Newbie to FCP w/ Audio problem – Need advice.

[Jacob Benjamin]

did you bring your audio in at 48K?

[Thaxter Clavemarlton]

There is a function in FCP that is often overlooked.

You should “Mixdown” the Audio for playback before you dub out of FCP, or during the edit, if you have audio/video slipping, drop-outs or freezes.

NOTE: Mixdown has even been demonstrated to help with slipping, skipping problems (or “missing” audio clips) for files being EXPORTED as QT (or similar) files out of FCP.

First, SELECT ALL of your audio tracks (highlight them) on the timeline, then:

Sequence Menu > Render Only > Mixdown.

You should see a dialog box telling you its rendering.

It might seem to make little sense that “Mixing down” even simple audio tracks will “fix” complex video “freezes” or random audio dropouts to tape or export, but it CAN.

NOTE: It does not matter of you only have one audio track, if there are random freezes during output, you should try the Mixdown.

[Martin Vipond]

The Mixdown function didn’t change the output in this case, but thanks for the tip.

For whatever reason, the imported MP3 file doesn’t play correctly. I converted the file to a .wav in Audacity and reimported it into FCP. Now it plays flawlessly.

So the question now becomes; “How do I get FCP to play a native MP3 file?”

Thanks for the help!

mjv

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Martin Vipond
Two Legs Productions
Lake Odessa, MI

Creativity comes from motion…
… So Don’t Sit Still!!!
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[Brent Altomare]

[Martin Vipond] “So the question now becomes; “How do I get FCP to play a native MP3 file?” “

The answer, as I know it is: “You can’t.” Currently FCP does not handle mp3 files. Converting to a wave or aif file is the current workaround.

Honestly, not being able to use .mp3 files doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the fact that FCP ACTS LIKE it can handle the .mp3 file and then cheerfully plays back garbage without so much as a polite warning.

—
Brent Altomare
Groovy Like a Movie
(877) 3-GROOVY

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[Martin Vipond]

Well, it seems a little weird to me since a bunch of buyout music can be purchased on the net and Downloaded as mp3s.

But you’re right. If I had any indication that an mp3 wouldn’t play correctly, I would have saved an hour or so of messing around.

Still, in all, I’ve used Fast Video Machine, Liquid Edition, Sony Vegas, and Adobe Premier to produce video and one frustrating week with Avid Express DV. (Not to mention tape to tape editing, one cut at a time). FCP is quickly becomming a favorite. I’ve only scratched the surface with the tutorials.

I have a local bank’s annual meeting video to deliver in about two weeks. I’m doing it all on a 15″ Powerbook sitting in my recliner in my living room! When I think of the thousands of dollars I’ve spent for decks, controllers, monitors, software, computers, wire and all… This is pretty amazing! Even if it doesn’t play an mp3.

Thanks for the post. I’ll quit trying the mp3 thing.

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Martin Vipond
Two Legs Productions
Lake Odessa, MI

Creativity comes from motion…
… So Don’t Sit Still!!!
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