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Quick Guide to Audio Editing & Mixing
Quick Guide to Audio Editing & Mixing
Site: Community Media Training Organisation
Course: Features & Documentary Production
Book: Quick Guide to Audio Editing & Mixing
Printed by: Giordana Caputo
Date: Monday, 21 July 2014, 1:37 PM
http://cmto.trainingvc.com.au/
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Table of contents
1 Audio Editing & Mixing
2 File Formats & Other Tech
3 Listen and Log
4 Use an Edit Plan
5 Back it up
6 Mix Well
7 Keep it real
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1 Audio Editing & Mixing
Seamless audio editing and mixing is a skill that comes with
practice and time.
There are so many editing programs out there, some of which are
free like Audacity andothers which are used by the pros, like the
appropriately named Pro-Tools.
As the saying goes, 'a poor worker blames his tools', which
kinda contradicts the othersaying of a 'worker is only as good as
his tools' but whatever, down with gender-specificcliches, what
really matters is geting your head around the basic principles of
editing:
File formats & techy stuff
Listen & log
Use an edit plan
Make back-up copies (Crtl Z/Undo)
Mix well
Keep it real
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/http://www.avid.com/us/products/family/pro-tools/
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2 File Formats & Other Tech
You don't have to be a sound engineer to edit audio, but some
basic theory can help youget the most out of your recordings.
If you haven't downloaded and played with Audacity yet, do it
now- it's freeware and itsfun!
They also have a great tutorial that can be applied to almost
any editing software as itcovers the basic theory:
Digital Audio Theory
And if you are a real rookie, it takes you through the basics
here:
Editing for Beginners- Audacity
1. Introduction to Editing...2. Cut, Copy & Paste3. Silence,
Duplicate and Split4. Splitting and Submixes
Check out all their tutorials here
And if you want a little bit more in-depth info on sound theory,
this resource from JISC Digital Media includesdefinitions and a
glossary of terms:
An Introduction to Digital Audio
Tips from the pros:
An audio file format is a special container for storing audio
data on a computer system.
There are 3 kinds of formats:
Raw or uncompressed audio formats, such as WAV, AIFF and AU
Lossless compression formats. These use data compression
algorithms that allow the exact original data to bereconstructed
from the compressed data. Formats include Apple Lossless (ALAC) and
lossless Windows MediaAudio (WMA)
Lossy compression formats. This method compresses data and then
decompressing it retrieves data that may wellbe different from the
original, but is close enough to be useful in some way. Formats
include MP3, Vorbis, lossyWindows Media Audio (WMA) and AAC.
The MP3 has become the ubiquitous file format. A team of
European engineers invented it and it became an ISO/IECstandard in
1992. Since then, it has become the pre-eminent format because its
codec (compression –decompression) provides a final output at least
one fifteenth the size of the original with little audible quality
loss.
There are many different file formats for storing audio data,
and they are described in the file name by their extension:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorial_basics_1.htmlhttp://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorial_ed_beginner1.htmlhttp://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorial_ed_beginner2.htmlhttp://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorial_ed_beginner3.htmlhttp://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorial_ed_beginner4.htmlhttp://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorials.htmlhttp://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/guide/an-introduction-to-digital-audio
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FORMAT EXPLANATION EXTENSION
WAV Microsoft wave audio file .wav
AAC A newer MPEG sound format .aac
OGG Ogg Vorbis .ogg
MP3 MPEG-1 Layer III .mp3
WMA Microsoft wave audio file .wma
AIFF Audio Interchange File (Mac) .aiff
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3 Listen and Log
Logging notes are a comprehensive set of notes describing your
audio material.
It's a great ideal to listen back to your audio straight after
you record it, firstly to makesure it worked and secondly to note
down the times when something really jumps out atyou as a good
quote.
Detailed and accurate notes will make writing your production
script much easier.
Steps for logging tape:
• Listen to the material straight through a first time jotting
down as much as you can without stopping the tape. Leavelots of
blank space that you can go back and on a second listening fill in
more information.
• On the second listening make a note of the time of where
interesting points are made and add extra detail.
• The third time you listen to the tape, go to sections that
were particularly interesting. Fill in the specifics of what
wassaid. Stop, play and rewind the recording to write down the
first and last words of what you want to keep notingwhere they
occur in the recording.
• When listening to your longer interviews, use your list of
interview questions to assist you in structuring your
loggingnotes.
Tips from the pros
NPR & BBC Producer Scott Gurian explains the difference
between logging and transcribing tape,"...The way I log tape is to
note any significant conversations, quotations or segments of
ambiencewith just a few, descriptive words or parts of a quote that
will help me remember that segment lateron. I often use
abbreviations and my own style of shorthand to avoid writing out
whole sentences."
Read his other tips on logging and why transcribing can be
really useful here.
http://www.wnyc.org/people/scott-gurian/http://www.airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=240
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4 Use an Edit Plan
An editing plan helps make the editing process faster.
Have a complete editing plan written out before you begin.
You may change it but it's better to start out with a basic
direction in mind.
It will save a lot of time in the long run.
Your plan is based on the original audio file.
Don’t cut this one up.
Keep it and copy the segments that you decide to use and paste
them into a new file.
Edit plan step-by-step
Complete a comprehensive logging of the recordingNote on your
Edit Plan, the start point of the various parts that you wish to
cut out.Listen for any noticeable variations in the background
noiseConsider how the segment will fit into your overall piece
Edit Plan Sample
Filename: Banana.wav
Title: Interview with the Dusty Bananas
Date: 30/5/2014
Speaker/Performer(s): Barney from the Dusty Bananas and Jon
Brown
Producer: April Turner
SegmentNumber
First and Last Words DurationCounter Time (start)
and comments
1.
Starts:// “Welcome to the program, when did you start
recordingthe first album?”// “It was a process that..
Ends: and we just knew that we’d hit the bigtime..”
40 secs1’12 – cut my firstquestion, brilliantresponse.
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2. Starts:“here is a song// (Cough) Excuse me //called…”
Ends: “..it was called “Peel” from the album Unzip the
Yellow”//
0.10 secs 2’02 – cut cough
3.
Starts: “We can’t wait to get to Queensland..”
Ends “…it is seriously, the best record we have ever made.
Thanks//James..er.//Jon”
58 secs2’30 – add track in underthis section
Download the Edit Plan Template here
http://cmto.trainingvc.com.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=1259http://cmto.trainingvc.com.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=1259
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5 Back it up
Digital audio editing is based on the concept of non-linear
editing, meaning we can accessany part of the recording at any time
and manipulate it without having to listen frombeginning to end,
it's a total time-saver!
But it can also mean we can screw-up and cut and delete things
we didn't mean to.
Hence the importance of good file management and back-ups and
the amazing power ofCRTL Z or UNDO!
Good file management
When working with programs like Audacity & Pro-Tools we can
use non-destructive editing, which means the audioedits that you
perform will not alter the original audio file that is stored on
your hard drive.
Most audio-editing programs use session files, these are files
which 'reference' audio files and the changes we maketo them
without actually altering the original file.
So you have to 'mix-down' in order to actually make the changes
to the audio file.
Nondestructive Editing means that as you are working on your
sessions, you:
Use less disk spaceCan create multiple arrangements and edits
without copying audio filesEdit without concern for altering the
original recording
This is really handy, but can take some getting used to, just
remember you need to save the session file AND theaudio files to
your back-up, so that when you open it again all the bits and
pieces are there for the session file toaccess.
It's important to make sure you name and save your files in a
manner that will make sense to you and anyone elsewho might want to
access them.
Using words like FINAL aren't always helpful, it's better to
number versions sequentially and keep all files in the
onefolder.
Get into the habit of backing this folder up, either to a
thumb-drive or the cloud.
If you do decide to work on the acutal sound file rather than a
session file, start out by making a copy of it andnaming it RAW
AUDIO, that way if you do make mistakes, need to copy sections or
re-edit you will always have theoriginal file.
And use CRTL-Z or UNDO to your heart's content, they really help
when you nip something just that bit too tight, orcut the quote
instead of trim it!
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6 Mix Well
Mixing skills take time to master and training your ear to hear
what works well.
Mixing, like edting, should be smooth, seamless and completely
invisible to ouraudience.
We don't want anything to distract from our content!
There are few tricks to a smooth mix:
1. Record plenty of 'atmos' or 'room noise'
You can use atmos to blend sections of interviews together,
match up sectionsand segue into narration
2. Use music and SFX
Music is a great tool for smoothing out edits, covering changes
in recordings and of course creating atmosphere -more on this in
the next module!
3. Slow fade
Using a super-slow fade in/fade out or crossfades in your mix
can make all the difference to the profressionalism ofyour piece.
If you're going to use a fade make sure you have heaps of lead-in
and lead-out time, you can copy andpaste tone to make it longer for
a really smooth crossfade that never actually dips in amplitude.
Try not to fade outvoices, unless its for a special effect, instead
do a slow cross fade to atmos/music/background. Think of your fades
asliterally smothing out the surface of your audio, so everything
maintains the same audio-level and blends elegantly.
4. Let it breathe
Pace, pause and timing are really important in your mix. You
might be tempted to cut everything really short and doquick
crossfades, but always think of the listener! In features and docos
we are presenting a lot of in-depthinformation and we need to give
our listener time to catch up, think and reflect on the points. So
we need to makespace for that, not heaps, but some natual pauses,
some short segues and non-jarring transitions.
5. Mastering
It'd be rad if we all had sound engineers to master our final
sessions to broadcast quality standard, but the reality iswe don't
all have that luxury in community radio. If you do have a sound
tech at your station, ask them for some tipson using the 'master'
track, compression and EQ (equalisation) on your piece. There are
some really simple tools in allaudio editing software that you can
use to boost the quality of your final mix. Read this great
processing guide fromTransom.org's Jeff Towne here for some basics.
And this section on Voice Processing is also super helpful.
Tips from the Pros
Jeff Towne is the resident mixing guru at Transom.org and he
says, "Achieving proper levels whenrecording and mixing is one of
the most fundamental tasks in audio production, yet it
remainsconfusing to many producers. There’s a good reason for that:
there is a dizzying array of standards,often in conflict with one
another. Adding to the confusion, there’s no single answer for what
the“correct” audio level is, but understanding the most common
norms is very important. Independent
http://transom.org/2003/basics-processing/http://transom.org/2004/tweaking-levels-voice-processing/
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producers and reporters are increasingly responsible for
creating the final audio product, whether it’s a podcast, a
short feature, or a complete radio program."
Read his simple how-to on levels here
This is a great guide to mixing basics in Pro-tools from
Transom.org
http://transom.org/2011/levels/http://transom.org/2014/pro-tools-3-mixing-basics/
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7 Keep it real
Your first and final consideration when it comes to edting is
keeping it real.
You have an ethical obligation to your subject and your listener
to ensure thateverything you present is true, accurate and in
context.
So think carefully about your cuts and whether 'cleaning'
something up might actuallychange the context.
Use your scripting to fill in the gaps when the tape is not up
to scratch, or go backand re-record.
If you're troubled by anything get your EP to listen to your raw
audio or check with your interviewee on any sectionsyou think might
be ambiguous.
Keeping it real also means not over-editing your piece.
In features and docos we have much more time than if we are
simply using a short grab for news purposes.
So try to maintain some of the natural sound of your
interviewees, if they have quirks of speech and turn of phrasekeep
some of it, not every um, ah and pause, but those bits that make
them sound human, add to the drama ortension and give the listener
pause.
Voices and speech communicates so much about a person, not just
what they say, but how they say it!
Tips from the pros
Okay so some of this will make you cry, but it really
demonstrates the power of pause and voice:
Siobhan McHugh interviewed Vietnam War correspondant Jan Graham,
have a listen to the three
minutes of tape here, it's barely been edited- (content
warning)
The rest of her article is here
Living Outback is a project from PBA FM in Adelaide and the
Community Radio Network which lookedat contemporary issues facing
rural and remote communities
This powerful piece aired as a section of the Shattered Lives
program (content warning)
3:22
2:12
http://transom.org/2011/siobhan-mchugh-power-voice/http://livingoutback.com.au/program-details/shatteredlives/http://transom.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Jan_Graham.mp3?_=2http://cmto.trainingvc.com.au/draftfile.php/41/user/draft/329455407/Living%20Outback%20excerpt.mp3