Fairlight Tip

Stereo to Mono and Back
on the Timeline

by Jayme Parker

In these days when editors routinely premix in the cutting room to make the best use of stage time for a temp dub, or to crash down for an Avid temp, or simply to present an elegant layout for predubbing, I am often asked how to convert stereo clips to mono and mono to stereo. Both are fairly simple to do, if you know the idiosyncrasies of the Fairlight, and indeed, the techniques involved can become essential parts of your toolkit.

Stereo to Mono

This macro tricks the RW (Recover Waveform) Command into recovering only one side of a stereo clip. To start, park at the head of the stereo clip you want to make mono.

Here’s the macro:

  1. <Blue>Space - Dispose - ENTER
    This clears the buffer of unused waveforms, making it easy to identify the waveform you want to affect.
  2. <Edit> - Copy - Clip
    To place a copy of your clip into the buffer.
  3. <Blue>ENTER
    To paste a new waveform copy of the clip in the buffer on top of the existing waveform.
  4. <Edit> - Erase
    Erase allows you to break the clip apart, whereas Cut does not.
  5. <Blue>Space
    Lists the two waveforms for the right and left channels that you just placed into the buffer.
  6. Type "RW <Spacebar> x"
    Where x = the waveform number of your choice. Usually the first number will do unless you prefer a particular channel. For macro-writing purposes, finish writing the macro before x, leaving the waveform number for variable user entry.
  7. <Return>
    Note that the ENTER key will not work here.

If you’d like to use the original clip name, pop up the lower clip, <Blue>Takes - + - pop, then place its name in the buffer <Blue>Name - Clip, pop it again, and <ENTER>. When I mono-ize both channels, I add an "L" or "R" tag to the end of the clip name; a single clip gets an "M" tag to denote mono from stereo original.

You may also use this macro to reverse stereo left-right orientation. Simply type "RW <spacebar> y <spacebar> x", where x = the first waveform number in the list, and y = the second waveform number in the list. Be sure to insert a single space between the numbers.

Mono to Stereo

This routine can’t be written as a macro, since it involves more than the Fairlight is capable of reading, but it avoids D/A and A/D conversions and their inherent added noise. It was originally a work-around improvised by Robb Wilson in the days before Fairlight added the <Block>Bounce function for mixing internally. Whereas <Block>Bounce keeps mono clips mono, and stereo clips stereo, this work-around allows you to create a stereo pair from two mono clips.

  1. Place your two original mono clips on Track 3 and 4, and solo them.
  2. <Blue>Digi - Inp sync
    Toggle to "Off" and toggle Output to "Off".
  3. Externally patch the Fairlight‘s AES/EBU CH 3/4 OUT to AES/EBU CH 1/2 IN.
  4. Double-click Track 1 to select it.
  5. <Arm> - Input - Patch - 1,2
    To set input to stereo pair CH 1 & 2.
  6. While still in <Arm> - Input mode, set "Type" to AES/EBU. You can also adjust digital gain at this point, if so desired.
  7. <Arm> - Track 1, and Record.

File Size and the 24-Hour Timeline

File size management
Now that turnover and dubbing of A-B reels has become commonplace, the issue of file size has reared its ugly head. Fairlight projects are limited in size to a maximum of 12 hours and 20 minutes; if you allow your project to reach that limit, you may be unable to recover the file, and anything beyond 11 hours is not recommended. A good practice to make a habit of, not only to help prevent bloated files but also to increase drive speed and space, is packing. Packing is the same as defragmenting your personal computer’s hard drive: it takes the fragmented files and makes them contiguous, "packing" the unused space between the former fragments and reducing the overall file size. Add the dispose function prior to packing, and you’ll free up the wasted space reserved by unused waveforms. I always perform this routine prior to keeping any borrowed clips: <Blue>Space - Dispose - Pack.

Another option is to commit. Perhaps you’ve kept all the borrowed clips in a project with handles set to ALL. Those unused handles can eat up a lot of space. Reset your handles using <Blue>Space - Handles, to 10 to 30 seconds (10 for dialog, 30 for backgrounds), prior to keeping them. Or you can do it after the fact, using the Commit command. Simply set your handle length, select the appropriate tracks and range, <Blue>Space - Commit, and voila, your handles are shortened to the new handle length.

For dialog loads, divide the full loads into A and B projects on the same drive and keep or commit your cut project with 10 second handles.

The 24-hour timeline
One issue that frequently pops up, especially when making picture changes, is the Fairlight project timeline. The Fairlight project file exists on a timeline up to 24 hours in length. Fairlight automatically expands the timeline to accommodate the range from the head of your first clip to the tail of your last. What many editors don’t realize, however, is that this 24-hour timeline is movable to a certain extent. This can work to your advantage when saving previous versions earlier in the timeline, and wreak havoc if the beginning or end of that timeline (project head and project tail, respectively) fall within the middle of the reel you are changing. It therefore makes sense to manipulate the timeline wisely.

Blank reel template
To avoid any mishaps, I suggest making a blank reel template prior to cutting the reel. An unlimited number of additional projects for that reel can be made by extending this original template. It can contain any timeline you set up, sync pops, as well as marks for scene changes, etc., that you want duplicated in every project.

<Blue>Edit Mark brings up this screen, which shows a new project's head and tail.

Open a new project. Import any clip. Notice the two marks, one at the head of the clip, and one at the tail? This is Fairlight automatically setting the project head and project tail. This, therefore, is your timeline. Press <Undo> to see them collapse into one. Press <Undo> again to restore them. <Edit> - Cut the clip. See how the timeline remains? Now press <Blue>Edit Mark, to bring up a listing of all your marks – this is how you can determine project head and project tail in any pre-exisiting timeline.

Start with a new project. Decide where on the timeline you would like your 24-hour timeline to begin. For example, if I’m setting up a template for a 6 A-B reel show, and anticipate multiple versions, I’ll start at hour 10 (zero frames/minutes/seconds, subframes OFF). Assuming that each reel will exist in its current version at its appropriate hour (e.g., Reel 5 at hour 5), this gives me 4 hours of empty space after Reel 6 to play with, as well as room for 15 versions of the entire reel, each in its own hour, before Reel 1. Remember, when making changes in BLOCK mode, everything after the change, all the way up to the project head, will be affected. So, by starting the project at hour 10, we give ourselves 15 hours ahead of Reel 1 that will be unaffected by changes made in Reel 1.

Next, I’ll import and keep, at hour zero, a sync pop that’s previously been committed to be exactly one film frame (but any clip that serves your purposes will do). <Edit> - Cut the clip. <Go To> hour 11 and paste the clip. Notice the mark at the tail of the clip? This is exactly what we don’t want: project tail at hour 11. The Fairlight automatically does this; the workaround is to manually force the project head back, as follows: press <Undo>, <Go To> hour 12 and paste the clip. Now the project head is at the head of the clip, which is what we want. Now, we’ll inch our way to hour 10. <Edit> - Cut the clip. <Go To> hour 11 and paste the clip. Notice how the project head is now at the head of the clip. <Edit> - Cut the clip. <Go To> hour 10 and paste the clip. So far so good.

Now, we have to manually force the project tail ahead to encompass the current reel. Let’s assume you are about to cut Reel 6. <Edit> - Cut the clip. <Go To> hour 4 and paste the clip. <Edit> - Cut the clip. <Go To> hour 5 and paste the clip. <Edit> - Cut the clip. <Go To> hour 7 and paste the clip. <Blue>Edit Mark now shows the project head at hour 10 and the project tail at hour 7 (plus the length of your clip). You can now add any marks for scene changes, sync pops, etc., that you want duplicated in every project, to your template. When this is done, make an extension from it for each project of the reel, and you’ll have a consistent format that avoids the pitfalls of the Fairlight 24-hour timeline.

 
Jayme Parker is a Sound Editor. His credits include 'The Thin Red Line',
'Deep Blue Sea', and 'The Cell'. He is currently working on 'American Outlaws' and 'Driven'.
He welcomes comments and suggestions via email

 
Reprinted from
The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine
Vol. 22, No. 2 - May/June 2001

 
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