Visual QuickStart Guide [Electronic resources] : Final Cut Express HD for Mac OS X نسخه متنی

Using the Audio Tab

The capture settings for a clip determine how its audio appears in the Viewer. Stereo clips are panned full left and full right by default, and clips with one or two channels of discrete audio are panned center.

To open an audio clip:

Do one of the following:

Tip

Don't forget: You can stretch the Viewer window across your monitor to make a wide viewgreat when you're working with audio. You can see more of the clip, which makes marking and level adjustments easier (Figure 12.9 ). Resize it manually or click the green zoom button in the upper-left corner of the window. Figure 12.9. When you review a long, unedited audio recording, the wide Viewer window is a great place to set markers in preparation for breaking the clip into subclips. [View full size image]

To access the audio channel for an audio+video clip:

Figure 12.10 ).



Figure 12.10. Click the Audio tab to access the audio portion of an audio+video clip.











Scaling and scrolling an audio file




The Zoom slider is located along the bottom of the Audio tab. You use it to scroll through an audio file and to adjust the time scale of your view. You can view several minutes of audio in the window or focus on a fraction of a frame. The Zoom slider also appears on the Filters tab, the Motion tab, and the Timeline.

To scroll through your file:

Figure 12.11 ).



Figure 12.11. Drag the Zoom slider across the scroll bar to navigate through an audio file. This control doesn't move the playhead, just the view.










To adjust the time scale:

Do one of the following:

Figure 12.12 ). Click a thumb control and drag it to shrink the time scale and expose more of your audio file (Figure 12.13 ).



Figure 12.12. Use the thumb controls to vary time scaling. A smaller Zoom slider indicates an expanded time scale.










Figure 12.13. Drag the thumb control. A longer Zoom slider indicates a more compressed time scale.







• Click the Zoom selector to the left of the Zoom slider to jump to a different time scale (Figure 12.14 ); the current playhead position stays centered in the view area.
  
  

  Figure 12.14. Jump to a different time scale with one click using the Zoom selector.

  
  

  
  





Setting edit points on the Audio tab




You set In and Out points and markers on the Audio tab in the same way you do on the Viewer's Video tab. The overlays for these markers appear on the Audio tab ruler at the top of the waveform display.

Because video is captured and stored as frames, the smallest adjustment you can make to a video edit point is a single frame. Digital audio, however, is captured in subframes as samples forming a continuous waveform. In FCE, audio edit points can be set to an accuracy of 1/100 frame. The Audio tab is the only place you can make subframe adjustments to an audio clip's In and Out points. Most likely, you'll need this kind of fine-tuning when you are finessing a music edit.

You can also place keyframes with the same precisiona lifesaver when you are working your way through a really good dialogue take with a couple of bad clicks or pops. The subframe precision allows you to use audio level keyframes to silence that audio just for the few milliseconds it takes to mute the click.

Lost in the Waveforms? Audio Tab Editing Tips When you're trying to fine-tune an audio edit point on the Audio tab, it's easy to lose track of your location as you zoom and scroll through your audio clip's waveforms. Here's a navigation method to try while editing on the Audio tab: To make subframe adjustments to an audio clip's edit points: 1. Open the audio clip on the Audio tab; then jump the playhead to the edit point you want to adjust. 2. Use the marquee selection feature of the Zoom tool (Figure 12.15 ) to zoom in until the playhead looks like a bar. Figure 12.15. Use the Zoom tool to drag a marquee around the playhead. When the view zooms in, the playhead will still be in view. 3. Hold down the Shift key; then click the Audio tab playhead and drag it to the subframe location of the new In or Out point (Figure 12.16 ). Figure 12.16. Hold down the Shift key; then drag the Audio tab playhead to the exact location of the new In or Out point. 4. Press I (or O) to stamp a new In (or Out) point (Figure 12.17 ). Figure 12.17. Press I (or O) to set a new In (or Out) point. This In point has been adjusted to trim out a small pop at the beginning of a word. Tip To add an audio keyframe in a location that's not on a frame line, you don't need to adjust the playhead; just zoom way in and use the Pen tool to add the keyframe. To drag an audio clip into the Timeline or the Canvas window: 1. Start with an open clip and the Viewer window selected. 2. Position the pointer over the drag hand. When the pointer changes to a hand shape, you're in the right spot (Figure 12.18 ). Figure 12.18. Click and hold to grab the drag hand. 3. Drag from that spot to the Canvas or the Timeline. This inserts your audio clip into the open sequence (Figure 12.19 ). Figure 12.19. Drag and drop to insert a clip into a sequence in the Canvas window. Sounds Good: Scrubbing Audio with JKL Keys Use JKL keys to get a better low- and high-speed playback; dragging the playhead across the Scrubber produces ghastly chopped-up-sounding playback that's not useful for much. (Toggle audio scrubbing off and on by pressing Shift-S; you'll still be able to use the JKL key method.) Here's how to use JKL to zero in on a precise point: Press L and K together for slow forward playback; press J and K together for slow reverse playback. Release the L (or J) as you keep the K key depressed for precision playhead parking on any frame.