Editing in Multitrack

Report · Jan 08, 2023

hi

I’m still having some issues with a couple of basic features.

The nature of my projects and workflow require frequent switching between the Multitrack and Waveform views, as my editing continues after I have inserted the voice track recorded in Wave into the Multitrack.

By the way, some people strongly recommend voice recording in Multitrack - I actually found it to be more difficult and less user friendly, and so I record and re-record only in the Wave view. One key issue is that after I did re-record a correction in Multitrack, it was NOT saved in the Waveform and so my workflow was broken.

[I have just read an older post about this very issue and the reply – so now I know that this doesn’t work].

So in order to save any changes I made to the audio in Multitrack being reflected in Wave, I need to mix it down and save. Got it. But when I cut and then merged two clips in Multitrack, it automatically saved a Wave file as “merged”). Is this the only change that is saved automatically, and everything else needs to be mixed down and exported as a new working file?

The main issues however that I have are:

Inserting and trimming silence manually at the beginning and the end of the track in Multitrack view.

Every help video on managing silence that I found is about how to clean up silence in bulk, which is not what I want (I never do that). When I added 3 sec of silence at the end of the clip in Wave and saved – it was not reflected in the Multitrack view. The playhead just kept going for another minute or so.

Question: How can I select the desired length of silence at the beginning and the end of the track?

Merging or not merging spliced clips in a track (voice not music)

Again, this seems to be a matter of preference and opinion.

When I don’t merge the spliced clips,

I need to individually lock them in time, and they can unlock themselves (?), but can adjust their position easily when unlocked. So that’s a lot of unlocking and locking.
And even when they are locked, they will show me alerts that they may have shifted out of sync if I made any timeline changes in the music track (which consists of 4-5 clips fading in / out with each other (the same duplicated clip).
In addition, when I simply move the two clips so that they are just touching, I can hear a tiny, tiny bump in the audio. When I fade them in/out just like music, they are still separate clips which I need to lock in time individually.
When adjusting the volume (as the final touch) by dragging the golden line, I need to do it separately for each clip. It’s not easy to align them precisely, unless I heavily zoom in or stretch the track vertically. Is there, by the way an easier and more precise way to adjust the track volume in one go?

When I do merge them (voice clips), I have just one track, but then need to slice again when making further changes.

Question: Given those implications, what is the recommended (best) practice?

thanks 🙂

Report · Jan 08, 2023

Recording in Multitrack is inherently safer than recording in Waveform view; I have no idea why you think it's more difficult (it isn't), and the only way in which I can imagine it being less user-friendly is that you have to set it up first within a track. When you get used to that, it's not an issue.

I'll tell you what is an issue though - using both Multirack and Waveform for recording in the same session. I can't think of anything that's more likely to guarantee confusion! Stick with one or the other, or be confused for ever.

When you added your three seconds of silence that you said wasn't reflected on the timeline - well actually it probably was. You can't just expect to see it magically reflected in the clip, because the clip still has its original timings, which you haven't extended to include your new silence. If you drag the clip out at the end, I'm sure you'll find it. Same thing applies if you add silence at the start.

If you hear bumps in clips when they are butted together, it means that there's something significantly different about the levels of each one at that point. Generally you can get around a lot of these issues by looking carefully at your snapping settings, although it's not always so easy to set up clips so that they are guaranteed to butt at zero-crossing points - which is the ideal situation. Or just let them overlap and crossfade for a few milliseconds - that pretty much works every time.

Merging clips - I never do it. If I want clips to stay locked relative to each other, I group them. Then you can move them as a block if you want and they stay in their relative positions. And you can have as many groups as you want. Only lock clips when you absolutely need to - grouping is far easier to cope with and I think inherently more flexible.

Report · Jan 08, 2023

thanks for your reply.

absolutely, I agree that switching between the two views with recording is not productive, and so the moment I realised the shortcomings of recording in Multitrack, I've been sticking to Wave - saving every edit, and of course, and working with the copy file, not the original.

The issues with recording voice directly to Multitrack are due to its very nature - which you have very well explained in another post. When I said it's more difficult, I meant not more complex or hard to understand or learn, but much more time consuming with additional steps.

Every edit and change in Multitrack must be saved as .wav by mixing down the track (that's before the final mix down and export). which I need to do in order to finish off those edits and additions with effects I can only access in the Wave view such as noise reduction, click removal (I get a lot of clicks which are not mouth clicks but system processing clicks) and compression, to name a few.

When I record in Wave, I can run those straight away with every word and sentence, with uninterrupted workflow. When I record in Multitrack, I have to mix it down and export as .wav every single time - which can be several to dozens of times per project depending on how many corrections to the first recording I need to do. Given that, I can't see how voice recording in Multitrack can be easier ( i.e. more straightforward) and quicker than in Wave.

When you added your three seconds of silence that you said wasn't reflected on the timeline - well actually it probably was. You can't just expect to see it magically reflected in the clip, because the clip still has its original timings, which you haven't extended to include your new silence. If you drag the clip out at the end, I'm sure you'll find it. Same thing applies if you add silence at the start.

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you mean by that.

If I changed the duration of the clip in Wave, why isn't it reflected in Multitrack just all other edits (click, noise, compression, new words etc)? What is so different about the inserted silence that doesn't reproduce it in Multitrack just like everything else?

Why does the clip in Multitrack still have the original silence? I did extend it all the way front to end - and it has about one minute of silence instead of 3 seconds I have created and saved in Wave.

How can I trim the silence at the end to what I want in Multitrack?

I will look into the Snapping Settings and grouping clips. In my projects (other than my podcast), the position of the voiceover relative to the background music is critical to the fraction of a second, with shorter and longer pauses which must perfectly align with music as it carries the voice and is an integral part of the narrative. That's why I like time locking, especially as I said, it's easier to adjust the volume by dragging the line once instead of several times with each clip individually aligning it at the same level which is not easy (given the low level or manual precision in Multitrack view) which takes time.

I can see the benefit of clip grouping as an intermediate step, if you like, so I will try it.

many thanks

Report · Jan 09, 2023

Update on the silence at the end

It's not a bug but an illusion - which could be seen as a bug but it's innocuous.

When I clicked at the icon in the right lower corner in the Multitrack editor Zoom Out Full All Axes - as Steve suggested - the track does go to its proper length, which is the same when mixed down and exported.

Mystery solved! 🙂

Report · Jan 09, 2023

If I changed the duration of the clip in Wave, why isn't it reflected in Multitrack just all other edits (click, noise, compression, new words etc)? What is so different about the inserted silence that doesn't reproduce it in Multitrack just like everything else?
By @Quantum8

If you extend the end of a wav file in Waveform view, you've added time to it. Let's say it originally ended at 2:50:00 and you added three seconds to it. It now ends at 2:53:00 but in Multitrack, the clip's end marker is still set at 2:50:00. To extend this to 2:53:00 you have to drag the clip out. That's the way it works. If you add time to the start of the file, then it's very likely that all the timings for the clip will be wrong, as the timing used for Multitrack counts from the start of the file, and you've just altered it.

Personally I can't see why you are adding silence to files at all. Can you explain why you think this is necessary?

Report · Jan 09, 2023

As I'm still learning Audition I don't know whether it adds automatically extra time at the beginning and end of the file, and if so how and when. My clip in Wave was cut short so I've added 3 secs of silence to ensure that the audio when played doesn't stop abruptly. It's a preference to maintain a high professional quality of my productions.

I can't relate to the scenario you have described as this is not what I experienced. My track was not shorter than in Wave, but significantly longer, for no apparent reason.

However, as I mentioned above, cliking on the Zoom Out Full icon did the trick and brought the track to its intended length.

One note re stretching (dragging out) the track - I haven't actually tried this but in one of the videos I have watched it was shown that stretching the clip slows down the tempo of the speech which is not what I want.

The main thing is that the extra silence is gone, and everything is fine.

Audition has a steep learning curve, and since there is no centralised library with help videos showing every single function of the program (which I believe there should be, and the cost should be not be Adobe's excuse), and so finding all the information is left totally to the user (a handful of Adobe mostly outdated videos and guides don't count), it takes much ore time than it normally would to get a handle on the program.

When I'm learning something new I like to have a comprehensive manual A-Z with screenshots or videos, covering every possible scenario with excercises.

That's how I learn. Quickly and efficiently. I need to have all the information from the start to then make sense of it and sort it out in my memory banks.

By the time I find and watch 30 videos on YouTube half of which contradict the other half (as personal preferences rather than the required process) and ask questions on the Forum, and finally figure out what is what by trial and error - 4 weeks will have passed instead of just one week of intense study and practice with a proper manual.

So yes, I love Audition, it's a fantastic program, but I also have a gripe with Adobe for not producing a proper, comprehensive manual to be updated as needed.

I work fast and learn fast, so anything that slows me down in either process is a source of unecessary frustration, and of course, delays in my workflow.

Thank goodness for this Forum and people like you replying promptly. On some other forums it takes weeks to get a reply.

thanks!

Report · Jan 09, 2023

I agree that Adobe's help resources could be improved, but just to be sure you know of what is available:

You are aware of the user guide and tutorials, right?

You can also look at tutorials from Jason Levine and Mike Russell.

Report · Jan 09, 2023

yes, I've seen the User Guide, but not the tutorials, thanks!

have watched several videos by Mike Russell and have bookmarked Jason Levine.

Once my 8 current urgent projects are done by the end of this week, I will allocate few days non stop on learning Audition. (I like intensive learning by immersion 🙂

Thanks! 🙂

Report · Jan 09, 2023

Please note: I said extend, not stretch - they are different operations. One will alter the length of the track, the other will alter the speed at which it plays. They are not the same thing - look carefully at the icons on the corners of the clip.

There will never be a 'comprehensive manual' - Adobe decided years ago that they were far too expensive to produce, and went out of date very rapidly. They also argued that Audition was professional software, and that professionals wouldn't need a beginner's guide. And, they said, there's this forum...

Report · Jan 16, 2023

yes, thanks, I understand the difference between stretching and extending, just used the wrong word.

They also argued that Audition was professional software, and that professionals wouldn't need a beginner's guide.

This argument is simply not valid on few levels.

Audition doesn't teach the basics of audio production and mastering which professionals don't need (the beginner's guide). It is an audio production software. and just like any computer program it needs to explain in detail what works where and how. Every DAW is different, has different settings, shortcuts, options and worlflow. Also, the assumption that only professional audio producers would buy it is plain wrong, as people at any level of audio production skill might want to use it to take their productions to the next level of skill.

When I buy a top-end digital SLR photo camera, I'm not expecting a course in The Basics of Photography to be included with it, or The Advaned Phoptography Guide. But I do expect a comprehensive user's manual explaining all the buttons and their functions I need to use to achieve certain results and how, covering all the functions available in the camera. In other words, I need to understand in detail the device/program and what it can do for me, not to teach me the art and cratft of the profession - that's up to me to pursue. Every camera is different, just like every DAW.

I am a professional photographer, but when I buy a new high tech camera - for all intents and purposes I'm a beginner in terms of the mastery of that camera, and so I do need to learn everything about it and test every function before I can confidently use it easily and efficiently as a tool to create my phoptographic masterpieces.

So Adobe are confusing two issues here: the level of audio production skill and learning the DAW.

EVERY user buying Audition is a beginner if they are not familiar with it.

Perhaps someone should bring this to their attention.

Report · Jan 17, 2023

I think you might be confusing reasons and excuses! It's the cost that is the real driver. Absolutely don't hold your breath...

Report · Jan 17, 2023

I'm not confusing anything - I have addressed your statement

They also argued that Audition was professional software, and that professionals wouldn't need a beginner's guide.

You might call it "excuse", Adobe might call one of the reasons. The choice of words is irrelevant. I have addressed the argument put forward (as quoted by you) whether it's an excuse or a reason, call it what you will, showing that it is invalid and why.

Of course, cost is always the key driver if you put your profit before customer satisfaction. I don't think Adobe can complain about being poor, so...that's their choice.