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

FCE Protocol: Exporting Audio Tracks for Finishing

If you need more control over your audio tracks than you can get inside FCE, you can export your edited sequence audio tracks out of Final Cut Express as individual AIFF files and then continue your audio finishing in a dedicated, digital audio editing program such as Pro Tools. FCE's audio export capability features are limited; there's a two-channel limit for each export operation, and the exported audio files are continuousyou lose your edit points. Yuck.

If you have access to a Final Cut Pro workstation, you can open your project created in FCE and export your audio tracks in the Open Media Framework (OMF) file exchange format. The exported OMF file contains the audio files, plus the audio edit information from your project file. That means you can export audio tracks with the original track separations, edit points, cross-fades, and video sync intact and then import them into an OMF-compatible, digital audio workstation, the kind used at most professional, audio post-production facilities. For more information, see "To export audio only from a clip or sequence."

1.

Select a clip or sequence in the Browser, or open the sequence in the Timeline.

2.

Set In and Out points in your clip or sequence to mark the section you want to export as an audio file.

3.

Choose File > Export > Using QuickTime Conversion.

4.

In the Save dialog box, choose an audio export file format from the Format pop-up menu (Figure 19.38 ). Then

do one of the following:

• Choose one of the audio export presets from the Use pop-up menu.

• Click the Options button to access the full QuickTime settings for the format you have selected. In the Sound Settings dialog box, select sample-rate (Figure 19.39 ) and compression settings; then click OK.
  
  

  Figure 19.39. Select data-rate and compression settings from the Sound Settings dialog box and then click OK.

  
  

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5.

In the Save dialog box, type a name for your audio file in the Save As field, select a destination folder, and then click Save.

• You can use the export method just described to convert the 44.1-kHz sample rate of a CD audio track. In the Sound Settings dialog box (see step 4 in the preceding procedure), choose 48 (or 32) kHzthe sample rate that matches your sequence audio's rate. Once you complete the export/sample-rate conversion, import the exported copy back into your project.

• Final Cut Express allows you to mix audio tracks with different sample rates in the same sequence. The program can convert the sample rate of nonconforming audio on the fly as you play back a sequence. Real-time sample-rate conversion does take processor power, however and can occasionally produce nasty audible artifacts, so for best results, convert the sample rates of all your audio tracks to match the sequence settings.

1.

Select a clip or sequence in the Browser, or open the sequence in the Timeline.

2.

Set In and Out points in your clip or sequence to mark the section you want to export as an audio file.

3.

Choose File > Export > Using QuickTime Conversion.

4.

Choose AIFF from the Format pop-up menu; then click the Options button to access the full QuickTime settings for the AIFF format. In the Sound Settings dialog box, select sample-rate (Figure 19.40 ) and compression settings; then click OK.

5.

Type a name for your audio file in the Save As field; then select a destination folder and click Save.

Manipulating LiveType Projects in Final Cut Express

You can import a LiveType project directly into your FCE Timeline and manipulate it just as you would a clip. There's no need to export a rendered version of your LiveType element as you refine the placement and timing of your titles, but you'll still need to open your LiveType element in LiveType if you want to adjust title elements. You can save back and forth between FCE and LiveType as many times as you need. If you aren't manipulating your sequence video as an object within LiveType, then it's best to place it as a background object so that it won't be rendered into the final title sequence.