Audio Editing DR

What Is Audio Editing  Audio editing refers to the cutting, placing, fading, cross- fading, shifting and duplicating of audio to best serve the project you are working on  Editing is an integral part of audio production. It is an important part of many industries - music, tv, film, radio etc.  As cheaper studios open up to smaller, amateur bands, the role of editing increases. Good editing can make a sloppy drummer sound spot on.  Audio editing refers to the cutting, placing, fading, cross- fading, shifting and duplicating of audio to best serve the project you are working on  Editing is an integral part of audio production. It is an important part of many industries - music, tv, film, radio etc.  As cheaper studios open up to smaller, amateur bands, the role of editing increases. Good editing can make a sloppy drummer sound spot on.

Non Destructive Editing  The job of the producer/editor was made a lot easier with the rise of digital audio. Editing with analogue tape involves cutting and splicing the actual tape. If you make a mistake, you’re in trouble. This is called destructive editing because once you make the edit you can’t decide to return to the source audio  The invention of digital audio workstations like Pro Tools allowed editors to do the same edits with a few clicks of a mouse and without losing the source audio. Non destructive (sometimes called non linear) editing was born.  The job of the producer/editor was made a lot easier with the rise of digital audio. Editing with analogue tape involves cutting and splicing the actual tape. If you make a mistake, you’re in trouble. This is called destructive editing because once you make the edit you can’t decide to return to the source audio  The invention of digital audio workstations like Pro Tools allowed editors to do the same edits with a few clicks of a mouse and without losing the source audio. Non destructive (sometimes called non linear) editing was born.

Non Destructive Editing  The original sound files remain intact at all times.  The edited master only exists as a series of instructions to replay certain parts of certain sound files at times, with certain signal processing overlaid  Effectively, your edit is a map which the computer uses to jump between different parts of the original sound files.  A single sound file can be used as many times as desired in different locations and on different tracks without the need for copying the actual audio data  This allows the user to rearrange the audio much like they would words in a word processor  The original sound files remain intact at all times.  The edited master only exists as a series of instructions to replay certain parts of certain sound files at times, with certain signal processing overlaid  Effectively, your edit is a map which the computer uses to jump between different parts of the original sound files.  A single sound file can be used as many times as desired in different locations and on different tracks without the need for copying the actual audio data  This allows the user to rearrange the audio much like they would words in a word processor

Editing Using DAWs  The term Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) refers to a general combination of multitrack software and high- quality audio hardware  In DAWs, we generally get a visual representation of the waveform to compliment the audio. This is very useful when editing as it helps you to easily identify a section, for example, if you are looking at a waveform of a drum sample (see next slide), you can clearly see where the beats are.  The term Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) refers to a general combination of multitrack software and high- quality audio hardware  In DAWs, we generally get a visual representation of the waveform to compliment the audio. This is very useful when editing as it helps you to easily identify a section, for example, if you are looking at a waveform of a drum sample (see next slide), you can clearly see where the beats are.

Editing using DAWs  In these visual representations, amplitude is measured vertically, so it follows that in the drum loop below, the big fluctuations in the waveform clearly happen when a drum is struck

Editing using DAWs  If your dealing with rhythm based audio (anything with drums), it’s a good idea to edit on the beat. This makes it much easier to create a seamless, beat matched edit  If possible, always edit at points where the amplitude is zero (called zero crossing points - see below) and try to follow the natural flow of the waveform (as in A) i.e. you don’t want the wave to drop down to the zero line and jump straight back up at your edit point (as in B)  A B  If your dealing with rhythm based audio (anything with drums), it’s a good idea to edit on the beat. This makes it much easier to create a seamless, beat matched edit  If possible, always edit at points where the amplitude is zero (called zero crossing points - see below) and try to follow the natural flow of the waveform (as in A) i.e. you don’t want the wave to drop down to the zero line and jump straight back up at your edit point (as in B)  A B

Crossfading  Digital clicks sometimes occur when waves are not properly matched. These can be eliminated by using crossfades. During a crossfade, the source audio begins to fade out as the destination audio fades in.  It is a good idea to put crossfades on all of your edits, even ones that sound like they don’t need it. Put very short crossfades on good edits (50ms) and slightly longer ones on edits where you can hear a digital click (up to a second).  Digital clicks sometimes occur when waves are not properly matched. These can be eliminated by using crossfades. During a crossfade, the source audio begins to fade out as the destination audio fades in.  It is a good idea to put crossfades on all of your edits, even ones that sound like they don’t need it. Put very short crossfades on good edits (50ms) and slightly longer ones on edits where you can hear a digital click (up to a second).

Pro Tools Short Cuts  Heres a few short cuts that make editing in pro tools a lot faster:  New Track: Cmd+Shift+N  Create Fades: highlight fade region+Cmd+F  Separate Region: Cmd+E  Duplicate: Cmd+D  Cut : Cmd+X  Copy: Cmd+C  Paste: Cmd+V  Select all audio on selected track: Cmd+A  Add to selection: Shift +grab with grabber tool  Heres a few short cuts that make editing in pro tools a lot faster:  New Track: Cmd+Shift+N  Create Fades: highlight fade region+Cmd+F  Separate Region: Cmd+E  Duplicate: Cmd+D  Cut : Cmd+X  Copy: Cmd+C  Paste: Cmd+V  Select all audio on selected track: Cmd+A  Add to selection: Shift +grab with grabber tool

One More Thing…..  For the class editing exercise you’ll need to import audio.  Click on the bar that says AUDIO at the top of your regions list (right hand side of the edit window)  Click import audio  Select the audio from file and when its finished grab it from your region list onto a track  For the class editing exercise you’ll need to import audio.  Click on the bar that says AUDIO at the top of your regions list (right hand side of the edit window)  Click import audio  Select the audio from file and when its finished grab it from your region list onto a track

Pro Tools : The Basics - Starting a new session  Launch Pro Tools  File…New Session (shortcut Cmd M)  In dialog box, enter desired name and select save location for your session  Standard session setup - Audio File Type = AIFF, Sample Rate = 44.1 kHz, Bit Depth = 16 Bit, I/O Settings = Last Used  Launch Pro Tools  File…New Session (shortcut Cmd M)  In dialog box, enter desired name and select save location for your session  Standard session setup - Audio File Type = AIFF, Sample Rate = 44.1 kHz, Bit Depth = 16 Bit, I/O Settings = Last Used