Exercise 9
Working with Sound

These exercises allow you to practice the audio and sound-related features discussed in this lesson. You will review and fix some sound issues, organize your sound effects, and learn to export a mix to Pro Tools.

Media Used: Agent MXZero

Duration: 55 minutes

GOALS

Learn how to develop an ear for proper audio

Review and fix a sequence that has some issues with its audio

Add music, sound effects, and ambience to a scene from Agent MXZero

Organize sound effects on the timeline

Export a mix to Pro Tools

Exercise 9.1: Analyzing Audio

In this exercise, you will review a sequence that has some issues with its audio. After reviewing it, you’ll learn how to describe the problems and how you might fix them. Be sure to use proper terms and reference the Audio tool when describing the problem.

If this lesson is part of classroom-based training, your instructor may facilitate a class discussion regarding the sequence’s audio.

To begin developing your ear for audio:

1. Open AGENT MXZERO> LESSON 9 - MIXING > LESSON 9 SEQUENCES > PART 1 – ANALYZE.

2. Open the AUDIO tool (choose TOOLS > AUDIO TOOL).

3. Play the sequence and critique the audio mix.

When reviewing the sequence, consider the following questions:

Is the audio clear?

Has balance been achieved?

Which sounds are too loud? Too quiet?

In the next exercise, you will create your own mix for this video sequence.

Exercise 9.2: Creating a Mix

In this exercise, you will add music, sound effects, and ambience to a scene from Agent MXZero. It has music and it has a combination of clips with audio and MOS clips. You’ll add multiple audio tracks in order to organize your timeline, with sound effects on their own tracks and ambience and music on others.

To practice audio mixing:

1. Open AGENT MXZERO > LESSON 9 - MIXING > SOUNDS.

This folder contains four bins that contain the clips that you will use in this exercise.

2. Open AGENT MXZERO > LESSON 9 - MIXING > SEQUENCES > PART 2 - BUILDING A SOUND MIX.

3. Add sound effects, music, and ambience, adjusting levels as required to ensure a proper balance is achieved.

While practicing this exercise, please avoid referring to the earlier sequence and duplicating the other editor’s work. Make it your own by considering the environment that the character is in, and creating his opponents by adding sound effects that represent them. The audience doesn’t have to see the source of the sound effect to know that a big bad villain caused it.

Exercise 9.3: Sending Sound to Pro Tools

In this exercise, you will export the mix you created in Exercise 9.2. The Pro Tools editor is at a different location, so you will need to ensure that the media and metadata are both included.

Use these steps to export an AAF with linked, consolidated media to a folder on your desktop:

1. Right-click AGENT MXZERO > LESSON 9 - MIXING > SEQUENCES > PART 2 - BUILDING A SOUND MIX and select EXPORT. The EXPORT AS dialog box appears.

2. Click OPTIONS, which is part of the EXPORT AS dialog box.

3. Choose to export as an AAF.

4. Select EXPORT METHOD > CONSOLIDATE TO FOLDER.

5. Select RENDER VIDEO EFFECTS.

6. Select a folder on your desktop as the MEDIA DESTINATION folder. (Create a folder on your desktop if necessary.)

7. Select SAVE to save the export setting and return to the EXPORT AS dialog box.

8. Select SAVE again, this time from the EXPORT AS dialog box, to begin exporting the sound using the export setting.

Media Composer consolidates the media used by your sequence, places it in your selected Media Destination folder, and exports an AAF file containing your sequence metadata. The clips in the AAF point to the consolidated media in the Media Destination folder.

If this was an actual post-production scenario, you would then deliver that AAF file and the consolidated media to the Pro Tools editor, by using an external hard disk or copying it to a network folder.