Quick Start Tutorials for Co-Pilot Audio users By Michael "Aussie" Holten

he Co-Pilot Audio manual is confusing. (I have a new respect for manual writers.) Here then is music mixing in a nutshell. I hope this helps you get your projects out the door with a smile.

One powerful concept that Co-Pilot Audio introduces to Flyer editing, is the idea of "sound types." This is a method of identifying the 'type' of sound in a clip, such as narration, soundFX, etc.. Let's set a 'sound type.' (As always, save your project first.)

• Highlight every clip in your project that has 'lead' audio, such as audio narrations and video interviews
• Press LeftAmiga + F6. When the sound type requester appears, select 'continue', then 'lead/narration', then 'highlighted.'

These clips are now identified as 'lead/narrations.' If you select one and open its control window -- you will see @lead@ in the 'comment' field. This is how Co-Pilot identifies a clip's sound type.

We have five sound types: Lead/narration, SoundFX, Music, Background, and 'No Type.' Often, just identifying the 'lead' clips gives us most of our audio power. Now let's use sound types to mix music.

Co-Pilot Audio's most powerful program is certainly "Music Mix." Here we create an artistic mixdown of the music tracks, automatically raising and lowering music around lead/narration clips. To use Music Mix you simply:

• Identify your lead/narration clips. (We already did this above)
  • Highlight your principle audio clips, then press LeftAmiga + F6 and set their 'sound type' to lead/narration.

• Select the music clip
  • Highlight the music crouton you wish to mix

• Set Music Mix to pick all lead/narration clips
  • Go into Co-Pilot Audio's Music Mix program. Show the 'Pick Clips' screen (button on the right). Then check only the one box named 'lead/narration' under the heading 'sound type.' This was the important step, we are picking by sound type.

• Select a 'mixer preset' (in the upper right) and set the music volume levels.
  • Mixer presets control the audio fade speeds. The default setting is a safe one if you have lots of other audio, however the 'TV Magazine' preset is my favorite as it starts the narrator talking while the music is still fading.
  • Set the volume sliders. The important one is the second slider, as this controls the critical music level playing UNDER narrations.

• Select Perform (and then select 'continue')
  • Music Mix will scan through your project looking for spaces between narrations, and present a sum-up of the potential mix. Something like this:
    • Music can start loud (before first narration)
    • 4 Swells up and down (between narrations)
    • Music cannot end loud (narration is still going when music ran out)

You can either cancel and alter the Music Mix settings to get more or less 'swells', or tell it to continue. It then builds its series of music croutons (with 'envelope' images) all timed and ramped together for the various sections of the mix. When you play your project the music will 'ramp' up and down any clip that matches that 'lead/narration' sound type.

By using 'sound types' we were able to select every narration with one check box. On a complicated project, this can be used to great advantage.

Often we need our 'lead' audio turned up pretty loud, and other audio softer. Here is where you could use our Mix Master program.

Open up Co-Pilot Audio (press LeftAmiga + c). Then go into Mix Master.

• Pick which clips to control
  • The upper window allows us to pick which clips to control. Click on 'clear' if you have anything selected. Then click on the 'Lead/narration' box under the heading 'sound types.' You now control every narration in your project!

• Set the mix Down below, set the 'mixing style' to 'Absolute,' bring the volume slider up to 100, and then select Perform. Follow any on-screen directions.

  Next, let's presume the 'on-camera' video interviews are too loud compared to the audio clip narrations.

  In the left of the 'pick clips' window, add the 'video clip' check box (leave the sound type box selected.)

• Set the volume slider to about 85, and select Perform again

  Let's try a triple test. First, we still need more 'headroom' between our lead audio and all the other audio. Second, we want to lower the levels proportionally, maintaining any balance between the clips. And third, let's make sure that nothing gets turned down too far.

• In the pick clip's window, select 'clear.' Then select EVERY 'sound type' check box except lead/narration. You now control every other clip in your project.

• Change the mixing style to 'Proportional' and the slider to about -45%.

• Locate the 'Limit OUT' control on the right. Bring its low/min setting to 12. This guarantees that nothing will be turned down below that level. Then Perform

We were working on the whole project, but you easily change that with the 'range' control in the upper right.

P.S. Our upcoming Co-Pilot Audio update disk makes things easier. The Amiga F6 function works with one window instead of three... and Music Mix sets the Pick Clips screen to "Narration" sound type by default. You'll be able to highlight the narrations and set the soundtype more quickly. Then highlight the music and simply press Music Mix's "Perform" button.

Enjoy - Aussie

OZware
21230 Meadow Lake Rd.
Snohomish WA 98290
(360) 805-0148.
ozware@aol.com

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