Setting Up Final Cut Pro for Audio Editing

A Guide for Podcasters

Final Cut Pro is renowned for its video editing prowess, but did you know it's also a fantastic tool for audio editing? With its advanced features and intuitive interface, it can handle podcasts and other audio projects with ease. If you're transitioning from a traditional audio editor or just want to streamline your workflow, this guide will walk you through optimizing Final Cut Pro for audio editing.

1. Simplify the Timeline for Audio-Only Editing

When working on audio-centric projects like podcasts, you don't need the visual distractions of video clips. Final Cut Pro makes it easy to tailor your timeline for audio editing:

• Change the Timeline Appearance:
  Click on the "Change Appearance of the Clips in the Timeline" button (the filmstrip icon at the top-right of the timeline).
  • Select the first icon in the menu, which displays clips as audio waveforms only.
    
  • This view emphasizes the audio, giving you a clearer visual representation of your podcast's soundscape.

2. Insert Gaps with Ease

Sometimes, you may need to create pauses or structure your podcast with intentional silence. Final Cut Pro offers a quick shortcut to insert gaps into your timeline:

• Shortcut for Gaps: Press Option + W to insert a blank section (gap) into your timeline.
  
• Use this feature to add pauses for emphasis, transitions, or future editing notes.

3. Master the Audio Enhancements Panel

Final Cut Pro's built-in audio tools are incredibly powerful. Here are some essential features for podcasters:

• Equalization (EQ):
  Enhance vocal clarity by selecting the "Voice" preset in the Audio Inspector's Equalizer section. Adjust further to match the tone and style of your podcast.

• Noise Reduction:
  Use the "Reduce Background Noise" slider in the Audio Inspector to minimize ambient sound like fans, hums, or clicks.

• Compressor:
  Apply the Compressor effect to even out your audio levels. This is especially useful if your podcast includes multiple speakers with varying volumes.

4. Use Keyframe Editing for Precision

To fine-tune your audio levels, employ keyframes:

• Adjusting Volume:
  • Hold Option and click on the audio line in the timeline to create keyframes.
    
  • Drag these points to fade in, fade out, or adjust the volume dynamically throughout your podcast.
• Balancing Audio:
  Use keyframes to balance dialogue and background music or sound effects.

5. Take Advantage of Final Cut Pro Effects

Final Cut Pro comes with several effects that can elevate your podcast's audio quality:

• Voice Effects:
  • Try the "Channel EQ" for precise vocal adjustments.
    
  • Experiment with reverb and echo effects to add depth to certain segments, like intros or outros.
• Sound Effects Library:
  Browse the built-in sound effects library to add transitions, ambient noise, or jingles to your podcast.

6. Save Time with Final Cut Pro Shortcuts

Efficiency is key when editing podcasts, and Final Cut Pro's shortcuts can save you significant time:

• Blade Tool: Press B to cut clips quickly.
  
• Trim Tool: Press T to adjust clip edges without moving other elements.
  
• Snap to Playhead: Press N to toggle snapping, making precise edits easier.

7. Exporting Audio Only

When your podcast is ready, you'll want to export it as an audio file:

• Export Steps:
  • Go to File > Share > Master File (Default).
    
  • In the settings tab, select Format: Audio Only.
    
  • Choose your preferred audio format (e.g., AAC or WAV) and click Export.

Conclusion

Final Cut Pro may be designed for video, but its robust audio tools make it a perfect choice for podcast editing. By setting up the timeline for audio-only editing, leveraging shortcuts like Option + W, and mastering its effects, you can create professional-quality podcasts efficiently.

If you're familiar with Final Cut Pro's shortcuts and effects, this approach will feel intuitive and powerful. Whether you're producing interviews, storytelling, or panel discussions, Final Cut Pro has the tools to make your podcast shine.

Have a favorite tip for editing audio in Final Cut Pro? Share it in the comments below!

Audio Editing with Final Cut Pro

Good Tools for Editing Audio Files

Did you know that Final Cut Pro isn't just for videos? It's also a powerful tool for audio editing. Whether you're a podcaster, musician, or just someone who wants to clean up audio files, Final Cut Pro can help you achieve professional results.

Importing Your Audio Files

1. Open Final Cut Pro: Launch the app and create a new project.
2. Import Audio: Click on "File" > "Import" and select your audio files. You can also drag and drop them directly into the timeline.

Basic Audio Editing Techniques

• Trimming: To shorten a clip, simply drag the edges of the clip in the timeline.
• Splitting: Right-click on a clip and select "Split" to divide it into two parts.
• Joining: Select multiple clips and press "Command+J" to join them together.
• Fading In/Out: To create a gradual transition, right-click on the clip and select "Add Fade In" or "Add Fade Out."

Cleaning Up Audio

• Noise Reduction: Final Cut Pro has excellent built-in noise reduction tools. Select a noisy section and go to "Effects" > "Audio Effects" > "Noise Reduction." Adjust the settings to reduce background noise.
• Equalization: Use the equalizer to boost or cut specific frequencies. This can help improve audio quality and clarity.
• Gain: Adjust the overall volume of a clip using the gain slider.

Sample of some of the Audio Effects.

Exporting Your Audio

1. Create a Range: Select the portion of the audio you want to export.
2. Export: Go to "File" > "Share" > "Export" > "Format" > "Audio Only" Under Audio Format choose your desired format (e.g., WAV, MP3, AAC).
3. Set Export Settings: Adjust settings like sample rate, bitrate, and channel configuration.
4. Save: Choose a destination and save your exported audio file.

Remember: While Final Cut Pro is a great tool for audio editing, it might not be the best choice for complex audio processing tasks. For more advanced features, consider using dedicated audio editing software. I believe its a good solution when you want to parse out a large audio file.

fcpeffects Mega Package

Great Final Cut Pro Black Friday Deal

If your videographer and looking for a great Black Friday deal, check out FCPeffect's Mega package deal. You get 1900+ presets for only $57 - the best deal ever offered on this collection.

Key things in this package

• 200+ Titles, Graphics & Overlays ($420 Value)
• 1000+ Different Transitions ($350 Value)
• 700+ Video Effects & Color Grading Tools ($830 Value)

Some Personal Thoughts

This is a great collection to have available when you need it. You never know when a certain lower-third title will be the perfect fit for the project that you're working on.

There are plenty of Effects that are very useful to have. Some of my favorite include: HDR Plug in, White Balance Plug in, Better Ken Burns, and so much more.

The Transitions are really valuable to have at your disposal. If you want to "swipe right" there are 123 items to pick from. Giving you more power to create an awesome video.

Screen Splitter is a great screen splitting tool.

You get lifetime access, so you don't need to install everything now. You can install the package and remove items - then at a later point you can install them again. You don't need to take space and memory for effects that you are not likely going to use.

This package is a no brainer to get and I highly recommend it.

One More Thing...

FCPEFFECTS was located on Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida. On September 29, 2022, Sanibel Island was hit hard by Hurricane Ian. Residents will not be allowed back until September.

FCPEFFECTS will donate 25% of all sales directly to this island's residents who are now jobless and homeless.

Apple Devices 1080p

Better Export than the YouTube & Facebook...

This is my last weekly contribution to the Final Cut Pro blog post. I won???t be doing that much video work as my volunteer video recording has come to an end. I am happy with the work that I did and got positive feedback from a lot of people.

I distributed my Final Cut Pro videos to YouTube. It seems to be the favorite way of distributing content for most people.

I was disappointed when Apple changed the export option and removed the ability to export directly to YouTube. It was supposed to be an easy way to get the video to YouTube. Starting with version 10.15.1 it would be gone.

Apple put in a new option to export videos to Facebook and YouTube. It was designed to be an easy export option.

The thing was that it wasn???t better. When you put in content in the description field, it didn???t get carried over to YouTube. You would have to re-enter the description again. Wasn't really a good time saver.

My Option

I have played around with the YouTube and Facebook export option and hated it. The export video file was huge. It took a long time to render and then I would have to upload the large file onto YouTube and Facebook. This upload time would take a while and the larger file size means that it would take a while for YouTube to render it

I found that doing the simple export "Apple Devices 1080p..." worked perfectly well. The video saved quickly and I was able to distribute it quicker.

The quality of the video was fine. If your shooting 4K videos then using YouTube and Facebook might be better. Otherwise, I believe it???s safe to go the standard route.

Tips on Titles and Effects

Take Time to See what You Have!

There are lots of websites that offer various types of plug-ins. You can get plugins for Titles, Effects, Transitions and more.

A couple of popular package deals:

• FCPEffects.com -
• envatoelements.com - Hundreds of titles and video templates
• bjkproduction.com - You probably seen their ads on Facebook. Lots of drag and drop transitions, titles and Effects. $65 for the 700 pack.

Multiple packs are fun. But they can be a bit overwhelming.

The Ultimate Graphics Pack has lots of great titles.

Four Things I Have Learned

Over the past year I have purchased a few mega packs. I have learned a few things along the way.

1. Spend time learning all that you get. Create a new project and play around with all the various effects and titles. You might be surprised what you do have! This learning will help you understand what you got. This may inspire some ideas when your working on a project.
2. Install what you need. Having too many plugins can slow down the load time of Final Cut Pro. If you are not likely going to use some effects or titles, you should remove them - if possible. This will also make it easier to find things that you would likely need.
3. Make Use of Search - When you want a good lower third title, select all the Titles and search for "third." You'll see all the various Lower Third Titles. Perhaps you'll discover an old title that would work best. This also applies to transitions and effects.
4. Sound Effects are Universal - Titles, Transitions, and Effects have to be specific to Final Cut Pro and Motion. This is sometimes unfortunate as there are a lot of Premier plugins available. Sound is a whole different market. You can use any sound in Final Cut Pro.

Using Keywords for Organization

Makes using the Synchronize Clip much easier

Using the Multicam Clips functionality can be tricky when working with multiple scenes.

There may be instances where one camera shot contains several scenes. If you use that same clip multiple times, it could cause some performance issues. This could delays when exporting the video - thus making the process take a long time.

One solution is to break up the long clip using keywords. When you assign a keyword to a super long video clip, Final Cut Pro treats the keyword clip as a separate clip. Now you can easily apply the "Multiple Clip" or "Synchronize Clip" functionality.

You can assign keywords to Video and Audio clips, making it easy to synchronize related scenes.

Define Keywords to a Clip

Simple steps to assign keywords to any clip:

• Select a clip and type the keyboard shortcut Command K
• Type in a Keyword to use
• Click Enter and you should see you keyword in the left tree.

Steps to select a part of the clip:

• In the Final Cut Pro browser, select a range within a clip.
• Type in the Keyboard Shortcut Command K
• Enter in a new Keyword, or use one of the ones you already defined
• Click Enter.

Remember

This works with audio and video. If you have an external mic, you can use the keyword to break up the clip into meaningful sections. This is much easier than using a third-party tool to split the clip.

I would recommend playing around with keywords, you may find that it will make putting together videos a bit easier.

You can learn more about Keywords on Apple Support page: Add keywords to clips in Final Cut Pro

Page Curl

Create a cool effect with Page Curl

Last week???s Media Monday video featured a cool Page Curl effect. If you haven???t seen the video, check it out.

I searched around to see if there were any generators and I didn???t find anything that would only take the page curl to about 20% and then reverse. I decided to create my own generated effect using Apple Motion.

Page Curl is one of the built-in effects. However, it's a bit tricky to create a slight page curl and then retreat.

Four Things I Learned

If you want to customize how the page curl works, you should turn off the Animate feature in the Page Curl Filter Inspector. This allows you to use keyframes to control the Page Curl to the way you want.

The Page Curl backside is just a mirror image of the front side. There???s no way to change the backside - at least I didn???t see a way to do it..

When animate is enabled the selected object that has a Page Curl connected, will peel away for the duration of the timeline. There is no way to pause it and then reverse with the animate enabled.

Use Page Curl percent as the keyframe. Set the percent to 0 at the start then to a certain point in the timeline change to some value. In my case, it was 50%. Then you can keyframe it to 0 at the end to get the full effect. (That sounds complicated. Just look at the image to get an idea.)

Download A Sample Page Curl Generator

If you want to create your own page curl flip effect in Final Cut Pro or Apple Motions, you can download my version of the Page Curl effect. You can completely customize it using Apple Motion.

Download the Page Curl Generator

To install it, simply uncompress the download file and put it in:

To use it, simply drag it to the timeline as you would any media file. Select the generated clip and in the Properties panel, add the image/movie for the front and back.

You can also edit it in Apple Motion and change the effect of the Page Curl.

Apple Motion Duration

Easily change the project duration

When you create a new project in Apple Motion, there may be times when you want to change the duration. It's really easy to change the duration.

Steps to change the Project Duration.

See the attached graphic for locations.

1. Select the Project in the Layers Panel
2. Click on the Inspector
3. Select the Properties Tab
4. Change the Duration value.

Copy Timeline Video

Easily reuse some of clip later on in your movie.

Did you know that you can select a portion of the clip using the Range Tool and then copy/paste it somewhere else? You can!

Copy Timeline Video

Simply use the Range Tool (Keyboard Shortcut R) select the area that you wish to copy then use the Edit menu Copy/Paste to duplicate it elsewhere in your clip.

This is an easy way to reuse part of your video, for example, if you want to playback some of the beginning music at the end.

Crossfade Audio

Make Audio transitions Easy

In Final Cut Pro 10.4.9, Apple introduced a long-awaited feature - the ability to add audio crossfade. This makes it so much easier to create a smooth transition between audio clips.

Final Cut Pro Crossfade works very similar to how video dissolves work.

Adding A CrossFade

There are three ways to add crossfades:

• Using the Modify Menu. Select the audio clips and then go to Modify > Adjust Audio Fades > Crossfade.
• Use the Keyboard Shortcut: Option T
• Apply a transition to a clip. Whatever transition you add, the audio automatically gets a crossfade.

Adding a Crossfade

To add a crossfade you need to select two or more adjacent audio clips or video clips that contain audio. (Note: the clips can't be overlapping.)

Use the Keyboard shortcut: Option T

My Thoughts

I saw some YouTube videos hyping this feature as something they have been asking for since version 10 came out. I wasn't all that impressed with how crossfade feature works. I think that crossfade should work regardless of where the two audios are in the timeline.

If you have two audio clips, You should be able to fade into the next clip very easily:

You would think that's how crossfade works, but it doesn't it just fades one clip until it ends and the second clip fades in. You do have some "dead air" time.