Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 808)

Chapter 1 Overview of Audio Mixing 21
I
Adjusting Audio Levels
In Final Cut Pro, each clip has its own audio level control. As you adjust levels, watch
the audio meters to check that the average levels are acceptable and that the peaks
aren’t too high. Check individual track meters in the Audio Mixer first, then check the
Master meter to make sure the overall level is at a consistent level. If the audio output
is too high (above 0 dBFS), the sound will be distorted.
In Final Cut Pro, you can adjust audio levels in the Viewer or Timeline, or by using the
Audio Mixer. You can view individual track meters and Master meters in the Audio
Mixer. You can also view levels by using the floating audio meters, though they show
only the two loudest output channels. For more information, see Chapter 7, “
Mixing
Audio in the Timeline and Viewer ,” on page 109 and Chapter 6, “ Using the Audio Mixer ,”
on page 79.
Adjusting Pan
Panning allows you to control the placement of each sound in your mix. Using pan
controls, you can position each sound to whichever speaker/output channel you want,
or distribute it to both left and right speakers at once. For example, if an audio signal is
hard-panned to the left, it only comes out of the left speaker. However, if the signal is
center-panned, the signal is equally present in the left and right speakers.
A knob or slider controls stereo pan. As you move the pan control from left to right, the
sound moves from the left speaker to the right speaker. Moving sounds, such as a car
passing in front of the screen, can be simulated by quickly panning a single (mono)
sound from one speaker to the other.
In Final Cut Pro, you can adjust pan controls for each clip in the Viewer, in the Audio
Mixer, or in the Timeline. For more information, see Volume III, Chapter 5, “Overview of
the Audio Mixer.” You can also refer to Volume III, Chapter 7, “Mixing Audio in the
Timeline and Viewer.”