Anyone with FINAL CUT STUDIO experience Here? audio recording question...

[dbbubba]

I tried asking an audio related question on the MUSIC COMPUTERS forum, but I got no responses.

My question is:

Is it possible to record the audio tracks as .aiffs instead of Quicktime files?

I am having to render all of the audio files in order to burn audio CDs.
I am having to create a combination of DVDs with video and then a few CDs with the audio content only.

I am using a brand new iMac and while it is pretty fast, there are A LOT of files.
The whole process of making audio only CDs is taking four hours.
I have a VERY short turn around time.

any ideas or anyone using Final Cut Studio here?

[beyarecords]

Your best bet is to head on over to the final cut pro discussion forum over at Apple:

Apple - Support - Discussions - Final Cut Studio

[dbbubba]

I haven't received an answer there either!

My manual set is in a truck in St. Louis and I don't fly in until tomorrow.
The manual that Apple has in their support section isn't the one with the record prefs.

I'll be able to read the real thing tomorrow evening.

If I could record the audio as .aiffs instead of Quicktime I could turn a FOUR HOUR JOB into a two hour job!
I have to render and average of THREE HUNDRED audio files into a file type that I can import into iTunes where I burn the audio CDs.

[Matt Biermann]

Under the File>Export menu their should be an option to 'Audio as .AIFF(s)'.

At least that's how it is on the Pro version. I don't have the Studio version.

[mbrebes]

Are you talking about Final Cut Pro or Soundtrack Pro? Final Cut Studio incorporates those programs and more. Are you talking about audio that is part of the video file? If it is part of the video file, then exporting the audio is a necessary process.

[dbbubba]

Are you saying that there is an AUDIO EXPORT function before the RENDERING?
If it is possible to export the audio which is stored as Quicktime files it would be nice.
I only see RENDER ALL, RENDER VIDEO ONLY and RENDER AUDIO ONLY.

I am talking about FINALCUT STUDIO TWO.
I am recording video plus four tracks of audio, so yes, it is a video file.
I am providing copies of the event to key participants.
Some people request the video AND audio, but the majority request ONLY the audio portion.

It takes much, much longer to render the video and it is barely possible to provide the DVDs in the twenty-four hour turn-around time.
There are about one hundred events that each have three versions of audio.
That is three hundred seperate files that are burned in the end.
The participants get specific titles that pertain to only them.

We have the video plus audio portion down to a system that is as efficient as possible. I am fortunate that I have a lot of friends in the biz who advised me.

Right now the audio only portion takes four hours with rendering and then importing into iTunes.
I can burn CDs in iTunes and render files in FinalCut at the same time.

If both video and audio are rendered and then burned to DVD it would take approx. twelve hours.
There is no dedicated person to sit up all night and do this.

[videoteque]

Go to the under the File menu, there is a Export Audio to AIFF...

[dbbubba]

You know... even if there is an EXPORT AS .AIFF option it will still be a step that I am performing three hundred times to convert to .aiffs.
Exporting will take time as will rendering (it is practically the same thing really.)

I guess the real question I should have asked was if there was a way to record the files as .aiffs instead of Quicktime.
If they are recorded as .aiffs they could be imported into iTunes much easier.

[Matt Biermann]

I don't think there is man... it's a VIDEO platform after all. You just have to export as .aiff.

[dbbubba]

A good friend of mine who just designed software specifically to automate a job similar to mine said that the audio files in FinalCut are "imbedded" as part of the Quicktime file along with the video.

I'll look to see if you can export the audio separately as .aiffs as described by VIDEOTEQUE tomorrow when I can get to the actual computer and manuals.

It may save me time in assembling the files in iTunes.

Thanks for the info guys!

[mdme_sadie]

The audio is embedded and can use any codec in there, most typically these days some mp4 variant, but you should be able to set up a less compressed option. On the iTunes quicktime thing, iTunes should import Quicktime just fine, I'm pretty sure in the past I've done this.

[dbbubba]

Yes, iTunes will import the Quicktime files just fine, but it has to convert them to the proper format for the audio CDs when you burn them.

It takes roughly the same length of time either way.

TIME is my issue.
I have less than twenty hours to turn the product around.
Video with audio is almost impossible.
I also don't want to stay up from when the event ends at 10:00 PM and edit/assemble the whole thing.


I was hoping to find an app that would record multitrack as .aiffs on the way in.
I use DP5, but it won't record .aiffs and it doesn't name tracks as efficiently as Final Cut Studio does.
The CAPTURE function of Final Cut is very easy to use on the fly.

Remember, I am recording approximately one hundred events per session and then assembling three versions of audio for each event.
Lot's of work!

[dbbubba]

OK, here is what I am doing...

I am simultaneously recording video and four tracks of audio.
The CAPTURE AND LOG window allows me to "record" the live video and audio quite efficiently and all of the files are properly named (logged.)

90% of the people I provide the finished product to only want audio, so I burn the audio only on audio CDs for them.

At present I am using the RENDER MIX function after all of the program is recorded.
This produces Quicktime files.
I then import the Quicktime files into iTunes and then burn CDs.

This is four steps:
#1) capture and log
#2) render audio mix only
#3) import rendered audio files into iTunes
#4) burn CDs

One hundred events with three versions takes four hours of constant work.
The iMac is even burning CDs while I am dealing with the next batch of files.

So... if FCP is recording the audio as .aiff files why do I need to render the audio at all?

WHERE DO THE .AIFF FLES RESIDE AFTER THE EVENT IS CATURED?

If the files live as .aiff files once captured itunes should be able to import them quickly.

I can do away with the RENDER AUDIO MIX ONLY function by doing some mixing on the front end capture.

[musikwerks]

The audio files and video files captured are a self contained QT movie.... ie video and audio in one file. To separate them you will need to EXPORT the audio files using the method described earlier in this thread. (Export Audio to AIFF)

Remember that audio for video is recorded at 48khz and CD audio is 44.1khz. You are going to need to do some sort of export/conversion somewhere along the way before you burn your audio CD. There is no way around it. That's just what you have to do in FCP. If your clip settings and sequence settings are the same then you shouldn't have to render anything.

IF you were using AVID you could specify OMF or WAV as the audio format.... as Avid records Audio and Video as separate files... but you're not.

[dbbubba]

Ok, thanks... yeah, I knew that it was 48Khz and that alone makes a conversion neccesary.

There is no way around having to do some conversion from the FCP files to something that iTunes can deal with.

I might as well resolve myself to the fact that I have a bunch of busy work to do every Sunday morning.

Hey! I have an brand new iMac, a MOTU V3HD and Final Cut Studio II at my disposal!

I am not being paid anything extra to do this for these people.
I am just the only one that was capable of figuring out how the whole system works!

[everyday]

1. Export as OMF.

2. Import it into Logic, Cubase or anything that use AIFF (not Digital Performer)

3. Grab the AIFF files in the audio folder, move it to a DVD or whatever...

4. Burn it...


T...

[dbbubba]

That is the same number of steps.

Capture
Export
Import
Burn

My idea was to record the tracks as 44.1Khz .aiffs and then COPY them into iTunes and burn them. No rendering, exporting, importing, etc...

They have to be named very quickly, too.

The CAPTURE AND LOG set up in FCP does allow me to record and name the files quickly.
There is a lot happening really quickly when I am recording.
The period of time between the segments being recorded is quite short.

[juniorhifikit]

What are you capturing from? If it's something pre-recorded on video tape, you're stuck with the sample rate it was recorded at (unless you go into FCP analog). Otherwise, I seem to remember being able to choose the sample rate when capturing. Obviously you'll need to choose 44.1 for that project at the beginning. If you're using a camera as the front end, can you choose the sample rate in the camera? Most default to 48KHz, but on some you can choose.

Been a while since I messed with FCP, sorry.

[musikwerks]

Or you could take a split of the live audio feed direct to a CD recorder?

How's the Motu unit by the way? I was amazed to see them do that. Very smart.

[mbrebes]

Just face it, there are no ways to cut any steps.