Sound control
Manually adjusting volume in PD170
1. if using supplied mic
- change channel select to both channels
- make sure phantom power is set to +48. (there is no need for phantom power with some external mics, if they have a battery supply)
- if camera is using AGC (the auto volume control), you can visulalize volume levels by pressing audio level button, on the bottom left of the camera.
2. MANUAL CONTROL: in PD170 menu, select tape icon, and then audio set drop down menu.
- this allows you to turn AGC (auto gain control) on or off for both channels.
- When using ‘manual gain control’, you will see a sound bar on the lcd screen. -12DB, the ideal volume level, is the mid-point on this bar. Aim to keep frequency around or slightly above this point.
- You will need to turn AGC off in order to manually adjust volume for each imput
- The two mic imput channels may be linked together. You can link and unlink via audio set menu by selecting man gain and then selecting linked or separate.
- You can then select one or both channels and manually adjust using the scroll wheel. To set, press scroll wheel once.
· there is no manual volume control possible on the mini DV cameras. These cameras are always set to auto gain control, and regulate volume for you. There is also only one microphone input, so using an external mic will automatically override the camera’s internal microphone.
Audio in FCP
1. To separate audio from visuals: go to modify menu à unlink
2. To visualize audio frequency on viewer, select arrow icon and show audio waveform from menu.
3. If you cannot see audio temperature bar (this allows you to see sound levels objectively), go window à arrange à standard
4. Hit toggle (mountains) icon to visualize sound line, which you allows you to use pen tool. Use pen tool to create nodes that you can manipulate, in order to fade volume up and down and make sonic transitions.
5. FILTERS
- Use to remove a specific frequency of sound. This can be handy if you have an unwanted background noise of a specific frequency (i.e. air conditioning)
- Highlight piece(s) of audio you want to apply filter to.
- Go to effects menu à audio filters à final cut pro à high pass/ low pass
a) High pass filter takes out lower frequency sounds
b) Low pass filter takes out higher frequency sounds
6. * To cut out undesirable one-off sounds, use splice tool to isolate sound and delete, then fill gap with background audio (n.b this is why it’s really useful to tape several minutes of non-specific, environmental sound).
7. IMPORTING MUSIC
- music files should be in AIFF prior to import to FCP. This is the normal format of tracks on an audio CD.
- To change file type in itunes, right click and select create AIFF version. Then right click, à show in finder, drag/drop into external harddrive, and in FCP under file menu select import à files. (or you can drag/drop AIFF file straight into project).
- …itunes provides the easiest way to convert these files. Use it! Each computer in the media lab also comes with a bank of sound effects in itunes. If you wish to use these, be sure to convert the files to AIFF before inserting into your project.
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