Things to Remember

Although exact sound effects serve an exact purpose, there may be instances where one sound can substitute for another. In the case of the wave crashing file, a few adjustments in the EQ reshaped that file into something that worked perfectly for the car appearing through the mist.

Another important technique is the choice of creating and naming individual tracks to be used for specific clips. To have better control over your final sound mix, use individual unique tracks for specific sound effects and sound elements. In a narrative film scene, every character would have a dedicated dialogue track and foley track. The ambient noise would be on its own track, as would natural noises and specific sound effects. By isolating specific noises on their own tracks, you are creating a much easier final mix process. As revealed through the last two chapters, track-based mixing and effects are much easier to use and manipulate than clip effects. This becomes especially true with 5.1 surround sound mixing and having all your unique sounds on their own tracks, enabling a quick and painless conversion from mono or stereo into 5.1 surround.

In terms of mixing, get in the habit of using the VU meters to gauge the safe range of the audio levels you are playing back. You don't want to see anything registering red either in the individual track meters or the Master VU meters. While automation is very cool to use, sometimes the Pen tool easily does the trick to apply a simple fade or pan adjustment. You can also ensure that no damage comes to any mixed track by locking it after you have finished work on it.

In the next chapter you will learn about 5.1 surround sound mixing, specifically how to perform a surround sound mix within Premiere Pro, and then export it from your system. You will also see a new feature that allows you to open your audio files and edit them directly within Adobe Audition 2.0.