Audio replacement workflow

Hi guys!

During the editing of a film, we've found out that some of the audio was very noisy. I've send the original audio tracks to an audio designer so he can fix the issues. My question is the following:

* Is there a way to lay those new audio tracks BELOW the current ones in the timeline, with the same edit as the original, WITHOUT erasing the original ones ?

If I wanted to do a full replacement, I'd simply relink the media to the new files. However I still need to keep both for some time. I hope you understand my question well

Thank you !!!!

Hi Manoucho,

You can put the corrected audio clips under the old ones. Then you select the old clips and you press V to mute them, if that's what you mean.

- Ronny

Hoi Ronny

No, what I mean is that the film is already edited. So I'd need to whether alter the original tracks to "add" some tracks to it (I don't think it can be done) or find a creative workflow to get it done.

Not sure if I'm clear

Okay, let's see if I get it right this time

You have finished a film but the audio had some problems.
So you have sent the audio from the edited film to an audio engineer and he has sent you an improved audio track.
Now you want to add this improved audio to the FCP X timeline while also keeping the old audio for the time being.

Is that correct?


- Ronny

Hi Ronny,

You have finished a film but the audio had some problems.

- Correct.

So you have sent the audio from the edited film to an audio engineer and he has sent you an improved audio track.

- I have sent the ORIGINAL, unedited tracks to the audio engineer, not an AAF with the edit.

Now you want to add this improved audio to the FCP X timeline while also keeping the old audio for the time being.

- Correct. This is because the sound designer (who is not the same as the audio engineer) has asked me to do so, in case he rejects the improvements from the audio engineer.

Okay, that is clear. But if you want to keep everything editable it's not going to be easy. What you could do:

1. Duplicate your edited timeline as a Snapshot.

2. Create a new Library and drag the Project Snapshot into the new Library. This will copy all the clips used in the Project to your new Library, but if your media are external or if both Libraries are on the same drive this will not create duplicate media files.

3. In the new Library, relink the original audio clips to the new audio clips. This will replace the old audio with the new audio clips in the edited timeline. The audio in the original Project in the other Library will not be affected by this.

4. Now you have two edited timelines, one with the original edited audio in Library 1 and one with the improved edited audio in Library 2.

You can keep each projects separate in its own Library until the sound designer decides which edit he will keep.

But if you really want to see all the original and all the improved audio clips on the same timeline, you can do this as well. Here's the trick:

- In the original Project, add an Adjustment layer (or a totally empty title clip) under the audio and extend the layer from the beginning to the end of the timeline.

- Copy all the improved audio from the Snapshot Project in Library 2 and paste the improved audio clips under the adjustment layer in the original timeline in Library 1.

Now you will have one timeline with both the original and the improved edited audio clips:



- Ronny

Why not make a Snapshot. Give the fixed audio files a unique Role. Export using only that audio roll. I've done that before just fine.

Thank you guys.

Ronnie, I think you're describing exactly what I need to do.

Ben, I'm not sure to understand it, wouldn't it result in a simple audio export that I can't edit later ?

--

Hi again

Unfortunately the timecodes of the original file and the restored files do not match: the original did not start at 00:00, but the new ones do.

There is no other difference than that, but because of this FCPX refuses to re-link the files.

Is there anything I can do ?

Thank you !!!

What format are these audio files? AIFF, WAVE... ?

Do the original files and the ones you got back from the audio guy have the same format?

- Ronny

Hi Ronny

- The original files are .wav
- I've received them in .wav and .aif

But I can confirm it's a timecode issue: for some reason one of the files I've received has the original timecode, and I can relink that one.

I've been trying to edit the timecode of the restored files manually in FCP7, but I can't seem to alter the real media file on the harddrive.

Yes it's a time code issue, but as your audio files are WAV this can be resolved. You don't need FCP7, it's much easier than that.

Download Wave Agent here: www.sounddevices.com/products/waveagent/

This is a free utility that will allow you to modify the start tc of any WAVE file.

Just modify the start TC for each file (make sure to enter the correct frame rate of your project first) and save the files. Then they should properly relink in FCP X.



- Ronny

OMG thank you that seems perfect.

Last but not least, if I want to convert the AIF in WAV (for some files I only have an AIF) can I use compressor to have a lossless export ?

If you have FCP7 you also should have QT7 PRO that can do this (File > Export > Audi > WAV).

But yes, in Compressor you can do this as a batch:



- Ronny

Great, great, great, great.

Almost there but not yet:
The timecode I set in Wave Agent (23:54:39:00) is different from the timecode I see in FCPX (23:56:05:04).

Why this difference ?

Remark: in WAV agent I set the framerate as 23.97fps, the same rate as the timeline I am editing. But I don't know about the "original framerate" of the audio file, I thought an audio file doesn't have timerate, only frequency.

I unchecked the "preserve start TC" and now the start TC is good, but not the end one: the clip is slightly shorter!

Starting to get frustrating.