Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 587)

Chapter 42 Audio Fundamentals 587
VIII
Identifying Two-Channel Mono Recordings
When you are working with two-channel audio, it is important to be able to distinguish
between true stereo recordings and two tracks used to record two independent mono
channels. These are called dual mono recordings.
Examples of dual-channel recordings that are not stereo include:
 Two independent microphones used to record two independent sounds, such as two
different actors speaking. These microphones independently follow each actor’s voice,
and are never positioned in a stereo left-right configuration. In this case, the intent is
not a stereo recording, but two discrete, mono channels of synchronized sound.
 Two channels with exactly the same signal. This is no different than a mono
recording, because both channels contain exactly the same information. Production
audio is sometimes recorded this way, with slightly different gain settings on each
channel. This way, if one channel distorts, you have a safety channel recorded at a
lower level.
 Two completely unrelated sounds, such as dialogue on track 1 and a timecode audio
signal on track 2, or music on channel 1 and sound effects on channel 2.
Conceptually, this is not much different than recording two discrete dialogue tracks
in the example above.
The important point to remember is that if you have a two-track recording system,
each track can be used to record anything you want. If you use the two tracks to record
properly positioned left and right microphones, you can make a stereo recording.
Otherwise, you are simply making a two-channel, mono recording.
Identifying Stereo Recordings
When you are trying to decide how to treat an audio clip in Final Cut Express HD, you
need to know whether a two-channel recording was intended to be stereo or not.
Usually, the person recording production sound will have labeled the tapes or audio
files to indicate whether they were recorded as stereo recordings or dual-channel
mono recordings. However, things don’t always go as planned, and tapes aren’t always
labeled as thoroughly as they should be. As an editor, it’s important to learn how to
differentiate between the two.