Audio transition settings

[dariomik]

Hi,

I'm trying to clean up my audio in a documentary - lots of cuts and interviewer + ambient noise - and make it sound smoother by adding audio transitions. But each time a transition is added, it adds handles to my audio which screws up my previous cleaning.

How do I change audio transition settings to alleviate that?
Any better suggestions on smoothing my audio?
I've never worked in Soundtrack Pro - would that be a better idea?


Thanks in advance.

 

[Ferret Lady]

maybe use the pen tool to drop your audio waveforms down at the end of the clip rather than using cross dissolves?

 

[Alex H.]

Hi,

I'm trying to clean up my audio in a documentary - lots of cuts and interviewer + ambient noise - and make it sound smoother by adding audio transitions. But each time a transition is added, it adds handles to my audio which screws up my previous cleaning.

How do I change audio transition settings to alleviate that?
Any better suggestions on smoothing my audio?
I've never worked in Soundtrack Pro - would that be a better idea?


Thanks in advance.

In order for audio clips to cross-fade, they have to use overlapping portions of the clips. To counteract this, you have to adjust the center-point of the cross-fade, then adjust the length of the transition. Both steps will help you work around the audio you don't want exposed. It also helps to have different types of fade curves at your disposal.

FCP really doesn't have the control you need to do this effectively, and it really has only two types of cross-fades. STP is a good place to start, since it is made for editing sound specifically. I use ProTools, which I like because I can take projects from many different programs... all I need is an OMF and a Quicktime movie... and I can transfer projects to other studios since ProTools is so prevalent. STP can import OMFs as well, but I prefer the interface and capabilities of ProTools over STP.

Remember that, while the audio capabilities today are miles above what they were even 5 years ago, NLEs like Final Cut and AVID are video editing applications. Sound mixing is an afterthought for these programs, and most audio mixes that are done within an NLE are really only for a quick viewing copy before the audio post in completed in another suite on another program.

Again, you can start with STP. But if you don't know what you're doing with audio post, you can do more harm than good. It might be time to find some one to do the sweetening/mixing for you.

 

[dariomik]

Thanks C2V for your insight very much. But since it's my debut in this field and non-profit and a rather-for-training flick, hiring a sound post guy is noy an option right now.

I will post a link to it here whenever I finish working on it and will gladly hear your opinions