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  • Book Overview & Buying Avid Media Composer 6.x Cookbook
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Avid Media Composer 6.x Cookbook

Avid Media Composer 6.x Cookbook

By : Benjamin Hershleder
5 (19)
Buy this Book
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Avid Media Composer 6.x Cookbook

Avid Media Composer 6.x Cookbook

5 (19)
By: Benjamin Hershleder
Buy this Book

Overview of this book

Avid Media Composer has become the tool of choice by editing professionals worldwide. Whether your project involves editing television programming, independent films, corporate industrials or commercials, this cookbook shows you exactly how to do so in a step-by-step and practical manner, and get the most out of Avid Media Composer editing. "Avid Media Composer 6.x Cookbook" is an expert, clear and logically-sequenced resource with highly effective recipes for learning Avid Media Composer essentials and beyond. It's task-based approach will help users at all experience levels gain a deeper, more thorough understanding of the software. It will help you master the essential, core editing features as well as reveal numerous tips and tricks that editors can benefit from immediately. Just some of the topics include understanding Import settings, mixing frame rates and understanding AMA (Avid Media Access), along with thorough explanations of Trim Mode, Segment Mode, and the Smart Tool. You will learn to customize your work environment with Workspaces, Bin Layouts, Timeline Views, Bin Views, Keyboard Mapping, and much more. The recipes inside are packed with practical examples, time-saving tools and methods to get you working faster and more confidently so that you can spend less time dealing with technical and operational issues and instead focusing on being creative.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
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Avid Media Composer 6.x Cookbook
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Avid Media Composer 6.x Cookbook
Credits
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Credits
About the Author
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About the Author
Acknowledgement
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Acknowledgement
About the Reviewers
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About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
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www.PacktPub.com
Preface
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Preface
Lock Free Chapter
1
Getting Assets into Your Media Composer Project
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Getting Assets into Your Media Composer Project
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Introduction
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A strategy for project organization at the desktop level
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Understanding Media Creation settings
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Mixing frame rates
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Tape capture tip: Adding Markers while Capturing
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Tape capture tip: Making Subclips while Capturing
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Logging clips tip: Logging from the keyboard
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Logging clips tip: Keeping the Capture Tool active after logging a clip
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Quickly calculating total duration of clips (or any items in a bin)
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Combining available drive space and/or controlling where media is stored
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Making sure your Batch Capture continues without you
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Modifying clips before capture
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Modifying clips after capture: Adding tracks
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Modifying clips after capture: Deleting tracks
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Capturing and editing at the same time
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Preparing to use AMA (Avid Media Access): Getting the plug-ins
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AMA (Avid Media Access) linking
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Getting the AMA file's image to display as desired
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Consolidating (copying) AMA Master Clips
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Transcoding AMA Master Clips before beginning to edit
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Transcoding AMA Master Clips after editing has begun
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Consolidating an AMA sequence or subclips
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Transcoding an AMA sequence
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Importing stills and video files such as QuickTime
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Importing audio
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Adjusting audio levels before editing
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Adjusting audio pan settings before editing
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Setting stereo-audio tracks
2
Customizing Your Work Environment
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Customizing Your Work Environment
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Introduction
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Settings overview
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Creating Site Settings
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User Profile Settings – transferring to another workstation
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Interface settings
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Font size adjustment
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Creating Bin Views
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Creating Timeline Views
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Customizing Workspaces
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Creating Bin Layouts
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Linking Bin Layouts with Workspaces
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Linking other settings with Workspaces
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Mapping Workspaces and Bin Layouts
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Mapping buttons and menu selections
3
Polishing Gems
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Polishing Gems
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Introduction
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Understanding Track Sensitivity
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Snapping actions for the Position Indicator and in Segment Mode
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Enabling and disabling all Track Selectors from the keyboard
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Enabling and disabling Track Selectors using the Shift key plus drag method
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Enabling and disabling Track Selectors using the Lasso
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Replace Edit: How and why
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Sync Point Editing: How and why
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Seeing source material in the Timeline Window
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Clipboard tips
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Using the Match Frame function
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Using the Reverse Match Frame function
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Setting clip colors in a bin
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Setting clip colors in the Timeline Window
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Creating Split Edits
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Creating Split Edits
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Introduction
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Creating a Split Edit with Double Roller or Overwrite Trim
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Creating a Split Edit with the Extend function
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Creating a Split Edit with Asymmetric Trimming
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Maintaining and Regaining Sync
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Maintaining and Regaining Sync
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Introduction
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Adding Filler within a sequence with Splice or Overwrite
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Adding Filler at the end of a sequence
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Sync Break Indicators: Understanding them and making your own
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Splicing and Extracting: Methods for staying in sync without Sync Locks
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Segment Mode: Methods for staying in sync
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Using the option/Alt + Add Edit method to stay in sync in Trim Mode
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Asymmetric Trimming type 1: A-Side/B-Side
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Asymmetric Trimming type 2: Two Heads/Two Tails
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Opening up the sequence using Splice with Sync Locks enabled
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Extracting with Sync Locks enabled
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Extending using Ripple Trim with Sync Locks enabled
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Shortening using Ripple Trim with Sync Locks enabled
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Getting back in sync
6
Managing Your Media Files
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Managing Your Media Files
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Introduction
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Moving media files
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Copying a borrowed clip's media
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Sharing clips/backing-up clips
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Consolidating Subclips
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Consolidating Sequences
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Transcoding Sequences for archiving or before up-res
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Transcoding Sequences of mixed SD and HD video
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Changing the Sample Rate of clips in a bin before editing them into your Sequence
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Changing the mismatched audio that has been edited into your Sequence
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Prevent editing with audio that does not match the Project's Sample Rate
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Setting the Media Tool display
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Borrowing a clip from another Project
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How to determine where media files are stored and how to move them
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Isolating video of a specific resolution
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Deleting specific media files from clips (for example, just the A3 and A4 files)
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Deleting unused media files: Just Master Clips, just Precomputes, or both
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Locking Clips and Sequences
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Locking sequences to make them less easily editable
7
Mono and Stereo Audio Mixing
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Mono and Stereo Audio Mixing
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Introduction
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Understanding the Track Control Panel and Keyframe Selection Tool
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Understanding the Audio Mixer Tool – Clip Mode
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Understanding the Audio Mixer Tool – Auto Mode
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Understanding the Audio Tool (Audio Meters)
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Understanding Clip Gain and Pan versus Volume and Pan Automation
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Understanding Audio Project Settings
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Performing audio scrubbing: digital type scrubbing
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Performing audio scrubbing: analogue type scrubbing
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Displaying Audio Waveforms ( also known as Sample Plot)
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Displaying Clip Gain, Volume Automation, and Pan Automation in the Timeline
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Clip Mode Level and Pan Adjustments
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Using Clip Mode with Dissolves to smooth Level and Pan adjustments
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Clip Mode: Setting a common Level or Pan to multiple segments
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Clip Mode: Adjusting multiple segments by a uniform amount
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Manually adding and adjusting Volume and Pan Automation keyframes
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Removing/Deleting Volume and Pan Automation Keyframes
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Adjusting multiple audio keyframes simultaneously
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Real Time Volume and Pan Adjustment
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Creating Stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 ("Multichannel") Tracks in a Sequence
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Converting a multichannel track into mono tracks in a Sequence
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Making Multichannel Clips (Stereo, 5.1 and 7.1)
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Using AudioSuite Plug-ins
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Removing AudioSuite plug-ins
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Saving and Applying AudioSuite Templates
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Using Real Time Audio Suite (RTAS) Plug-Ins
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Removing RTAS plug-ins
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Saving and Applying RTAS Effect Templates
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Copying RTAS Effects between Tracks
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Editing with Group Clips and MultiCamera Mode
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Editing with Group Clips and MultiCamera Mode
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Introduction
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Syncing and Grouping clips with common timecode
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Output Tips and Tricks
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Output Tips and Tricks
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Introduction
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Creating accurate Color Bars and Tone
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Methods for setting Sequence Timecode
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Adding Filler for Color Bars, Tone, and Slate
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Exporting a still image
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Exporting multiple still images using Markers
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Exporting a QuickTime Reference Movie
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Exporting a QuickTime Movie (Self Contained)
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Using the Timecode Burn-In effect
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Additional Tips, Tricks, and Explanations
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Additional Tips, Tricks, and Explanations
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Find Bin Function Tips
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Moving around: Methods and tips
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Getting more use from the Grid
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cmd/Ctrl + L and K: Several uses
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Locking and unlocking
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Details on Trimming, Slipping, Sliding, and Segment Mode
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Details on Trimming, Slipping, Sliding, and Segment Mode
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Trimming terminology
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Trimming icons and colors
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How Trimming works
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Enabling and configuring the Trimming Tools
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Trimming methods
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Monitoring during Trimming
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Slipping with Trim Mode
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Slipping outside of Trim Mode
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Sliding in Trim Mode
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Trimming and effects
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Smart Tool overview
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Using the Trim functions in the Smart Tool
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Using Segment Mode with the Smart Tool
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Nine Segment Mode Tips
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Helpful Details about MultiCamera Editing
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Helpful Details about MultiCamera Editing
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Uses for Group Clips and MultiCamera Mode
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Definition of a Group Clip
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Definition of a MultiGroupClip
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Definition of MultiCamera Mode
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Overview: Syncing Methods
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Editing multiple camera angles without Group Clips
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MultipleCamera Editing Resolutions
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Understanding System Performance with Group Clips and MultiCamera Mode
4
Index
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Index

Adjusting audio levels before editing

There will be times when a Master Clip's audio levels are too loud (as is very often the case with imported audio) or too low, and you want to adjust the level setting before playing it in the Source Window or editing it into your sequence. There are three methods available. The steps that follow present one method, and the other two can be found in the There's more... section. None of the methods make any changes to the actual media file(s). Each method just applies a setting for the Master Clip that can be adjusted at any time, including in the sequence.

How to do it...

This method is a fast and simple way to adjust one or more clips in a bin:

  1. Import or capture clips into a bin.

  2. Select the clip(s) you want to adjust.

  3. Clip menu | Apply Gain.

  4. The Apply Clip Gain window opens.

  5. Enter the value that you want to be applied.

  6. Click on OK.

There's more...

The following are two additional methods to adjust audio levels before editing clips into the sequence:

Using Import settings

This is particularly helpful when importing music and sound effects, as they generally come in very loud. I find that adjusting to a level of -14 is a good starting point, as it can always be adjusted later:

  1. Open the Import settings: Project Window | Settings tab | double-click on Import.

  2. Select the Audio tab.

  3. Enable/check the setting that says Apply attenuation/gain effect on Import.

  4. In the entry box, type in the level value that you want to be applied.

  5. If you want this setting to be applied only to audio coming from a CD rather than from all the audio files, check the box that says CD Only. Since I organize my files as discussed in the recipe titled A strategy for project organization at the desktop level, I leave this selection disabled/unchecked.

  6. Now, when you import an audio file (or a video file containing audio), this level setting will automatically be applied.

Using the Audio Mix tool

This method only affects one clip at a time:

  1. Open the Audio Mixer tool from the Tools menu.

  2. Set the Audio Mixer to Clip Volume and Pan mode, which is abbreviated simply as Clip. This is done by clicking on the Audio Mixer Mode button in the upper right-hand corner of the Audio Mixer tool.

  3. Load a Master Clip into the Source Window.

  4. With the Source Window active, the level adjustment you make to the Master Clip using the Audio Mixer will be applied before you edit it into your sequence.

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