Audio Mixing is Actually Brilliant

[Andy Field]

Thanks – get what you are doing — but I do a lot of broadcast news and doc work and I am pretty sure most editors would love the mixing console back – it’s too much stop and start work to get a rough or even finished mix for broadcast doing it the way you’ve described. I haven’t rubberbanded or played with individual tracks but to smooth out an edit pop – or do CMD OPTION L to globally set a level on a clip in quite some time. We use the mixer all the time to automate mixes as we go along in an edit. Have an outboard control surface that makes it a breeze.

Final Cut X needs some of the tools (IE Mixer — copy and paste selected effects – not all or nothing) that it’s older sibling had to make it a tool we can use every day.

Thanks for sharing your techniques.

Andy Field
FieldVision Productions
N. Bethesda, Maryland 20852

[Jim Giberti]

[Andy Field] “Thanks for sharing your techniques.
“

You bet Andy,

It’s hardly a one size fits all editor. We’re a creative shop that handles the concept, production and post and distributes to networks and clients without their presence ( I just realized how strange that sounds after I typed it). We were talking about it the other day here – Our studios are on a mountain top in VT and I haven’t had client sit in on a project…well, ever really.

[Gary Tompkins]

thanks Jim for posting this. As someone with FCS looking at the field of replacements with a background in audio myself, the way FCPX deals with audio is a concern for me. I’m still looking at how FCPX might be useful so I appreciate your insight.

–gary

[Jim Giberti]

[gary Tompkins] “thanks Jim for posting this. As someone with FCS looking at the field of replacements with a background in audio myself, the way FCPX deals with audio is a concern for me. I’m still looking at how FCPX might be useful so I appreciate your insight.”

Hey, anything for a guy in a paper hat.

The thing I want to make sure doesn’t get lost in my post – I don’t know of any NLE that’s handled audio post well enough to replace a DAW. Regarding Andy’s point above – I’ve never even opened the mixer in FCP, but I don’t do any real time work, it’s all narrative, doc and spot work where we’ve got the time to do a real audio mix.

Given how good I found the Logic integration in X, I was determined to see if I could use the new paradigm to replace round tripping, and I was delighted to find that Compound Clips are not just very different from tracks and sequences but are a brilliant way to manage audio and easily mix sources with quality EQ, verbs and dynamic control.

The fact that all audio can be quickly organized and manipulated sonically at the clip level, group level and master out was a real eye opener for me.

I think the people who can step away from the mixer metaphor will get a real advantage if they want to post directly in fcp X.
Given what I’ve learned so far, if they put a mixer into the next version, I can’t see why I’d use it.

Put it this way.
If I could open a complex mix in Digital Performer right now and just grab random tracks with my mouse and instantly group them with a single click and apply whatever processing I wanted.
If in the process I now had easily identifiable subs of all relevant material that I could see at a glance, open and close instantly and master just as easily – I don’t think I’d spend much time at my 48 track mixer.

I’m just getting going with this, but I think audio people should shake off their existing conceptual prejudice and spend some time working with some audio in X, they might come away with the same sense.

I can think of a bunch of shortfalls already that would be easily improved, but the compromise so far seems inconsequential given the fact that I can do a mix faster than in DP or Logic and with the same sonic quality.

I think they’re onto something good enough that it should get incorporated into DAWs.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Michael Hancock] “So you have a choice – step in and lose context or expand and maintain context. Note this is with video only – there is no collapsing audio. You do a mixdown for that, which creates new media that has no relationship to the original audio tracks.”

Thanks so much for the clarification, Michael.

I couldn’t find a web movie that shows the “expand” feature, plenty show stepping in. Is that a relatively new feature with recent releases or has it always been that way?

Jeremy

[Fredy Schwerdtner]

Maybe a nice video tutorial about sound mixing in FCPX ?

iMac 2.7 GHz Intel 4 Core i5
16 GB memory

MacBook Pro 17″
2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
6GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

OWC RAID 5 with 3TB
(2) External HD LaCieMac (400/800 FW and USB)with 500GB -(2) USB External HD Western Digital (in cases) with 750GB
OS X 10.6.5
Final Cut Studio “3”

[Jim Giberti]

[Fredy Schwerdtner] “Maybe a nice video tutorial about sound mixing in FCPX ?”

If it was worthwhile to people I could do something on my approach, after I get these projects out. Plus it will give me some more time to work with it.

For starters, if you haven’t already – make sure you get a copy of Apple’s Logic Effects Reference pdf. It’s a great overview, and for people that have never used Convolution reverb before, understanding that is worth it in itself – the Logic Space Designer is a world class reverb.

The Channel EQ is great too as is it’s counterpart for mastering, the Linear Phase EQ. Having the Analyze and FFT features right there on a Master Out CC is really nice.

The bottom line is that Compound Clips are the way to make use of the Logic element of FCP X.

[Jeremy Garchow]

Hey guys.

Just FYI, AutoDuck’s now free. That means OM/AAF Export from FCPX. Free.

https://www.automaticduck.com/products/download/index.html

Pro Import AE as well.

Jeremy

[Fredy Schwerdtner]

Jim Giberti “If it was worthwhile to people I could do something on my approach, after I get these projects out. Plus it will give me some more time to work with it.”

that would be nice !!!

iMac 2.7 GHz Intel 4 Core i5
16 GB memory

MacBook Pro 17″
2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
6GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

OWC RAID 5 with 3TB
(2) External HD LaCieMac (400/800 FW and USB)with 500GB -(2) USB External HD Western Digital (in cases) with 750GB
OS X 10.6.5
Final Cut Studio “3”

[Peter Dunphy]

Has this latest update improved the audio editing?

Peter Dunphy

2 x 2.66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 8 GB 1066 MHz DDR3, ATI Radeon HD 4870, ATTO ExpressSAS R380, Sonnet D800 Raid 5