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Audio Split Tracks in FCPX
I have been asked to export a video presentation with an audio split track. I have not done this before. Basically, the show team wants the dialogue on the right channel and the background music on the left, so they may adjust the volume based on the ambient noise in the room.
I have tried several techniques to achieve this effect, which works when I preview it from the timeline. However, when I export it, the video reverts to stereo. I have exported it as a multitrack QuickTime movie, selecting Dialogue and Music as mono exports. I have also tried changing the channel config to dual mono and deselecting different channels for both Dialogue and Music, respectively.
I know our team has previously accomplished this with FCP7, but I am more familiar with FCPX, so I’d prefer not to make the switch. Help!
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38 Replies
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Simply pan each channel left and right respectively, no??
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I have done this as well — still getting both tracks as stereo. I would expect in my playback to get music in one ear and dialogue in the other ear. Unfortunately, I’m getting both tracks in both ears.
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How are you monitoring the material?
What you want is a dual mono output which could be setup through Roles and a multichannel export
After the video track, Music should be listed first in the audio layout (which will go to channel 1, which may or may not be “left”) and everything else listed second (which will go to channel 2, which may or may not be “right”).
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Well, I have no idea how you’re doing it, but if I simply place random clips in the timeline and set their pan mode to Stereo Left/Right and set them each to either side, then no matter how I export it (Apple Device, Master etc.) they come out exactly that way. No roles or other special export settings. Just exactly the way one (at least me) would expect it to work.
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If you need a 2 channel export, there’s no need to pan. You can export a stereo mix and a dual mono mix from the same timeline, without a lot of fuss, and without touching every single clip on your timeline.
There are good reasons to do this, including, getting multiple outputs from one timeline without adjustment.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “You can export a stereo mix and a dual mono mix from the same timeline”
How and what does that pan to one or the other side?
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[Robin S. Kurz] “How and what does that pan to one or the other side?”
If you read the original post, she needs a dual mono export, not a stereo export. There is no Left/Right pan in dual mono, only channels.
You assign a Role to Music, and make sure that the Music Role only contains Music. Everything else should be fine as default.
In the multichannel export window, you assign the first audio channel to the Music Role.
In the second channel, you assign every Role BUT Music.
This means all music goes to channel 1, everything else to channel 2, which is what is required for the delivery.
There’s no reason to pan anything, before or after, as you are bussing the signal out to specific audio channels.
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[Jeremy Garchow] “This means all music goes to channel 1, everything else to channel 2, which is what is required for the delivery.
There’s no reason to pan anything, before or after, as you are bussing the signal out to specific audio channels.”Yes, I know what you’re describing. That gives me two separate but centered channels. She states
[Christy Smith] “the show team wants the dialogue on the right channel and the background music on the left”
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“would expect in my playback to get music in one ear and dialogue in the other ear”
She won’t be getting that with what you describe, unless I’m completely missing something. I don’t see how you can do a left/right separation without panning each first, sorry. And if you pan, why separate? Since how else are you going to distinguish between the two channels during playback with things just on separate tracks but all playing centered at the same time?
A role-based panner would be brilliant just about now. 🙂
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[Robin S. Kurz] “Yes, I know what you’re describing. That gives me two separate but centered channels. She states”
Robin-
In your situation, you have to touch every single piece of audio and pan it correctly. In my proposal, you simply bus the audio to the proper channel.
There’s no such thing as one channel centered channel. There’s only a mono channel, there’s no pan. If you need your stereo music track on one channel (call it “left” or “Channel 1” whatever you want, the label is arbitrary) that is a mono channel. There is no pan in mono. Sorry to keep repeating myself. It is six of one half down of the other, it’s just that may method is a lot less work and less prone to error.
[Robin S. Kurz] “She won’t be getting that with what you describe, unless I’m completely missing something. I don’t see how you can do a left/right separation without panning each first, sorry. And if you pan, why separate? Since how else are you going to distinguish between the two channels during playback with things just on separate tracks but all playing centered at the same time?”
They may be panned left or right, but they are discrete channels, which is really what the delivery requires. Channel 1 will go to channel 1 output, channel 2 will go to channel 2 output. If channel 1 is routed to a speaker that happens to be sitting on your right side (but it is “panned left” in the NLE) then left and right don’t mean anything. If the receiving system spreads channel 1 across 6 channels, it doesn’t make it a 5.1 mix.
She needs two discrete channels, and Roles is a really easy way to bus the audio out, and there’s no reason to pan anything as the pan is rather arbitrary.
Jeremy
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Aside from not knowing what the odd undertone is all about, I never actually said that mono can or should be panned, sorry. All I know is, that what you describe doesn’t work here upon export and simple playback with any given player, and I’m very aware of what I’m doing, yes. I still don’t know how you are bussing the channels from e.g. the QT player (or whatever it is they plan on using) to separate channels for individual mixing as she describes she needs.
And if you have everything assigned to roles as needed, how are you needing “to touch every single piece of audio”? Filter by role in the Index, select all, set pan. And even if they aren’t assigned, there’s always “Paste Attributes”.
Whatever. Guess we’ll just have to let her give it a shot and let us know how it worked out. I’m certainly very curious.
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