TECH TIPS

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Audio Repair Shop
Soundtrack Pro 2 has the Tools
by Larry Jordan

Whether you are working with old audio that needs some restoration, or on-set audio that was recorded by the cousin of the nephew of the producer, there are times where the quality of the audio is, to be polite, somewhat substandard.

Fortunately, if you are editing using Final Cut Studio (either version 1 or 2), you have an amazing set of audio repair tools in Soundtrack Pro. This article will show you how they work, in either version.

Sending Your Files to Soundtrack Pro
There’s a way to get your audio out of Final Cut into Soundtrack Pro, which makes getting it back into Final Cut Pro both fast and easy. It’s called “Sending.” Sending exports your file in such a way that Soundtrack Pro knows where it came from so that after processing it can instantly return the file to Final Cut Pro––to exactly the same place in the timeline.

Open your project in Final Cut.

Select the audio clip you want to send to Soundtrack Pro. You can select the clip in either the Browser or the Timeline. Selecting it in the Timeline will also include the In and the Out of the clip.

Choose File > Send to > Soundtrack Pro Audio file (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: From within Final Cut Pro, you can send selected clips or projects to one of three Soundtrack Pro locations: Audio File Projects, Multitrack Projects or Scripts. If your goal is to repair the audio of a clip, an Audio File Project is the best choice.

Note: There are two types of files in Soundtrack Pro: Audio File Projects and Multitrack projects. An Audio file is always and only a single clip (mono, stereo, or surround) which is sent to Soundtrack for repair. A Multitrack project is one or more clips sent to Soundtrack Pro, generally for mixing, but audio repair is possible on a clip-by-clip basis.

A dialogue then appears asking you to name the file, save it in a location and set certain parameters. As this file will be a permanent part of your Final Cut project, save it in the same location you save other Final Cut assets for this project. The word “sent” reminds you that this has been processed by Soundtrack Pro. And the default settings of the check boxes at the bottom are fine as is.

Depending upon the length of the clip, the speed of your computer and the size of the video, your file will show up in Soundtrack Pro fairly soon. If it is a long clip, be patient while it loads the first time. Loading will be much faster every time thereafter (see Figure 2). The file is now loaded and ready for repair.

Figure 2: The audio file project interface, with the left and lower panes hidden.

Note: To keep the screen shots in this article to a reasonable size, I have hidden the left and lower panes. To do so, click the Left Pane and Lower Pane buttons in the top right corner of the Soundtrack Pro interface.

Getting the File Back to Final Cut
Before we discuss specific repair techniques, to get your finished file from SoundTrack Pro back to Final Cut Pro, use File > Save.

That’s it. When you send a file to an Audio File project, to get it back to Final Cut, all you need to do is save it. Final Cut sees that it’s been saved, automatically links to the new file and loads it into the timeline at exactly the same place as the original. All without any intervention from you.

To get a Multitrack Project back to Final Cut, you need to use File > Export. Export the mix, then import it into Final Cut as you would any other audio file. (Soundtrack Pro 2 has a new feature allowing you to send the file back to Final Cut Pro, but that’s for another article.)

Note: In order for File > Save to work, both Soundtrack Pro and Final Cut Pro must be open and on the same system. If you are moving between systems, use File > Export instead.

Normalizing Audio
Normalizing means to increase the gain of the entire clip such that the level of the loudest portion of the clip does not exceed an amount you specify. Normalizing is a great way to increase the level of a desperately soft clip. Keep in mind that both the background noise and the voice will increase––there’s no free lunch here––but if you find that your audio is 20, 30, or 40 dB too quiet, normalizing is the best way to start fixing it.

Send your clip from Final Cut Pro to a Soundtrack Pro Audio File project.

Select the audio you want to normalize. Usually, this is the entire clip. Select the entire clip by typing Command + A. To select from the In to the Out, double-click in the center of the waveform with the mouse. If you need to select only a portion of the clip, click-and-drag to select what you want to process.

In this example, I have selected from the In to the Out of the clip by double-clicking (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: For normalization, the clip is selected from in to out.

Choose Process > Normalize.

In the dialogue box at the top, set the maximum level you want for the loudest portion of the clip. The entire clip volume will be increased so that the loudest portion will equal the number you enter here.

For me, normalizing to 0 dB is too loud for any clip that will be part of a mix. Instead, I tend to set my normalize level between -4.5 and -6 dB. In this case, I’m using -4.5 dB (see Figure 4).

Figure 4: In the normalization dialogue, I set the level for the loudest portion of the clip not to exceed -4.5 dB.

Press OK and the volume of the selected portion of the clip will be increased.
Save your work to return it to Final Cut Pro.

Adding Ambient Noise
This is one of my favorite repair functions. Especially in short-form projects, breaths, gurgles and stutters just get in the way. Here’s a way to remove them without the risk of altering audio/video sync.

Send your clip from Final Cut Pro to a Soundtrack Pro Audio File project.

Select a clean portion of room tone by dragging across the waveform. This doesn’t have to be long and it doesn’t need to match the length of what you are replacing. Just make sure it doesn’t have any talking or strange noises. I’ve selected some clean room tone, which is five frames in length (see Figure 5).

Choose Process > Ambient Noise > Set Ambient Noise Print. This samples the section you’ve selected and stores it in Soundtrack Pro.

Select the portion of the clip you’d like to replace. In this case, I’ve selected a huge “um" (see Figures 6 and 7).

Choose Process > Ambient Noise > Replace with Ambient Noise. The “um” is gone, precisely replaced by clean room tone. This is close to magical. There is no loss of sync, and after you’ve done it once, it’s addictively easy to use.

Figure 5: A clean portion of room tone is selected.

Once you’ve set the Ambient Noise print, you don’t need to resample until the room tone changes. Continue cleaning up until you’re satisfied––or the deadline arrives. Then, save your work to return the file to Final Cut Pro.

Removing Background Noise
Soundtrack Pro has an amazing noise reduction utility built right in. Notice I said “reduction,” not “removal.” If you want to remove a noise, you need to re-record. However, I seem to spend my life interviewing soft-spoken men in front of large air conditioners. I don’t need to remove the sound of the air conditioner, I just need to reduce it enough to clearly hear what’s being said.

Note: This works for noise that has a consistent frequency. For instance, a passing police car and siren, or the period thump of a wave, is very hard to remove because the sound changes. Anything that remains constant––machinery hum or air conditioners––works very well with this.

Send your clip from Final Cut Pro to a Soundtrack Pro Audio File project.

Select a portion of the clip containing only noise, no talking. The precise length doesn’t matter; I try to select a second or two.

Choose Process > Noise Reduction > Set Noise Print. This samples the noise and saves it in Soundtrack Pro. (Saving a noise print does not affect an ambient noise print; they are saved in different places.)

Select the portion of the clip where you want to reduce the noise.

Figure 6: Now you see the "um"...

Choose Process > Noise Reduction > Reduce Noise. Note the default settings of the Noise Reduction dialogue.

Figure 7: ...now you don't. The "um" is gone!

While every situation will have different settings, the procedure is the same:
• Click the right-pointing arrow on the lower left side to play the selection.
• Drag the Noise Threshold slider to the right until the noise is entirely gone. (The voice will probably sound artificial and electronic, but don’t worry; you’ll fix that next.)
• Drag the Reduction slider to the left until the voice sounds pretty much normal.
• If you want to preserve the warmth of the sound, drag the Tone Control a point or two to the left. I generally want to preserve clarity, so I add a point or two of Tone Control to the right.
• If you want to hear what you removed, turn on Noise Only.
• When you are happy, click the Apply button and the noise is gone!

When all your adjustments are done, save your file to return it to Final Cut Pro.

Conclusion
Soundtrack Pro has some amazing audio repair features that link directly into the editing power of Final Cut Pro. Give yourself some time to experiment and you’ll never gnash your teeth over bad audio again––well, until the next project.

Larry Jordan is an LA-based Apple-certified trainer in digital media with over 25 years’ experience as a television producer and director with national broadcast and corporate credits. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Edit Well, the rich-media newsletter for Final Cut Studio, published by Peachpit Press, and the author of several Final Cut Pro books. Visit his website at www.larryjordan.biz. He is not to be confused with the Guild editor of the same name.

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