Beyond Print
Designing a Soundscape
Setting the Mood with Effects
Part of developing your sound design involves creating a mood that suits your project.
There are two types of effects that can help to accomplish this: audio effects and sound effects.
Audio effects alter existing audio files to achieve a different sound, such as adding reverb to a vocal track to make it sound as though the action is taking place in a larger room. Audio effects are applied to audio files in much the same way filters are applied in Photoshop. One of the advantages of working in Soundtrack Pro is that any effects that are applied are non-destructive. This means that you are free to experiment with your sound design without fear of affecting any of your original files. Other common audio effects include equalization and delay.
Sound effects are actual audio files that can be included in your project to enhance your design. Such effects include door slams, crowd noise, cars passing or explosions.
Often times, sound effects are what really sell the visual elements of a project. What would a nighttime nature scene be without the sound of crickets?
Soundtrack Pro comes with a library of sounds to choose from so you can begin adding them right away.
Building a Soundtrack Using Loops
Music can be used to create an overall vibe for your project. The problem is that it can sometimes be hard to find the right piece of music, and when you do, you have to make sure you have the permission to use it. Loops are an easy way to create a royalty-free soundtrack for your project.
Loops, like stock images are the building blocks on which you can create your composition. By dragging loops to the tracks in the timeline you can quickly build up layers of sound. Loops are different from sound effects in that they are meant to be repeatable. Place the same loop on the timeline multiple times and the transition from loop to loop will be seamless. This allows you to create a custom music bed of perfect length.
Soundtrack Pro comes with a collection of loops to start building a music bed for your project. And if you want to expand your loop library, Jam Packs are available from Apple that give you even more royalty free loops to choose from. When you purchase a Jam Pack you get a wide assortment of new sounds allowing you to greater stretch your musical creativity.
Mixing it All Together
Once you have all of your sound elements in place, you’ll want to mix them to create a proper balance. Much in the way that white balance affects the overall feel of an image, your mix will determine the overall feel of your Soundtrack Pro project.
The mixer in Soundtrack Pro provides you with control over the volume and panning of each track. This is where you make choices about which tracks stand out in your mix.
When you are happy with the way your mix sounds, you can easily send it back to Final Cut Pro and sync it to your video for final output. This is accomplished using the Export function. When you export a mix to Final Cut Pro you can take advantage of Automatic Mixdown Return. This feature sends your audio mix back to Final Cut Pro and creates a new sequence with your mixdown placed on additional audio tracks.
If after listening to your mix in your Final Cut Pro project you would like to make additional changes, you can send your mix Back to Soundtrack Pro directly from the Final Cut Pro timeline.
To export your mix using Automatic Mixdown Return, follow these easy steps:
- Step 1: In the File menu choose Export
- Step 2: Choose a name and destination for your file
- Step 3: From the After Export dropdown menu choose Send files to Final Cut Pro Sequence
- Step 4: Click on Export
- Step 5: Your mix will appear in a copy of your Final Cut Pro sequence
