audio Editing
BackgroundControlling how the audience feels is determined in part by controlling what the audience hears (Hollyn, 2013). The arrangement of audio clips in a scene is dependent upon the story you want to tell.
Controlling the audiences’ ears is key to effective video editing. The ear goes to what changes. For instance, change in volume, sound affects, style of music, etc. How can this principle help tell the story? Before editing know the story line. Try applying the rule of 3s to audio. Here is the rule: The current audio byte is dependent on the byte that came before it, and will indelibly affect the byte or scene that comes after it. TermsSeque: merging of sounds or music
In and Out Points: audio can be marked with spots to begin and end the clip - locations to begin and end a cut Cue: some element in the music or sound that might be synched with action in the video - suggesting the nature of the scene or shot Foley: synching sounds to action Tracking This is the act of synching music to the action of video. Mixing: this is the process of bringing all the sound tracks together into the final rendering Looping: dialogue replacement after the fact (difficult to do well) Walla: people talking in the background - creating the feeling outside the frame Score Music: music added to create a mood Source Music: music coming from the scene Spotting: music cue placement - e.g. spotting the music in the lean forward moment, Audio Softening TransitionsOne of the keys to effective video is using audio to transition from one scene to the next. For instance, sound can soften cutaways between abrupt video edits by overlapping sound bytes. There are two ways to do this:
Music CompositionBackground music is a way of adding tone and style.
Programs like Garageband have made it possible for a novice to create reasonable sounding music compositions. Built-in loops and rhythms greatly reduce the need to focus on the details of music creation rather the focus shifts to creating music that fits the storyline and the mood. This eliminates the issues of copyright and royalty fees. The Figure below illustrates the various tracks used to create short musical composition: Below is the resulting music that has been mixed down to a stereo mp3 file.
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PurposeThe music or sounds should be edited to align with telling the story or suggest a particular character. For instance, background music activates a mood or tone to a video as much as the videography does.
Enhancing meaningEnhancing the Lean Forward Moments
Lean forward moments are often highlighted by closeup shots but also by a change in the sound or music. What adjectives mirror the lean forward moments? Select music or sounds that activate those thoughts and feelings. Guidelines:
The audio tells the story but the imagery drives the story. Tools
TutorialsSources of Sounds
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References
Hollyn, Norman. (2013) Foundations of video: The art of editing, Lyda.com.