Editing Audio in FCP

So I created a short video yesterday, and needed to clean up the audio a bit - editing out some bumps, clicks and a few background noises - adjusting levels etc.

What I did was detach the audio and then did my editing on the timeline in FCP. However this made deleting segments of the video arduous, as I could not figure out how to select both the audio and video simultaneously. Nor was I able to figure out how to re-attach the audio back after I was finished manipulating it.

There must be an easier way. What am I missing?

You could try choosing Clip > Expand Audio (or press Control-S), which expands the audio from the video. You can then edit the audio without losing sync.

I agree with DaveM. but you need to press Ctrl option S.  I don't know if there's a way you can join audio to a video clip once it has been separated. I would do as much as I can with the video attached to the audio. There are lots of YouTube videos out there about audio sweetening. my fave is Ben Johnson but that may be more complicated than you need. Keep it simple. Good luck!

IMO don't detach audio from a video in FCP unless you *really* want it to be a separate piece of media.

Levels can be handled by expanding the audio ( double click ) on the audio clip waveform. In here you can make keyframe control points for level, or use the Rand tool to select a section of audio and drag the level to zero. No need to spilt the clip to remove noises etc.

You can split the clips if you want with the blade tool.

Expanded audio edits will operate on all audio channels associated with the video ( usually 2 mono channels ... or stereo L/R depending on the audio settings in the inspector). If you want to operate on the audio channels separately "expand audio components' to see them and work from there.

The range tool will also allow you to copy/paste audio from expanded clips to patch up edits. Audio clips pated this way will apple as separate audio clips, though attached to the video at the paste point.

I can get a lot done with these basic techniques ... give it a try.

I very rarely get

Chip_C wrote:

I agree with DaveM. but you need to press Ctrl option S. I don't know if there's a way you can join audio to a video clip once it has been separated. I would do as much as I can with the video attached to the audio. There are lots of YouTube videos out there about audio sweetening. my fave is Ben Johnson but that may be more complicated than you need. Keep it simple. Good luck!

Thanks for that, Chip. Also, thanks to @ltf3 for the more detailed explanation.

I copied/pasted my answer from the user manual. I had been thinking of expanding components...

I always edit my Audio only in expanded view. I alway keep the "clip volume mixer" at zero db and adjust only track volume of every individual track, this way I can see a correct waveform in those expanded clips that corresponds to the volume.

I always always detach audio from my video clips because I just can't stand having them exist as one piece on the timeline. I need more control, and Final Cut Pro assumes I don't want that control. Moving stuff around or trimming can be tricky with the magnetic timeline, but it's easy enough once you understand how it works:

To select both the audio and the video at the same time, just click outside of a clip and drag to highlight both the audio and video. Or you can hold COMMAND And click once one each clip you'd like selected. Once thing to keep an eye on is the little vertical line where your clip or audio connects to the main storyline or whatever it's connected to. You may need to attach it in a different place which you can do by holding CONTROL and OPTION and then clicking where you'd like to move the attachment line.

I've never had an issue with audio being out of sync ever. I have a hard time understanding how people make that happen. Those peeps should probably stick with iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.

PS - The forum is wrapping the text super weird. Time for some new forum software maybe?