Importing Sound Files


Maya lets you import a sound file so you can animate to spoken dialogue or to the beat of a song. The file must be in AIFF or WAV format.

To import a sound file:

1.

Choose File > Import (Figure 12.24)

Figure 12.24. Importing sound using the File menu.


2.

Navigate to the sound file you want to use, and click Import.

The sound file doesn't automatically appear in the timeline.

3.

To hear the sound file and see the waveform, right-click the timeline, select Sound, and select your imported file (Figure 12.25).

Figure 12.25. Change the current sound file, or adjust the setting by right-clicking in the timeline.


The waveform becomes visible in the timeline.

4.

Click Play to hear the sound file.

If the sound file doesn't play back, the animation preferences may need to be adjusted.

5.

Click the Animation Preferences button near the lower-right corner of the interface.

6.

Check to make sure Playback Speed is set to Real-time. If it isn't, select Real-time from the pull-down menu, and then click Save (Figure 12.26).

Figure 12.26. For playback, the animation settings must be set to Real-time playback speed.


You should now be able to play back the sound. By default, Maya imports the sound file at frame 0 of the timeline.

7.

To change where the sound file begins to play, right-click the timeline select Sound, and open the options box next to your sound file.

8.

Adjust the Offset value to move the beginning of the sound file that number of frames; the value can be positive or negative.

Tip

  • You can also import a file by dragging it directly onto the timeline, where it appears immediately.


You can see the sound waves better if you increase the timeline's height.

To set the timeline height:

1.

Click the Animation Preferences button near the lower-right corner of the interface.

2.

Click a Height setting of 2x or 4x (Figure 12.27).

Figure 12.27. You can change the height of the timeline in the animation Preferences window.


The timeline gets taller (Figure 12.28).

Figure 12.28. This is a timeline at the height of 4x. Increase the height only if you need to see the audio more clearly, because the extra height takes up valuable real estate.


3.

Click 1x to return the timeline to the normal height.

4.

Click Save to keep these preferences.




Maya 7 for Windows and Macintosh(c) Visual Quickstart Guide
Maya 7 for Windows & Macintosh
ISBN: 0321348990
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 185

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net