| Clip-based effects are excellent to use when individual clips need alternate adjustments and differing effects. If you need to apply a range of effects to an entire track full of clips, however, track-based effects are an intuitive solution. Because track effects have the same parameters as their clip-based cousins, this lesson will spend less time on what to tweak and more time on how to interact with and apply track effects. You will do that in the expanded Audio Mixer. 1. | Open the Track_FX_Start.prproj file from the APPST2 Lesson Files/Chapter 19 folder, and review the edit. Activate the Audio Mixer Panel from the rightmost frame in the workspace.
I suggest you rework your workspace layout, so that the Audio Mixer, Timeline, and Monitor panels are at a reasonable size for your workspace.Choosing the Window > Workspace > Audio Workspace resizes the panels accordingly so that you can see the Monitor panel, Timeline panel, and full Audio Mixer.
| | | 2. | In the Effects area of the VO track of the Audio Mixer, click the top empty effects drop-down menu and select EQ from the listed effects. Double-click the EQ listing to open the effect interface (Figures 19.7a and b).
Figures 19.7a and b. The top expanded area of each audio track in the Audio Mixer is known as the Effects area. Clicking on a blank field yields a drop-down menu with effects that you can activate and select for the track (a). Double-clicking on the effect listing opens its associated dialog box (b) 
Instead of dragging and dropping as for clip effects, you simply select the desired track effect from the menu listing in the Effects area. You can have up to five effects per track. Notice the interface for the EQ matches the interface you learned from the EQ clip effects custom setup.
| | | 3. | Check the Low-frequency check box, and set the frequency to 37Hz. Click the Cut check box. Assign the following EQ values:
Mid1: Reduce Gain by -3 to -5.0dB in the 250 to 325Hz frequency
Mid2: Reduce Gain by -3.0dB in the 1250 to 1500Hz frequency
Mid3: Increase Gain by 1 to 3dB in the 3200 to 3700Hz frequency
High: Increase Gain by 2 to 4dB in the 7500 to 9000Hz frequency
For each selected effect in the Audio Mixer, there is a small knob and adjustment area at the bottom of the Effects/Sends area. If you want to make adjustments without opening the EQ interface window, select each knob from the drop-down at the bottom of the Effects/Sends area. With a specific parameter selected, the knob updates its value. In Figure 19.8, adjusting the knob for Output Gain achieves the same result as adjusting the Output slider in the EQ interface.
Figure 19.8. With the EQ effect active in the mixer for the VO track, a knob wheel and drop-down menu at the bottom of the track listing yield access to each individual effect parameter for the selected effect. In this case, the knob is set to Low-frequency, so its value reads 37Hz, which is the same as the Effect dialog to the right 
| | | 4. | Select PitchShifter from the empty effect listing below the EQ track effect. Instead of double-clicking to open the effect interface, set the following values for the parameters in the adjustment area:
Semitone: -1
FineTune: +30 cents
Formant Preserve: Twist left to turn off
Although you can enter values in the adjustment area for the selected effect parameter, it is sometimes difficult to use the knob when trying to enter precise values. In that case, you can open the effect interface and enter the information in the selected parameter using your keyboard.
| 5. | From the empty effect listing below PitchShifter, click and select Reverb from the drop-down list. Double-click on the Reverb effect to open its interface and enter the following values:
Pre-Delay: 0.00
Absorption: 83.5
Size: 59
Density: 27.5
Lo Damp: -15
Hi Damp: -15
Mix: 7
| 6. | Play back your sequence so that you can hear the voiceover with effects and music at the same time. Click the Solo Horn toggle for the VO track, and play back the timeline to hear only the voiceover.
Like the Effect Controls panel, the Audio Mixer has looping and playback buttons. Clicking Loop and then Play puts the mixer into a looping mode that continues until you click Stop. To loop an individual section of the sequence, place an In point at the beginning of the section you want to loop and an Out point at the end of the section you want to loop. With sequence In and Out points assigned, Premiere loops between the assigned In and Out points.
| | | 7. | In the timeline, go to the VO track header and switch the timeline keyframe display drop-down list to Track Keyframes. Click the Track Effect drop-down menu to reveal the effect display options (Select PitchShifter > Pitch (Figure 19.9).
Figure 19.9. Setting your track display to Track Keyframes puts the track display into a mode in which you can add and manipulate keyframe values for specific effect parameters. The Effect drop-down menu for the track will be at the beginning of the track and it will list all the associated track effects and their parameters. Selecting a specific parameter updates the track display with its keyframe settings 
The same way you used keyframes to adjust the clip volume to remove breaths in Chapter 18, "Recording and Editing a Voiceover", you can also adjust exact track effect values using keyframes. To use keyframes to adjust a track effect, select the effect you want to adjust when the track is in Show Track Keyframes mode.
| | | 8. | Position the Edit Line just before timeline marker 7. Press P to change your cursor to the Pen tool. Press Ctrl, and create two new keyframe handles just before the start of the voiceover clip at the marker. Click and drag the second keyframe handle upward so that the right end of the tool tip window reveals a value of 5 semitones as opposed to the current -1 (Figure 19.10).
Figure 19.10. When displaying track effect parameters, the height positioning of keyframes within the track reflects an increase (upward) or decrease (downward) in the value for the selected parameter. In this case, you change the pitch such that it will increase from -1 semitones to 5 semitones. The voice will sound a bit more cartoonish and mouse-like. Notice the tool tip reveals the current position of the keyframe and the value of the effect parameter being adjusted 
Although the 5 semitones are a bit high pitched, you can use the Pen tool to grab the 5 semitone line and uniformly reduce it down to 1 semitone. Because you have anchored the previous -1 semitone value with the first keyframe, the spatial positioning and height of the second keyframe dictates the speed of increase and point at which the exact new semitone value is reached. As you can see, you have timing control within a track for adjusting the applied track effects.
| | | 9. | Switch your Track Keyframe Display to Show Track Volume, and using the Pen tool, drag the track volume down somewhere between -3 and -4dB. Switching over to the Audio Mixer, click and drag the hot-text box below the Track Volume fader so that its value is -2.0dB.
Notice how after you adjusted your track volume in the physical track, the Track Volume fader in the Audio Mixer updated to reflect the same settings and vice-versa (Figure 19.11).
Figure 19.11. If you want to keyframe adjust track-based volume adjustments, you can do so with the Pen tool. You can monitor and readjust those settings using the volume fader for the track you want to adjust in the Audio Mixer. Notice how the volume being set with the Pen tool in the timeline matches the volume displayed for that track in the Audio Mixer: -7dB 
This step shows that you can work in different areas of the application to get similar results. If you like working with keyframes, you can do so. If you want a precise value, however, you can literally enter the value to the fader in the mixer. To dynamically mix the levels up and down with the fader (automation) while playing back, you'll have to wait for the next chapter.
| 10. | Click off the Solo Horn for your VO track (if it is still active), and listen to your voiceover and music together.
In general, the voiceover sounds better with the music behind it. This is usually the case, and often you will have to mix the two to find the perfect value, which is exactly what you will do in the next chapter.
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Using track effects was certainly a faster and more efficient method for adding effects to a cut-up voiceover file. Using this basic workflow, you can add or reduce track effects to achieve a result that works best for the audio file that you have. Although you dabbled a tiny bit in adjusting track effect keyframes here, the next chapter will dive much deeper into mixing your audio tracks. |
