introduction to adobe soundbooth

01/11 Love/Schrock/Mazzotta/Dietz 1

Introduction to Adobe Soundbooth

Contents

Table of Contents 2 Introduction; Getting to Know the Primary Features and Controls: Multitrack View 3 Multitrack View cont. 4 Multitrack View cont.; Editor View 5 Editor View cont.; Creating a New Project 6 Creating a New Project cont.; Recording Narration 7 Creating a New Project cont.: Saving Your Work; Basic Editing:

Volume Controls, Edits You Can Make in Multitrack View 8 Basic Editing cont.: Using the Same Source Material Multiple Times, Trimming of Files, Fades and Volume Keyframes 9 Basic Editing cont.: Edits You Can Make in Editor View: Setting

In and Out Points, Pasting Audio Selections, Differences between Different Volume Adjustments, Noise Reduction

10 Basic Editing cont.: Noise Reduction cont., Markers, Additional Processes, Tasks and Effects, Exporting Your Edited Project

11 Exporting Your Edited Project cont. There will soon be a keyboard shortcuts document for those who prefer to make their edits via keyboard instead of menus


Introduction At this point, you should have audio files saved to the hard drive of your computer in an audio file format such as WAV, MP3 or WMA. If your audio recorder came with software for downloading files to your computer, use that software to download your audio to your computer as an actual audio file instead of an unreadable data file. If your audio is in an audio file your computer plays but Adobe Soundbooth does not read, you can follow the steps in “Converting Audio Files Using VLC Media Player” to convert your audio into a WAV or MP3 file. Mac users who have audio in WMA format will need to convert their audio to WAV following the VLC documentation.

Getting to Know the Primary Features and Controls Adobe Soundbooth has two views, or interfaces: a multitrack, or global, view for editing an entire project and an editor, or single track, view for doing finer editing on one part of a project or a single file. In both views, audio recorded in stereo will appear with two green waveforms, or visual representations of what the audio looks like. Audio recorded in mono will appear with one waveform. In both views, there is a yellow timecode readout at the bottom of the screen, telling you at what point in time your playhead is located during playback and editing.

Multitrack View

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A. Tool Palette and Audio Meter

In Multitrack View, the Move tool is the only active tool in the Tool Palette. Use this to move your audio files forward and back in the multitrack file’s timeline. Next to the Tool Palette is an audio meter for the entire multitrack file. The image above shows what proper audio levels should peak at. Some yellow is a healthy level. If the levels are too high and the levels are indicated with red the sound may be distorted and unusable.

B. Files Window The Files Window is where files can be opened, imported, created or deleted. These icons are laid out in that order at the top of the window. A shortcut to import files is to double-click in the open area of the window and the import window will open.

C. Tasks, Effects, Markers, Properties, History and Video Window These tabs contain common tasks and effects. Properties will allow you to view specific information about your files. The second window contains the History (of actions taken in the program) and Video. Video allows you to see images of a video if you are using Soundbooth to sweeten audio associated with a video file. The use of tasks and effects will be discussed later. Tasks and effects can also be accessed from the menu at the top of the program window. D. Multitrack Timeline

A Master volume control – controls the multitrack volume of all mixed tracks. B Playhead or position indicator C Mute track D Solo track – to hear only the audio from the selected track (mutes all other tracks) E Track volume control – controls volume of an entire track F Track pan control – controls the left and right mix of an entire track G Track audio level meters H Fades – click and drag to fade the track’s volume in or out I Edit – opens up the clip in the edit view J Clip volume control – controls volume of individual clips within the track K Clip pan control – controls the left and right mix of individual clips within the track L Volume Keyframe Control – use to make multiple fades or volume changes in a clip

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At the top of the Multitrack View is a set of zoom controls. By adjusting the area of the small green waveform that is enclosed by the yellow brackets, you can customize the level of magnification. Click the magnifying glass at the right of this area to zoom out all the way.

At the bottom of the Multitrack View you have the following controls:

Editor View In the Editor View you can view the individual files as a waveform, a spectral frequency display or a split screen of both. Most people will use the waveform display for most editing tasks. Waveform Split screen

A Trim beginning – Drag to the right to trim beginning of file. Note this is a destructive action. B Trim end – Drag to the left to trim the end of file. Note this is a destructive action. C Audio levels control. D Timecode display E Fade In – Click this icon to add a fade in from the beginning of the file to where your playhead is. F Fade Out – Click this icon to add a fade out from the end of the file to where your playhead is. G Set In Point – Sets the in point of a selection in the editor view. H Set Out Point – Sets the out point of a selection in the editor view. I Stop J Play

Go to Beginning

Stop Play Loop Record

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K Loop playback L Record M Go to Previous N Go to Next O Louder icon – Increases the overall volume by 3 decibels P Equalize Volume Levels – Corrects volume level differences across the entire audio clip Q Spectral Frequency Display – Toggle on and off to show the spectral frequncey of clip. R Time Selection Tool – Click and drag to make a selection in the editor view. S Hand Tool – When zoomed in, use to see different areas of file by click and drag. T Zoom tool – Click on file to zoom in. ALT+Click to zoom out. U Frequency Selection Tool (Spectral View) – Click and drag up or down to select frequency range. V Rectangle Marque Tool (Spectral View) – Use to make more precise frequency selections. W Lasso Tool (Spectral View) – Use to make even more precise frequency selections.

Creating a New Project Soundbooth will open both audio and video files, including .wma, .wav,.mp3, .m4a, .aif, .mov, mp4, flv, m4v, etc. (Note to Mac users: .wma files will not work in the Mac version of Soundbooth). There are two ways to start off your project, depending on whether you’re editing your files one at a time or combining several files into a single finished project.

Working with One File at a Time If you have files you wish to edit separately, go to File Import Files. Select the files you wish to import, and click Open. This will add the files to the Files panel. You can also import files by clicking on the Import File icon in the Files panel and navigating to the file you wish to Import. You may also drag and drop files from any location on your computer directly into the Files panel or into the editor itself. If you use File Open instead of File Import, the file waveform will open up in the Editor View. If you double-click on any file in the Files panel, it will also open up in the Editor View.


Working with Multiple Files Simultaneously If you have multiple files you wish to mix, or combine into a single finished file, you’ll want to create a new multitrack file. Go to File New Multitrack File. A new file will open in the Files panel, and a new, empty audio track will open in the multitrack timeline. In the empty audio track, right-click and select Insert File. Navigate through your computer’s file structure and find the file or files you would like to add to your project at this time. Those files will appear under the Untitled Multitrack file in the Files panel and will open in the Audio 1 track of your timeline. Each file will be represented by its own green waveform. If you have an audio file in the Files panel that you want to add to a multitrack file, drag that file from the Files panel and drop it into the track you wish it to appear in. If you need to add additional audio tracks to the multitrack timeline (for example, you want a layer of natural sound to play at the same time as your narration and soundbytes), right-click on an existing audio track and select “Insert Audio Track.” To delete excess audio tracks, right-click on the track you wish to remove and select “Delete Track.”

Removing Unneeded Files If you accidentally import a file you did not mean to, click on that file in the Files panel, and then click on the garbage can icon to remove it from the project. This only deletes the file from the project. It does not delete it from your computer.

Recording Narration You can record narration, notes to yourself or other types of audio directing in Soundbooth. Press the record button at the bottom of the screen to open the Record Window. When the Record Window opens, you’ll see an interface like the one at the left. Press the Settings button to choose the microphone you would like to use as your recording source (many of today’s computers have multiple microphones and inputs that Soundbooth can sense) and the device you would like to use as your output for monitoring purposes (either your speakers or a headphone jack). Check “Monitor Input

during Recording” if you are listening to yourself over headphones or if the computer and the microphone will be located in two different spaces. In the space next to File Name, you can choose the naming convention for your recordings. Press the Browse button to choose a location to save your files to. Press Record to start recording and Stop to stop recording. When you finish, press Close. You’ll find your recording in the Files Window once you close the Record Window.


Saving Your Work It’s important to save your work every so often to make sure you don’t lose any edits if something goes wrong with your computer. As you’re working on your project, you should save it as an Adobe Sound Document (.asnd). This is a non-destructive data file that makes notes of what changes you want to make to your source material; it does not make changes to your source material itself. Go to File Save As to save your work. If you’re working on a multitrack project, you can also right-click on the “Untitled Multitrack” file in your Files panel and select “Save ‘Untitled Multitrack’ As” to name and save your project. Note that, when saving a multitrack file, only the files under the multitrack file will be saved in the project. If you exit from Soundbooth, any files that have not been imported or added to the multitrack file will not be reopened when you reopen the software.

Basic Editing

Volume and Pan Controls There are two ways to use the volume and pan controls located in the software. One is to place your cursor over one of the knobs, hold down your left mouse button, and move the cursor to the left or right until the desired change has been

made. The other is to click on the numbers to the right of the knob and type in a new value. To go to the left, type a minus sign (-) before the numerical value.

Multitrack View While in the Multitrack View, you can make limited edits to the files inside your multitrack file. If you wish to reorder your audio files or move them to different tracks, just click and drag the files to their new locations. If you wish to move a file to an earlier point in time, you must move another file out of the way to make room for it. If you wish to select several files in the multitrack timeline simultaneously, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and begin your selection process. Once you’ve selected all the files, you can let go of the Ctrl key and make the move or change you wish to make. If you have multiple audio tracks layered on top of each other (natural sound and narration playing simultaneously, for example) but you need to listen to just a single track for editing purposes, click the Solo button of the track you wish to listen to. This will turn off the audio for every other audio track except the selected track. The Split Clip Function Sometimes, you’ll want to use one part of a file at one point in time and another part of a file at a different time. To do this, you can place the playhead between the two areas of the file, then right-click on the file and select “Split Clip.” This will divide the file in two at the playhead and


create a second instance of the file inside your Files Window. You can then move each portion of the newly divided clip wherever you would like in the timeline. This tool is the equivalent of the Razor Tool found in most applications. Using the Same Source Material Multiple Times in a Project

If you need to use a single file multiple times in a project, you can drag the file into your multitrack timeline a second time or right-click inside your multitrack and select Insert File. You can also right-click on the first instance of a file and select copy and paste it to create another instance in the timeline. You can edit the second instance of this file just like you would edit the first instance. Repeat however many times you have material you want to use from that file.

Trimming the Length of Files You can change the In point or the Out point of a clip in the timeline by using the Selection Tool. Place your cursor over either end of a clip until it changes into a red bracket with a double arrow

through it. This is your Trim Tool (Trim-in or Trim-out , depending on whether you’re at the beginning or end of a clip), also known informally as the Red Bracket Tool. Hold down your left mouse button and drag the cursor until the clip is the new length you desire. Fade In, Fade Out and Volume Keyframe Control If you wish to add a fade in or a fade out to one of your clips, click on that clip in the multitrack timeline so the Fade In and Fade Out icons appear at the top corners of that clip. Then, click on the icon that corresponds with the fade you wish to add and drag your cursor to draw the shape of the yellow fade curve. Your fade does not have to be linear (a straight line); it can be a logarithmic or exponential curve over the duration of the fade. As you’re dragging your cursor, you don’t have to stay over the clip; you can move your cursor to any place on your screen in order to make the curve fit the shape you’re trying to achieve. Be patient as you’re drawing your curve; sometimes it can be difficult to get the shape you want, especially with logarithmic curves (like the one to the right). To cancel a fade, drag the fade icon back to the corner until the yellow line disappears.

If you wish to make a volume change in the middle of an audio clip (a nat pop or fade some background sound in the middle of a story), you can use the volume keyframe control to create keyframes around which you can adjust the volume. Click on the blue line that runs through the clip to add keyframes at the desired volume adjustment points, then drag the keyframes to raise or lower the volume. If you add one keyframe and raise or lower the entire line, it can be used as another method of volume control. If you add two keyframes, you can have part of your audio at one volume, another part at another volume, and a transition zone in between (like the example at the left).


Editor View The Editor View allows you to make finer edits to individual clips than the Multitrack View allows. To open a file from the multitrack timeline in Editor View, click on the Edit button in the top right-hand corner of the clip. To open files from the Files panel in Editor View, double-click on the file you wish to open. Setting an In Point or an Out Point To make edits to portions of your file, you’ll need to set what are known as an in point and an out point. These points indicate the area of the file that should be edited. There are three ways to set an in point or an out point: Use the Time Selection Tool to highlight the area to be edited, just

like highlighting text in Microsoft Word; Play the audio or drag the playhead to where you want your point

and click the “Set In Point” or “Set Out Point” icons on the editor; Play the audio or drag the playhead to where you want your point

and press the I key or the O key on your keyboard. Once you’ve selected the area you wish to edit, you can make the edit (cut, copy, volume adjustment, Tasks, Processes or Effects) you wish to make. To change the location of an in or out point, place your cursor over the in or out point until it turns into a red bracket with a double arrow through it. Then, click and drag the in or out point to the new location. Pasting Audio Selections Once you’ve cut or copied a selection, move the playhead to the location (either in that file or in the Editor View for another file) you wish to paste to, then paste the selection to that area. Difference Between Volume Adjustments Listed Under Processes After highlighting a portion of audio, you may notice that you have four options under Processes: Make Louder, Normalize, Hard Limit and Equalize Volume Levels. Each of these serves a specific function: Normalizing increases the volume of the entire selection Hard Limiting means you can increase the volume of the quiet parts of a selection by a great

degree but increase the loud parts of that same selection by only a small degree in order to prevent the loud parts from becoming distorted

Equalize Volume Levels makes everything within a highlighted area the same volume Make Louder applies a hard limit and raises the volume in a single step You should manually adjust the volume of the clips and tracks in your multitrack timeline relative to each other using the regular volume controls as your edit your story. Don’t normalize, equalize or hard limit any of your audio until your other editing is complete. Noise Reduction When recording audio, always be aware of your surroundings and listen to your audio before you come back to the studio or newsroom. If there’s a problem with your sound, like unwanted noises, the best way to correct that is to redo the recording right then and there.


Sometimes, that’s not an option. You may be on a tight deadline or working with file material you cannot recreate. In certain circumstances, you can reduce or eliminate this noise with the Reduce Noise Tool. Do not assume the Reduce Noise Tool will work perfectly every time. Reduce Noise and similar tools work best for noises with a consistent frequency and volume, such as a buzzing ceiling fan in the background of an interview. Intermittent or inconsistent noises, such as traffic passing by an open window or children playing a raucous game of soccer, don’t screen out as well. To use Reduce Noise, find an area in the clip where neither you nor your subject is talking. Highlight this area. Then, go to Processes Capture Noise Print. The computer will analyze this highlighted area for a few seconds. Next, highlight the entire segment you wish to remove noise from, then go to Processes Reduce Noise. In the window that appears, use the two faders to adjust the amount of noise you

want to remove. Use the Preview button to review your work; you must make sure not to distort the audio you’re keeping. When satisfied, click the OK button. The shape of the waveform in the area you highlighted will change, indicating the removal has been completed.

Remove Clicks & Pops and Remove Rumble are similar tools that can be used in a similar fashion. Markers Markers are signposts you can leave yourself during the editing process so it is easy to return to specific points to make edits later in the process. Not all sound editors use markers, but some with larger processes or a highly automated editing process take advantage of this feature. To insert a marker at the current location of your playhead, press the M key on your keyboard, the Add Marker icon in the Markers panel or go to Edit Markers Set Flash Cue Point. Additional Processes, Tasks and Effects There are a number of other tools at your disposal in Adobe Soundbooth that are not described in this document. Please be careful when experimenting with them, both for technical reasons and editorial reasons. Many tools, especially audio effects, may not be appropriate for use in a news story because they change the nature of the audio more than our industry’s ethics allow. Always speak with your editor if you want to try a new effect that they did not ask for in your reporting.

Exporting Your Edited Project When you have finished editing your audio, you must export your project as a WAV or MP3 file. Soundbooth’s .asnd file format is a data file that references your source material; it will not play back audio if someone tries to open it on another computer. You must turn in a WAV or MP3 file! The instructions on the next page explain in detail how to export your edited project.


To export a multitrack timeline, go to File Export Mutitrack Mixdown. To export a single edited file, go to File Save As. Choose the location on your computer where you wish to save your file to, give your exported file a name and choose the file format. If your file is being uploaded to Medill’s Content Management System, you must export your finished project as an MP3 file. If your file is being given directly to an instructor or imported into another program for additional use or editing, you can export it as WAV or MP3, depending on the parameters of the destination program. If you’re exporting as WAV, the default options on the “Save As Options” screen are fine. If you want, you can uncheck “Add To Files Panel” under the General category.

If you’re exporting as MP3, set the option next to Channels to Mono unless your instructor says otherwise. Feel free to increase the bitrate from 128 Kbps to 192 Kbps to improve the quality if 128 Kbps doesn’t sound clear enough to you.

The exported file can now be turned in to your instructor, or imported into other programs for further use.

introduction to adobe soundbooth

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