Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 803)

16 Part I Media and Project Management
Audio Mixing Features
You can use Final Cut Pro to create a finished audio mix for your movie, or you can
export your audio tracks for finishing in another audio application. You can mix your
audio in the following ways:
 Check audio levels using track and Master meters in the Audio Mixer, as well as the
floating Audio Meters. (See Chapter 4, “ Audio Levels, Meters, and Output Channels ,”
on page 51.)
 Adjust audio levels and pan using clip overlays in the Timeline or Viewer. (See
“ Adjusting Audio Levels in the Timeline and Viewer ” on page 109.)
 Adjust audio levels and pan using the faders and panning sliders in the Audio Mixer.
(See Chapter 5, “ Overview of the Audio Mixer ,” on page 67.)
You can also control the Audio Mixer using an external hardware control surface.
(See Chapter 6, “
Using the Audio Mixer ,” on page 79.)
 Add keyframes, or mixer automation, to precisely control level adjustments over time.
(See Chapter 6, “ Using the Audio Mixer ,” on page 79.)
 Add audio filter keyframes to change filter parameters over time. (See Chapter 13,
“ Adjusting Parameters for Keyframed Effects ,” on page 249.)
Mixing Your Audio in Other Applications
If you want to mix or process your audio in another application, you can export audio
tracks or output to tape in several ways:
 Export individual audio files, one per track in your sequence.
 Export an OMF file that contains both the media files and the sequence with
Timeline, level, and pan information.
Note: OMF files are useful when you are sending your audio to non–Final Cut Pro
editing systems, such as ProTools or Avid. For more information, see Volume IV,
Chapter 11, “Exporting Audio for Mixing in Other Applications.”
 Output up to eight audio tracks to a multitrack recorder such as an Alesis ADAT, a
Tascam DA-88, a digital audio workstation (DAW), or a similar device.
Monitoring Audio on External Speakers
Final Cut Pro can send sequence audio to the built-in audio outputs on your computer,
to a DV device (via the FireWire port), or to a third-party audio interface. You can
connect external speakers to one of these audio outputs to precisely monitor your
audio while you mix. For more information, see Chapter 2, “
Setting Up Audio
Equipment ,” on page 23.