The HitFilm editor can have multiple audio tracks. This makes it possible to create a soundscape from different audio clips, including dialogue, sound effects, music, etc. For information on using banners, seeaudio and video tracks.
A variety of features are included to help you edit your audio.
audio mixer
The Audio Mixer panel provides a traditional interface for tweaking your audio to ensure everything is heard properly without clipping.
*Audio clipping or peaking occurs when the audio output is outside of the playback range. It shows up red on the gauges and introduces digital distortion to the audio that needs to be avoided.
Audio peaks are drawn as green bars during playback or when you move the playhead. Each audio channel is shown as a separate bar. Thin white lines are drawn separately to show the peak levels for each channel, and the peak level is shown above the bars. These peaks are held momentarily so you can easily spot unwanted clipping.
When clipping occurs, the peak volume indicator on the affected channel turns red. This is a useful way to identify areas where the audio mix is too loud and may cause playback distortion. Lowering the combined volume of the audio tracks in this range prevents clipping. Clipped peaks remain red until you start new playback or move the playhead.
*The peak meter is not directly synonymous with loudness or loudness. Instead, it represents the amplitude level. This usually correlates with loudness, but other factors (such as frequency) can also affect perceived loudness.
- levels
To the left of each track's meter is a fader for adjusting the track's audio signal over a range of -60 to +12. The current settings are shown directly below the fader. - balance
Each audio track is stereo. Below the meter, the panning slider controls the balance between the left and right channels. 0.0 is centered, perfectly balanced between left and right. Moving the balance left or right increases the signal on that side while decreasing the signal on the opposite side. This can be used to position sounds on the soundstage to match their position within the frame. - Mute and solo
The mute and solo buttons are useful for quickly controlling which tracks are audible.- Duration:Clicking the mute button will mute the track until the mute button is released.
- Only:Soloing a track has the same result as muting all other tracks. When a solo button is activated, only soloed tracks are audible.
- Activate keyframe:The circle to the right of the Solo button activates the track level keyframe. This allows you to adjust track levels over time using the faders in the Audio Mixer.
- main line
The master track on the right shows the level of the overall mix after all tracks have been combined. This is the same value shown in the Meters panel, but the Master track also features a fader, making it easy to adjust master levels with a single slider.
Audiometer
The audio meter panel shows your audio levels so you can adjust audio levels accordingly to ensure your soundtrack is heard without avoiding clipping.
*Audio clipping or peaking occurs when the audio output is outside of the playback range. This leads to a distorted result that is best avoided.
Audio peaks are drawn as green bars during playback or when you move the playhead. Each audio channel is shown as a separate bar. Thin white lines are drawn separately to show the peak levels for each channel, and the peak level is shown above the bars. These peaks are held momentarily so you can easily spot unwanted clipping.
When clipping occurs, the peak volume indicator on the affected channel turns red. This is a useful way to identify areas where the audio mix is too loud and may cause playback distortion. Lowering the combined volume of the audio tracks in this range prevents clipping. Clipped peaks remain red until you start new playback or move the playhead.
*The peak meter is not directly synonymous with loudness or loudness. Instead, it represents the amplitude level. This usually correlates with loudness, but other factors (such as frequency) can also affect perceived loudness.
Understand the metric scale
The measurement scale is dBFS (full decibel scale), which means that 0 dBFS is the maximum audio level possible before clipping occurs.
Top bars are drawn with a spectrum of colors for quick readability. Bars turn green below -9 dBFS to indicate safe levels. As levels rise above -9dBFS, the gradient changes from green to yellow, indicating levels are still acceptable, but are approaching the maximum acceptable level. When the gradient turns red, the level has exceeded 0 dBFS and the signal is being clipped. Since clipping introduces distortion in the audio signal, you should adjust the audio levels to avoid red.
The scale goes all the way up to +6, giving you an indication of how far past 0dBFS the audio is peaking, allowing you to adjust accordingly to avoid clipping. For example, if your peak is clipping at +3, you should reduce your audio level by at least 3 dB to bring it into the acceptable range.
static vs. dynamic spikes
The audiometer menu has an option to hold peak readings. This prevents peak values from decreasing during playback, the so-called static peaks. So at the end of the playback you have a reading set to the maximum peak level during that section of the timeline without having to watch the audiometers during playback.
With Peak Retention disabled, the audiometers use dynamic peaks that are updated every two seconds. After two seconds, the bars will fall again if the spikes were lower than a previous spike.
waveforms
The editor timeline, composite shot timelines, and trimmer display waveforms for audio. This provides a visual representation of audio over time, making it easy to position clips based on audio content.
- options
There are several waveform types to choose from on the Options screen.- On the channellist:Displays individual waveforms for each channel in the audio stream and is a general representation of audio. So you see 1 waveform for mono audio, 2 waveforms for stereo and 6 waveforms for 5.1 surround sound. For example, it can be useful to see where there is silence on a particular channel.
- Channel composition:This simply draws all waveforms in the audio stream on top of each other. Therefore you will only see one waveform even if the source is Stereo or 5.1. This view isn't particularly useful for detailed work, but it can be useful when you're short on screen real estate and still want to see a plotted waveform.
- effective valueAmplitude:Similar to Channel Composite, it shows a single graph of all channels in the audio stream, but instead of plotting a waveform, it shows the average levels of the audio signal over time. Visualizing an average of audio levels in this way is a better way of determining loudness than examining a waveform, as it provides a better approximation of how our ears and brain perceive loudness.
p(border of banner). note thateffective valuethe range is still only a loose correlation or rough guide. There are many factors that affect the human perception of loudness that are not contained in oneeffective valuechart, such as B. the frequency of sounds. (Our ears are more or less sensitive to different frequencies, which means the same output doesn't always result in the same perceived loudness.)
- waveform editor
By default, waveforms are displayed on all Editor audio tracks when the audio size is set to Medium, Large, or Extra Large. Small traces do not indicate waveforms. For more information on adjusting the audio track size, seeaudio and video tracks.
- Composite trigger waveforms
Layers containing audio can display waveforms in timelines of composite recordings. This option can be enabled per layer so only the waveforms you want to see are shown.
To enable waveforms for each layer that contains audio, open Layer Properties in the control panel and enableshow waveformPossibility. You can also access this option by right-clicking the layer in the timeline and selecting Options > Show Waveform from the context menu.
Adjusting the volume
A clip's volume can change over time. By adjusting the volume of different clips, you can create a more interesting soundtrack.
The volume can be adjusted in the audio mixer, in the control panel or directly in the timeline. Each audio clip in the editor's timeline has a volume bar that can be dragged up and down. By default, the volume bar changes the volume of the entire clip. You can add keyframes by holding downCTRL(CMDon a Mac) and click the volume bar.
Keyframes can also be toggled on and off from the panel by clicking the keyframe button to the left of the Volume property.
When the Audio property is selected in the Control panel, you can use the keyframe navigation buttons at the top of the timeline to jump between keyframes.
audio effects
HitFilm includes several effects to further customize your audio. They are located in the Effects Library in the Audio folder.
To add an audio effect to an audio clip, drag it from the Effects panel onto the clip. You can adjust the effect in the Control panel.
For information on individual audio effects, seeaudio effectsChapter.
Synchronize video and audio
If your video and audio are recorded in separate files, you can synchronize them in the HitFilm media panel. To seeAudio and video synchronizationfor instructions and more information.
© 2018 FXhome Ltd.