Final Cut Pro HD | H•O•T Hands-On Training [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

1.

Open Hurricane, if it isn't already open. Then, double-click Seq B-roll added to load it into the Timeline.

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2.

Look at the Timeline. See how the audio tracks are organized? This is called the track layout.

Now, audio, unlike video, doesn't care which track is on top, because there is no concept of one track "blocking" another. Rather, sounds are principally perceived based on volume; louder sounds are closer, softer sounds are further away. However, I've also found that the way you organize your tracks makes a difference in mixing and in understanding what you did when you return to a project after a long absence.

Because all our B-roll has audio, we don't need to add any special audio effects. However, if you wanted to emphasize the strength of the storm you could add more wind howling effects, or distant sirens, or…well, anything your imagination suggests, actually.

In this case, we want to add some music to emphasize the emotional response we want viewers to have with the story.

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3.

To do this, drag Hurricane.aif from the Music bin in the Browser down to below track A4 in the Timeline.

Notice that Final Cut automatically creates two tracks to hold it. Why two tracks? Because the audio clip is stereo, which means it has two audio tracks in itone for the left channel and one for the right. All tracks you capture from your camera will also have two tracks, as will most music and sound effects. However, as you'll see, not all sounds require two tracks.

Later in this chapter, you'll worry about setting levels for all this audio. For right now, the job is to get everything in the right placeboth on the right track and at the right time.

Notice, also, that I had you drag the clip from the Browser to the Timeline. This is because the length of the music has already been trimmed to match the length of the story. Although I strongly recommend you use the Viewer to preview all your Timeline elements, there's nothing that prevents you from dragging a clip from the Browser to the Timeline.

4.

And that's it. A nice, simple exercise. Final Cut makes adding music and effects to a sequence very easy. Simply preview it, set any necessary Ins and Outs, then put it on the Timelineeither by dragging, or, preferably, by using the automated tools.

Save your work. But read the next note before you take a break. It will help you prevent future audio problems. Then, you can close this project, because the next exercise uses a different project file.

NOTE | Converting Audio Files

Although Final Cut can handle a wide range of audio files, it likes 44.1K and 48K sample rates the best. You can combine both rates on the same Timeline without needing to render.

Audio Formats

Where things get tricky is in audio formats. Final Cut likes AIF and WAV files. From my experience, I've had the best results using AIF files. Noticeably absent from this list are MP3 and AACthe two audio formats most common over the Web and in iTunes. This omission is not an accidentFinal Cut hates MP3 and AAC files.

They pop. They crackle. They sound flat-out terrible. In short, they need to be converted.

You can buy expensive audio software to handle this conversion, but, truth be told, you already have everything you need bundled with your Macit's called iTunes. Here's how to use iTunes to convert MP3 or AAC files into AIFs for Final Cut.

CD Audio

In OS 9, and earlier versions of Final Cut, converting CD audio into something FCP can read was, well, tricky.

In OS X, that is no longer the case. To convert any audio file on CD into something Final Cut can read, simply drag it from the CD into wherever you want it stored on your computer. The operating system converts it so that Final Cut can play it smoothly.

Important note:
Never import an audio file directly from CD into Final Cut, for two reasons. First, that means the CD needs to be in your drive whenever you edit that project, and, second, CD players are not as fast as hard drives and, many times, that lack of speed can cause dropped frame issues. Always copy all media files to your hard disk for editing.

By the way, it goes without saying that you should have permission from the copyright holder to use any copyrighted materials. All the clips in this book have been licensedwhich is often a time-consuming process. But licensing is far, far better than dealing with lawyers and facing potential civil and criminal penalties because you borrowed a clip you didn't have permission to use. If you didn't create it, then someone else owns it, and you'll need to request permission to use it in any project you create.