Install Location

When you install Soundtrack, either with the original Final Cut installation or at a later time, you are able to choose to install the additional audio content or to leave it out. The primary reason it is sometimes left uninstalled is that it takes up over 22 gB of space. You can always install the extra content at a later time by using the Final Cut Studio installation disc and choosing only the Audio Content portion. Aside from the Soundtrack Pro application, the following content is optional:

• Surround Impulse Response files;
• Sound effects;
• Music beds;
• Music loops.

I prefer to install all items on a separate hard drive along with my sound effects library and Logic Pro Studio content. This keeps all extra files in the same place and I can take the content with me when I am on the road using my laptop. While laptops drives are constantly getting bigger, using up so much space with extra content can be an inconvenience. You will also get better performance when using a separate drive. To install the files on a separate drive, click the Folder icon in the Location column of the Installation dialog.

Figure 3-1 Installing audio content in a custom location.

Figure 3-2 Choose the Other option.

In Figure 3-2 you can see what clicking on the Location drop-down menu looks like. If you want to place the files in a custom location, make sure the extra hard drive is connected and choose Other from the options. Navigate to the place you want to install the audio content and select it as the location. When you use Soundtrack with the drive attached you will have access to all of the content. When the drive is not connected, it will still show up in Soundtrack but will be highlighted in red to indicate that the files are not present. Simply hook in the drive and they will appear.

Next we will briefly cover what is in each installable option.

Surround Impulse Response Files

These files are part of the Space Designer reverb plug-in, which is used to create highly realistic acoustic space emulations such as the sound of a church, stage, or room. These are surround sound versions which can be used in the post process to create very realistic spaces in true surround. If you are working in surround, then these are a must have.

Sound Effects

The sound effects that ship with Soundtrack are pretty good. The collection includes everything from footsteps to gunshots, and explosions to ambient sound from various locations. While this collection is not enough to be a stand-alone sound effects library for large projects, it is enough to help out. I have used these sounds on numerous occasions when my 250 gB collection was lacking.

Music Beds

The music beds are a collection of music in varied styles and components. The collection houses fully completed pieces and also building block components that can be used to create new and original pieces of music. All music is royalty free; however, it is limited enough that some of the music will be easily recognizable to others that use the same library.

Music Loops

There is a smaller selection of music loops that is included primarily to provide access to ‘legacy’ content. These were used in earlier versions of Soundtrack and are probably the oldest set of music loops in the collection.

Explanation of Send to Soundtrack Options

There are three different Send to Soundtrack options. The first, Send to Soundtrack Pro Audio File Project, allows you to send an isolated clip (or clips) into Soundtrack for editing. Each clip is opened in an audio file project, which is similar to opening a video clip in its own preview window. You can look and edit, but can’t layer it with other clips as you would in a sequence. When you save the file in Soundtrack, the clip is automatically updated on the originating sequence in Final Cut. If you resend the same clip back to Soundtrack, you can continue editing the file and have access to saved actions (rendered processing) that you may have previously completed in Soundtrack, which is similar to having access to the complete undo history. The clips are updated in Final Cut every time you save the project, thus providing a powerful way to edit clips in a dedicated audio editor without compromising sync and file locations. If you have your scratch and media locations set correctly in Soundtrack and in Final Cut, your files will remain in the desired locations. There is an explanation of the Soundtrack file locations below.

The second option, Send to Soundtrack Pro Multitrack Project, is to send an entire sequence into Soundtrack and edit/mix the sequence in a multitrack project. A multitrack project is very similar to the sequence functionality in Final Cut, but with a focus on audio editing and mixing. No matter what type of Send to Soundtrack you use, the video can be sent along, which makes the process of getting the files into Soundtrack very easy.

The third option, Send to Soundtrack Pro Script, uses Applescript technology to allow you to create presets that can then be efficiently applied to multiple clips on your Final Cut timeline. How to use the scripts will be introduced in this chapter even though some of the details of using Soundtrack won’t make sense until later chapters.

Send to Soundtrack Pro Audio File Project

If you want to take advantage of the power of Soundtrack without transferring your entire project, then Send to Soundtrack Pro Audio File Project is the best option. It allows you to send a clip, or group of clips, into Soundtrack for basic editing without compromising synchronization. To send a file to Soundtrack, right-click on a highlighted clip, select Send To, and then choose Soundtrack Pro Audio File Project from the submenu (see Figure 3-3).

Immediately, a dialog will appear asking you to name the file and choose the export location, and giving you the option to Send only referenced media, which means that only the clip portion visible on the Final Cut timeline would be sent with handles on either side. I recommend leaving this unchecked because you never know when you might need to pull a portion of the file that isn’t currently visible and it becomes hard to do once you send only the referenced media.

Figure 3-3 The Send to Audio File Project option.

Figure 3-4 The Send dialog.

The issue is that clips from the Final Cut timeline are converted to Soundtrack project files when they are sent to Soundtrack. They won’t look or sound any different, but they reference a completely different file. After you add effects or change levels, you will need to save the file before it will reflect the changes in Final Cut. When you press Save, a dialog will typically appear (see Figure 3-5) the first time to ask if you would like to either reference the same files that the Final Cut sequence does, or create a copy. The dialog warns that, if you reference the audio, you will need to have the Final Cut project available at any time you wish to edit the Soundtrack project. The reason I prefer not to reference the audio is because it is nice to edit a separate copy of the files and it acts as a guard against accidental deletion or permanent alteration.

Figure 3-5 Choose Include Source Audio.

Another strength of adding effects using the Send feature in Final Cut is that all clips that were sent to Soundtrack individually for processing retain editability when the whole sequence is sent to Soundtrack as a multitrack project. This means that even though you may have sent a few files into Soundtrack for noise reduction, you will be able to look at, alter, or delete the noise reduction processes at any time. This may not seem like a big deal, but all audio filters in Final Cut are removed from the audio clips when the sequence is sent to Soundtrack. In fact, there are no transfer protocols (OMF [open media framework], AAF [advanced authoring format], etc.) that allow the Final Cut filters to transfer to any audio software system. If you want your audio processing to remain in place when the project is sent for audio editing and mixing, then using Send to Soundtrack for individual clips is a huge time saver and means all work you do on the audio is preserved for the future. Also, just as importantly, anything that is processed through Soundtrack may be reversed in the audio editing and mixing phase.

File Management

Much like Final Cut, Soundtrack relies on scratch locations for capturing and editing audio. You will set these by navigating to Soundtrack Pro > Preferences > General. Near the bottom in the File Management section (see Figure 3-6) you will see two file management locations. The first, Scratch Location, is used when recording audio. The second, Edited Media Location, is used for storing files created through the editing process. I recommend choosing locations near your Final Cut project file locations.

Figure 3-6 General Preferences.

One other thing that is important is the Save Audio File Project option. This is discussed early in the chapter in regard to sending individual files to Soundtrack. For that task, it is recommended that this option be set to Includes Source Audio to prevent accidental tampering with Final Cut files. While working with multi-track projects in Soundtrack, I recommend setting it to Reference Source Audio. After you have sent your sequence to Soundtrack and completed the initial save (discussed below), switch this option to Reference Source Audio. Otherwise, each edit you make

Dave’s Video Editor Perspective

Setting Scratch Disks

In Final Cut it is essential that you set your scratch disks each time you start a project. If you are working on a computer that is shared with multiple users you should really check the scratch disk location each time to ensure that the settings are the same as previous sessions. It should become a habit that every time you launch Final Cut you check your scratch disk location. As you work on more and more projects you’ll see that the number of media files associated with your projects gets larger and larger, and it is good practice to keep associated media files in the same folders in case there is any reason to locate, move, or delete a file. If you have media scattered all over your system on various drives and then try to move to another system, you may not have all the media files required to see your entire timeline. You will get a red dialog saying Media Off-line, and this is usually not good. Later, when the project is completed, you will want to back up the media, and keeping everything in one place will save time and energy trying to locate all of the associated media files. I always put the Waveform files and Thumbnail files in the same folder as well. Final Cut calls every Waveform and Thumbnail folder the same thing, so it will be better if you keep them in the same place for simplicity’s sake.

It is also recommended that you set your capture scratch disk to be on a hard drive that does not also house the operating system (OS) and the Final Cut application. The computer will function more efficiently and you won’t fill up your OS hard drive, thus degrading its performance. I would also recommend setting your auto save location to a hard drive that is different from where you are saving the project file. If you lose your project file because your hard drive has malfunctioned, you can always restore the edit session if you can find the auto save file associated with your edit, but obviously, if it’s on the same hard drive, it too will be gone.

To complicate matters, Final Cut is set by default to open the last opened project when you launch the application. So, if someone else begins to edit on that computer and does not set the scratch disks, it will start putting media in the scratch disk folders you were using in your last edit. It then can get sticky if you, or the other person, decides to do some housecleaning and starts dumping files you don’t recognize. I would therefore recommend going to Final Cut Pro > User Preferences and in the General tab deselecting Open last project on application launch. This way no one will accidentally start using your project’s scratch folders.

Final Cut does have a Media Manage tool that is great for moving, copying, and consolidating all the media associated with your file, but if your project is very large this tool is not always flawless. It usually works pretty well, but you don’t want to have to use it to clean up your media when you could have easily organized it before you started capturing it. Again, this is especially true when you have a system where there is more than one user.

So, setting your scratch disk in Soundtrack is equally as important as setting it in Final Cut, but there are fewer settings to consider. I would recommend that you put this folder in with your Final Cut scratch disk folder and call it STP_ProjectName_Media, or something that clearly identifies its contents.

and file that you record will be saved in the Scratch and Edited Media Locations and also copied into the Soundtrack project file when you save the project. This redundancy can become quite confusing and is unnecessary. Also, it can be an efficiency killer because, after completing a large number of edits and file creations, Soundtrack will pause to copy all of the files and you will have to sit and wait. If you set this correctly, that will never happen.

Send to Soundtrack Pro Multitrack Project

Sending your sequence to Soundtrack is designed to be an easy process. The method of transferring is easy, the layouts are similar in both Final Cut and Soundtrack, the key commands are similar, and the overall feel is designed to be the same. If it weren’t for the fact that Soundtrack needs to be an autonomous software package to have a chance at competing in the world of audio post-production, it would make more sense to simply incorporate all of the plug-ins and effects directly into Final Cut, and remove the hassle of having a separate application. At the present time, there are few video/audio platforms that are more closely integrated. If you opt out of using Final Cut filters for the Send to Soundtrack functionality, then nearly all audio prep work in Final Cut will transfer into the Soundtrack timeline.

Transfer Process

The easiest way to send your sequence to Soundtrack is to right-click on the sequence name in the Final Cut project Bin and choose Send To > Soundtrack Pro Multitrack Project (see Figure 3-7). A dialog appears that asks what to name the export, where to save it, whether or not you want to have it open immediately in Soundtrack, whether you would like a fully rendered video or just the base layer, and whether or not you want it saved with the latest clip metadata.

Aside from names and locations, the defaults for the options are usually perfect. The primary exception to this is when you want a different resolution video file from the sequence. In that case, you would turn off the video export and do it separately straight from the Final Cut sequence. This is a good idea when you want a smaller video for portability or simply because the original resolution is too big for your audio computer to handle. When you work on the same computer for audio and video, it will normally be able to handle the exact same video settings and you wouldn’t need to export a separate version. As for having it open immediately in Soundtrack, this depends on why you are exporting. If you want to

Figure 3-7 Send to Soundtrack Pro Multitrack Project.

Figure 3-8 Send to Soundtrack dialog.

get right to work then have it open right away. If you are exporting an updated sequence to begin the Conform process with an older Soundtrack file, then you would turn this off because it is easier to begin the Conform process with it closed.

Figure 3-9 The sequence in Final Cut.

Once the Send function is complete and you have opened the project in Soundtrack, there are few things to remember.

• Opening a large project for the first time may take a few minutes because Soundtrack needs to build all of the graphic waveforms for the audio. Unlike Final Cut, Soundtrack cannot turn this feature off.
• Soundtrack and Final Cut handle audio playback in the same way using the system audio settings. If you hear sound in Final Cut, you shouldn’t have to change anything when Soundtrack is loaded.
• Double-check your Scratch and Edited Media Locations (see Figure 3-6). It is highly recommended that these be located near or in your Final Cut project folders for organizational purposes.
• Set the Save Audio File Project option in the Preferences to References Source Audio (see Figure 3-6). This is important in terms of file management.
• If you chose not to export a video layer during the send process you will have to manually import the separately exported video. Otherwise, the video will automatically show up.

If the transfer is all happening on one computer and the project will not be copied to another for audio work, you should not need to prepare the Final Cut sequence at all. If the project is quite large and you will be moving it to a new machine, performing a media manage might help out. The media manage will allow you to trim off excess files and create handles on the clips used in the timeline. This, combined with exporting a smaller video file outside the send process, will help keep the project sizes lower and more manageable. There are a few additional steps involved so it does take longer than the normal Send process; however, at least there is an option in such a situation.

Figure 3-10 The sequence from Figure 3-9 in Soundtrack.

Transfer Information

The Send to Soundtrack function is quite good at a number of things. The newly created Soundtrack multitrack session automatically matches the Final Cut sequence settings. The frame rate and audio sample rate will be identical and you should never have to worry about them. Of course, though, you should confirm that they are correct. Later in this chapter we will discuss the interface and you will see where this information is stored.

For all the audio information that is transferred, you should at least find your clips in the right place and at the correct time code locations. The Soundtrack project should be identical to the Final Cut sequence in almost every way. There are, however, a few things that do not transfer. This is important to know because it may change the way you work in Final Cut if you plan on moving into Soundtrack for the mix. The items that do not transfer are:

• Audio filters;
• Pan settings on stereo pairs;
• Audio fades (in and out) – this is not documented in the Final Cut manual;
• Exact audio levels (these are very close but not exact) – this is not documented in the Final Cut manual;
• Audio generators.

It would be nice if these items would all transfer correctly, but at least everything else does, though I would be hesitant to make any 100% assurances: all sessions should be examined after each transfer. With the latest versions of both Soundtrack and Final Cut, I have had very good experiences, far superior to using OMF or AAF. This is especially true when you consider some of the things that do transfer:

• Cross-fades;
• Nearly exact clip level (close enough to preserve the sound of the mix);
• All clips and clip histories processed using the Send to Soundtrack function;
• Video and sequence settings;
• Markers;
• Metadata;
• Enabled/disabled clip status.

Enough data transfers correctly that it is fine to use the Send to Soundtrack function. The issue of the levels being slightly different is a point of slight concern, but they are repeatable and in any case only slightly different to the original Final Cut levels. Part of the issue is in the graphic shape of the rubber banded levels. Final Cut draws with curves where Soundtrack draws with straight lines (see Figures 3-11 and 3-12).

Figure 3-11 Audio automation in Final Cut with curvy lines.

Figure 3-12 Audio automation in Soundtrack with straight lines.

While there is a slight difference in the levels, the majority of instances sound nearly identical. Normally, for an audio engineer, this would be a bust because the keyframes do not transfer exactly the same. However, the data transfers in the exact same way each time and this repeatability, even if slightly different to the original, is reassuring. It is the repeatability that makes it workable. Other clip levels that are adjustable in Final Cut without the use of keyframes are also a little off in Soundtrack. What should be a straight line in both programs often turns into a slight slope in Soundtrack. The difference is almost always inaudible because it ends up being less than a single decibel (a 3dB change is the normal minimum change required for the average listener to notice a difference). It is unnerving to look at the resulting project and see slopes in the audio level that weren’t there in Final Cut, but it is rarely a problem that goes beyond resolvable. As stated earlier, all Soundtrack projects need to be examined after the transfer process.

There is another quirk regarding fades in the transfer. Cross-fades transfer with frame-accurate edges, while fades in and out of audio files don’t transfer at all (see Figures 3-13 and 3-14). You might notice in Figure 3-13a and b that the cross-fades don’t look exactly the same. The original Final Cut cross-fade is a little lopsided while the Soundtrack cross-fade is symmetrical. This is another example of data moving from Final Cut to Soundtrack almost exactly but without actually being identical.

Send to Soundtrack Pro Script

This is one area that we are going to explain in principle, but which to fully understand you will need to read further in the next few chapters. The concept is straightforward: take a set of effects in Soundtrack, create a script file based on the effects, use the script on a clip or set of clips in Final Cut Pro, and let Soundtrack do the work.

Figure 3-13 (a) The original cross-fade in Final Cut. (b) The resulting fade in Soundtrack.

Figure 3-14 (a) The original fade in Final Cut. (b) The fade did not transfer to Soundtrack.

Figure 3-15 Right-click a clip in Final Cut to bring up the Send option.

The creation of a script typically begins in Final Cut and the process is as follows:

1. Send a clip into Soundtrack as an audio file project, but not as a multitrack project.
2. Process the clips with effects and processes.
3. Save the file as an AppleScript in the File menu. Make sure to save it in the default location so that it will show up in both the Soundtrack Script menu and as a right-click option in Final Cut.

The script saves the effects and processes as a list of what you did to the file. This list can be applied to other clips and/or groups of clips. Once you send a group of clips to a Soundtrack Pro script, they are opened in Soundtrack, processed, and then closed. If the clips have already been sent to Soundtrack, this will happen without a dialog, but, if they haven’t been to Soundtrack yet, a dialog will appear warning you that the files will be altered permanently unless you permit them to be converted to Soundtrack project files. It is highly recommended that you say yes to this because if you don’t the script will permanently alter the files.

Figure 3-16 ‘Yes’ is the recommended answer.