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Adjusting audio nodes in sequence timeline
Is there a way to make audio adjustments in the timeline so that the fade down (or fade up) is LINEAR, and not so “bezier”-like? I come from a Media 100 background – – the level adjustments between the nodes (“rubber bands”) were always a straight line, and the audio playback reflected those ramps accurately. In FCP, the levels between the nodes fade logarithimacally… I.E. – a fade down will fade only slightly, then take a sudden dump to zero when it hits the node.
Thanks!
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6 Replies
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First & foremost: Audio is not linear. It’s logarithmic by nature. While the display on your M100 may have looked linear, I doubt that it was.
Second: FCP offers 2 different kinds of crossfades. The default is a “+3 dB” fade that is intended to keep the volume on your crossfades constant. The other is a “+0 dB” that sounds much more natural when you use it at the head or tail of a clip. If you haven’t already, try using the +0 fade.
Arnie
https://www.arniepix.com -
I seem to remember that the +3 db option was added to Media100 waay back with version 4 because there was a dip in audio levels during the fades. Before that, the audio could only fade on separate audio tracks. You had to fade out one audio clip, and fade in another. When they added crossfades, they had the audio dip problem unless you used the +3 fade.
The nodes may have always been linear.
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Thanks for the info. However, I wasn’t talking about crossfades. I was talking about changing audio levels on a single clip in the timeline. Example: clip begins at full volumn, then a couple seconds later I want to dip it to half-volumn. Two nodes are set: a full volumn node, then a few seconds later a node pulled down to half volumn. In Media 100, the line between the two nodes is a straight, linear line, and the audio falls off in a linear way. In FCP, the line between the two nodes looks like a Bezier curve. The audio doesn’t fall off in a linear way… it dips only a bit at first, then falls off rapidly as it approaches the second node.
Any way to make gain changes in a more “linear” way with FCP?
Thanks, LM
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Ahhh… Sorry, I misunderstood your original post. No. FCP gives no control whatsoever of those curves other than adding & placing keyframes. Have you tried adding a couple of extra keyframes to smooth out the curve a bit? A pain, I know, but that’s all you can do in FCP. It comes back to audio being logarithmic by nature, & FCP’s audio toolset is not that advanced.
OTOH, I just used Soundtrack Pro for the 1st time, & I’m a believer! The audio curves there seem to be linear, but that could just be how they’re displayed. I’m something of an “also ran” when it comes to audio right now, so I may not have the ear to pick out the problem you have.
Arnie
https://www.arniepix.com -
I’m not an audio guru, but it’s my understanding that if you want it to SOUND linear, then it needs to fall off at a curve. Ever notice that the pots on an audio board are less (or is it more?) sensitive as far as numbers are concerned towards the bottom? The control is linear, but what you’re creating when you slide an analog pot at a constant speed is a curve. Look at the pots in the audio tool. The distance from 0 to -6 is the same physical distance as from -60 to -96. It’s an exponential thing.
When you plot 2 points, say from -6 to -30, if it actually lowered the audio in a perfectly linear way, it would sound as if all the lowering of the audio occurred at the start. So, FCP is making it sound like a linear transition from one volume to the next. I’ve never noticed any different.
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If total control over your fade curves are in your future you must take a look at Vegas. Very, very nice audio editing and mixing. Plus, it’s like you get a video editor for free. 🙂
– R
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