TECH TIPS
Round-Tripper
Taking the Easy Way Out Mixing Audio with Soundtrack Pro
by Larry Jordan
  Top: Figure 1. Above: Figure 2. |
Final Cut Pro (FCP) long has had an excellent reputation for its ability to edit video and film. But, when it came to mixing audio, its feature set could only be described as adequate––and that was only if you were being charitable. This meant that for years, editors would move audio files from Final Cut to ProTools via OMF for final audio sweetening.
This landscape radically changed with the release of Final Cut Studio (version 5) and Soundtrack Pro. Now we have the ability to create simple to moderate mixes without all the hassles of OMF export. However, what you may not know is that built into the two applications is a very fast, very powerful way to quickly move files between the two applications—a process called “round-tripping.”
The purpose of this article is to show you how round-tripping works and give you some ideas about why you would want to use this feature.
Soundtrack Editing Modes
Soundtrack Pro has two audio editing modes: Audio File Project and Multi-Track
Project.
An Audio File Project is the best choice when you want to use Soundtrack to replace or repair gaps in room tone; reduce the background noise of a clip; remove pops, clicks or power line hum; or edit your audio to remove stutters or heavy breathing.
A Multi-Track Project is the best choice when you want to mix your project. Unlike Final Cut itself, Soundtrack Pro provides multi-channel output, busses and submixes, sends, world-class audio filters and more flexible keyframe positioning, as well as all the standard mixing tools you would expect in a professional mixing application.
This article illustrates how to move files between Final Cut and Soundtrack Pro for either mode.
Round-Tripping an Audio File Project
Here’s the problem: You have an audio clip that needs help. The speaker
is talking so softly you can barely hear her. Plus, she’s standing next
to an air conditioner, and uses lots of “ums” and “ahs.”
In other words, it’s a normal interview.
Rather than mess with this in Final Cut, you need to send it directly to
Soundtrack Pro’s audio repair and editing facility: an Audio File Project.
To do this:
1) Select the clip you want to fix in the Final Cut timeline (see figure 1).
2) Control-click on the audio portion of the clip and select Send to >
Soundtrack Pro Audio File Project (see figure 2). You can also access this
via the File menu, but using the Control-click method is much faster.
3) This dialogue asks where you want to save the file. My recommendation is
to save it in your FCP Projects folder, along with the rest of your project
source files (see figure 3).
4) Soundtrack Pro automatically opens up and loads your file––ready
for editing. (In a subsquent article, we will discuss how to edit your audio
and repair all of these problems.)
 Figure 3. |
Once your audio is edited and sounding perfect, you need to get it
back to Final Cut Pro. And this is where the magic starts. All you
need to do is save your file, and the instant you save it, the operating
system tells Final Cut that the new file is ready and FCP instantly
links to it and updates your timeline.
Faster than you can switch back to FCP from Soundtrack, the new file
is ready (see figure 4). This is very cool!
 Figure 4. |
If you look very carefully at your timeline, you’ll notice that the old audio clip has been replaced by a new file with the word “(sent)” at the end. This is the file that Final Cut created when it sent the audio to Soundtrack. The great benefit about this new file is that your original audio has not been touched. All of these changes are made to a copy of the file. If you ever need to go back to the original, it remains perfect and untouched.
If you need to re-edit audio that has already been sent to Soundtrack, just Control-click on the clip again and select Send to > Soundtrack Pro Audio File Project. Make your changes and save it. Instant update! This round-trip process makes working with your audio fast and easy.
Round-Tripping an Entire Sequence
When your sequence is edited and you need a mix, it’s time to send your
files to Soundtrack as a Multi-Track Project.
To send an entire sequence:
1) Select all the clips in your sequence. Press Cmd+A.
2) Control-click on any audio clip and select Send to > Soundtrack
Pro Multi-Track Project.
3) In the next dialogue, give your export a name (I generally accept
the default). The top checkbox means that Soundtrack will immediately
open and import your files. The bottom checkbox means that FCP will
create a small video of your entire sequence so you can watch while
you mix (see figure 7).
 Figure 7. |
4) Soundtrack opens and displays all your clips as individual clips,
along with a video of your edited sequence. Now you are ready to mix
(which will also be covered in a subsequent Tech Tip).
When you are ready to output your mix, there are a few more steps
to go through. Just as a Final Cut project isn’t your finished
video––it is merely the instructions on how to edit your
video––so too a Soundtrack Project isn’t your mix––it
is simply the instructions on how to create the mix.
So, here are the steps to create your mix and move it back into Final
Cut:
1) Go to File > Export > Export Mix (see figure 8).
 Figure 8. |
2) Give your mix a name and a location (see figure 9). I store all my mixes to my second drive, rather than my boot drive, for both space and performance reasons.
. |
3) Switch back to Final Cut and select File > Import > Files.
4) Find your file and click Choose; it appears in the Browser).
5) Drag the audio clip into your Timeline and position it all the
way to the left and below all your existing audio clips. FCP automatically
creates two new audio tracks to store it .
6) Turn off all the green visibility lights on the left side of the
Timeline, except for the two new mix tracks. This turns off the audio
for all other tracks. (A fast way to do this is to Option-click on
the visibility light for one of the new tracks.)
By leaving all your source audio in place, it is easy to re-export for a new mix or just start again from scratch to create a whole new mix. If you ever need to re-edit your mix, Control-click on the audio mix clip and select Open in Editor.
And that’s it: round-tripping provides a fast, easy way to move audio between Final Cut and Soundtrack Pro.
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 also 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 training books. Visit his website at www.larryjordan.biz.
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