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FCP + what audio program?
Let me preface this by saying that I have searched, but am unable to get any really concise answer.
I’m a relatively new videographer doing corporate work and have reached the point where I realize that audio is such a huge part of video work. As a video guy it has generally been an afterthought, but I want that to change. I’m soon going to invest in a decent field mixer and I’m in a pretty good situation for mics, but i’m having some trouble with post production. What program should I use?
At first I was just using the pen tool in FCP and then moved onto Soundtrack Pro, but I’m starting to get the feeling like Soundtrack Pro is pretty rudimentary as well. Am I onto something or am I just not using it correctly? I’ve had a few audio guys come by to give me some tips on working with audio and they all seem pretty confused by how Soundtrack Pro works and all suggest I get into ProTools. I’ve looked online and see that ProTools is used, but maybe not on mass. The other option is Logic Pro.
What do you guys use and what is your workflow when working from FCP? I think that Soundtrack Pro might be fine for me at the moment, but if I’m going to learn the ins and outs of a program I want to know that it is future proof. Suggestions?
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7 Replies
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I mix in FCP. And it does rather well for non-broadcast work. Unless you are a professional audio mixer, I’d avoid getting into ProTools or Logic. FCP and SoundTrack Pro should do what you want.
Soundtrack Pro is pretty in depth. If you find it “rudimentary,” then you aren’t digging into it far enough. YOu need to be taught how to use it, or find tutorials.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Justin,
Exactly what are you having problems with that requires something more powerful than FCP? Other than the fact that FCP is limited by essentially having no sub-frame audio editing capabilities, what precisely is it that you’re trying to do that can’t be accomplished by keyframing?
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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I just mix in FCP for non-critical stuff, things like straightforward interviews for the web, and I’ve put Audio Hijack Pro and PPMulator on my system which I find helps me a lot doing that. (Not that you ever mix to levels, but I’ve been using PPMs for years so I’m very comfortable with them and it enables me to meet broadcast delivery specs).
I’ve used Soundtrack Pro for a few things (like noise reduction), but if it’s a important or complicated mix I take it to a dubbing mixer. It’s partly that someone specialising in sound mixing will do a better job than I can and partly that you need to have properly set up speakers in an acoustically neutral room to hear the subtleties properly, which I don’t have. So I tend to choose the guy and let him use whatever gear he/she’s most comfortable with.
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[Andrew Rendell] “someone specialising in sound mixing will do a better job than I can”
That’s very important for most new editors to know. Everyone has some limitations, and few are equipped to do the same job that a dedicated professional mix facility can accomplish.
However, the fact that Justin says he’s just getting started and has already encountered audio limitations with both FCP and STP concerns me at bit, because I find I can do a heck of lot right on the FCP timeline, and I was a professional mixer in one of my earlier incarnations.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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Sub frame editing, mix processing per channel (not just clip), bussing, decent plugins for dynamics & EQ, variable curve cross fades, metering – all fundamental problems that makes FCP very much an offline edit tool when it comes to audio.
Sound Track Pro is an improvement and basically gives you most of the missing features, but it too is semi pro. Logic is aimed at music production and is not as good as ProTools for video/audio work.Although many audio pros use ProTools, that is partly because it has become a default standard. In my opinion there are better systems and I use Fairlight Xynergi.
If you plan on doing a lot of audio post work, then a system like Fairlight gives you huge processing power, stable and reliable software, dedicated hardware control surfaces, sound library management and supports VST plugins.
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We have digi 003 and protools. Lovely system, fun to use, and having physical sliders makes life so much easier. But besides that, you could save a lot of money and just stick with soundtrack pro. Does most of the same things really.
Dan Browne
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
http://www.indelible.co.nz -
The post audio software is almost irrelevant. I know PT inside-out and mix with it a lot, but if you plump me in front of an unknown system running Logic, I’ll probably get equivalent results out of it. The constant between the two situations is the knowledge of audio. Equipement is secondary. With the Apple ProApps, you’ve got pretty much all the tools you need to produce quality audio. What is likely limiting you is your knowledge of audio production techniques and audio itself, as well as your listening environment and metering.
You could invest into training and completely rebuilding a part of the house as a control room, buying pro VU’s and PPM’s and selling a kidney to pay for speakers, but I think that would be silly. As a videographer, your audio efforts and investment should be focused on capturing the best location audio possible. Eliminating the problems before they occur is the best time investment you can make right now. For critical mix jobs, I suggest hiring a pro mixer. He’ll do the job much quicker than you could, offsetting part of his cost to you. The fact that you don’t have to invest into a dedicated mixing room is quite non-negligeable financially, as well. On top of that, the overall level of production being better than if it’d been done by one person alone, you can maybe up the price of your services a bit.
Audio post is a lot more involved than many video guys seem to think. By having a few people each practice their specialty, the results will always be a lot better, and surprisingly less costly. There is a reason you never hear a one-man-band playing Chopin.
JC Boulay
Technical Director
Audio Z
Montreal, Canada
http://www.audioz.com
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