itunes or imovie audio into FCP?
by mortimer heathcliff
on
Jun 27, 2006 at 5:02:50 am
i've just noticed that when i bring some songs into my computer via itunes (aiff format), when i bring those files into FCP the quiet areas sound very "fizzy", like my ear is right next to a glass of 7UP. i imported the same song straight from the CD into iMovie (aiff format) and then into FCP and it was "perfectly" clear. what gives? is this how you guys bring audio in? seems like an extra step, but i guess it's worth it if it sounds better...
Re: itunes or imovie audio into FCP? by Jerry Hofmann on Jun 27, 2006 at 12:45:41 pm
I just copy and use the 44.1 files directly... don't bother convert at all if I'm not going to use too many tracks of audio. The up conversion directly done in the timeline is just fine once you render these files, using the "item level" command. (and it's fast too).
Re: itunes or imovie audio into FCP? by Bret Williams on Jun 27, 2006 at 1:31:28 pm
Years ago this is how the manual stated how to do it. Version 4.x. Not sure if it still does, but the software is even more powerful.
And if you are going to use more tracks, it won't be a problem. But you can highlight the 44.1 track in your sequence and do an "item level" render which will simply up rez the file to 48 right there in the timeline. It won't come unrendered or unrezzed even if you add audio tracks or move it around.
I really can't understand why people are using quicktime and itunes any more up rez their audio files. It is an extra step.
Re: itunes or imovie audio into FCP? by Matte on Jun 27, 2006 at 1:43:34 pm
[Bret Williams]"I really can't understand why people are using quicktime and itunes any more up rez their audio files. It is an extra step."
I MUST do it for mp3 files, of course.
But the reason I convert CD tracks in iTunes is that I have several "music libraries" that I edit with.
We all know how much TIME searching for the "right track" can take, so when I find a GOOD ONE, many times, I'll want to re-use the same cuts I've used before, in subsequent projects.
Since I converted the track to a 48 kHz file the first time I used it (and just kept the new file on one of my connected HD's) I don't need to load the CD in the Mac, or even need to up-convert it on the FCP timeline, the next time I want to use that track.
Re: itunes or imovie audio into FCP? by Bret Williams on Jun 27, 2006 at 3:18:42 pm
True, I don't do OMF stuff. That seems pretty low tech and restrictive. So exactly what do you do with sample rates you can't do anything about? DV itself has 2 native sample rates. 48 and 32. As well, FCP determines the sample rate due to camera differences and locked and unlocked audio. If you check your bins you'll find that the sample rates differ at times from shot to shot, especially if you're using older Canon cameras of course. You might find the actual sample rate for a clip is 47.955 or 48.122, etc. If those are used at 48, they'd slowly drift off sync.
