opera's mail client to Apple Mail. I've been happy so far, but one thing bothers me: I have a buildup of messages in my inboxes.
With Opera, new messages would be shown in an "unread" inbox. The program would distinguish whether you'd viewed a message or not, but messages would remain in the "Unread" box until they were manually marked as read or moved. Messages marked as read would be removed from the "Unread" box but would exist in the inbox for that account, making it quick and easy to have messages archived and easily retreivable.
Apple Mail lacks an "unread" box. While on OSX 10.6, I had created a folder called "Read and Stored" and manually moved messages to that folder to clear them from the main mail view. It seems that the "discussions" feature of Mail in OSX 10.7 requires that all messages be in the same folder/view, however. I've taken to using the colored flags for further mail sorting, but things feel a lot more cluttered than when I was using Opera. Does Apple intend for people to just junk up their inbox and never clear out old messages? How do you handle sorting your mail? Suggestions and advice please!

You can create your own "unread" inbox by creating a new "smart mailbox" that includes all inboxes where the message has not been read. This is just a smart search of your inboxes so the mail stays in the inbox but is listed in your new "smart mailbox" until read.
Mail > Mailbox > new smart mailbox > define criteria.
I have several of these for different purposes including mail from Apple support communities. Makes it easy to review and delete as a group.
Regards,
Captfred

Audio Suggestions - Workflow

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