Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 962)

• Enable/Disable checkbox: This allows you to enable or disable filters without removing
them from the clip. You can use it to disable filters temporarily to preview a different
filter.
• Show/Hide Keyframes pop-up menu: This pop-up menu is in the Name bar, under the
Nav column. Use this pop-up menu to turn on or off the display of keyframes that
appear in blue at the top of the keyframe graph area. You can display keyframes for
an individual parameter or keyframes for a combination of parameters.
• Reset button: Resets a filter’s settings to the default values.
Each filter also has a unique set of controls. These controls usually include sliders and
number fields that let you adjust the filter’s parameters.
Number fields Sliders
Equalization Filters
An audio equalizer allows you to increase or decrease the strength of an audio signal
within selected frequency ranges, or bands. For example, a three-band equalizer may
have a gain control for the lows, midrange, and highs, so you can change the sonic “shape”
of a sound by turning up some frequencies or reducing others. In general, it is much
better to subtract frequencies than to amplify them, as this eliminates the possibility of
distortion.
If you find that a sound is lacking “brilliance,” or high-end frequencies, try filtering out
some of the bass or midrange frequencies. The overall effect is that the high-end
frequencies are stronger than the lower-range frequencies. It’s easy to go too far when
amplifying some frequencies, so get in the habit of reducing frequencies first. Particular
kinds of sound—men’s voices, women’s voices, tape hiss, and traffic noise—all appear
at different frequencies of the audio spectrum. Equalization (EQ) filters can be used for
many things, from minimizing background noise in a recording to accentuating a narrator’s
voice over background music. EQ filters can also create effects like making a voice sound
as though it were coming through a telephone or loudspeaker (this is because telephones
and loudspeakers generally don’t reproduce the high and low frequencies, only the
midrange).
Frequency Ranges and Equalization
The entire range of human hearing, from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, can be broken into a spectrum
of frequency bands: low, midrange, and high.
962 Chapter 59 Using Audio Filters