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The Source Viewer with “Show Current Frame Audio Waveform” enabled, displaying the audio waveform along the bottom of the image
Using Multi-Channel Timeline Tracks
Multi-channel audio tracks in the Edit page Timeline are extremely convenient when you’re dealing with clips that are stereo, 5.1, 7.1, or have an arbitrary number of channels that were recorded in the field, as you can fit all of these channels as a single clip into a single track, that will be correctly
mapped to your project’s outputs, and that can be edited conveniently as a single item in the Timeline.
However, when you open the Fairlight page you’ll see that although the overall number of audio tracks is identical to the Edit page, the Fairlight page shows the channels that are otherwise hidden on the Edit page as lanes within each track, which expose each channel as a visible audio item in the Timeline. In this way, editors can work with multi-channel audio without worrying about visual clutter, while audio editors and mixers can see every channel on every track to help them get their work done.
Getting back to audio tracks on the Edit page, there are different types of audio tracks just like there are different types of audio clips: Mono, Stereo, 5.1, 7.1, and Adaptive. While you can edit any kind of audio clip into any kind of audio track, all clip audio channels that exceed the number of channels possessed by a particular type of timeline track will be muted. For example, you’re allowed to edit a
six-channel Adaptive audio clip into a Mono audio track, but only the first channel will play because the Mono track only outputs one channel.
Because of this, it’s a good idea to organize your timeline such that all clips appear on tracks that can accommodate the number of channels they have.
TIP: Editing an audio clip into the undefined gray area below existing audio tracks in the Timeline will result in the automatic creation of new audio tracks that are equal in number to the number of tracks the clip you’re dragging has, and each new track will have audio mappings that match the incoming audio items.
TIP: Editing an audio clip into the undefined gray area below existing audio tracks in the Timeline will result in the automatic creation of new audio tracks that are equal in number to the number of tracks the clip you’re dragging has, and each new track will have audio mappings that match the incoming audio items.
TIP: Editing an audio clip into the undefined gray area below existing audio tracks in the Timeline will result in the automatic creation of new audio tracks that are equal in number to the number of tracks the clip you’re dragging has, and each new track will have audio mappings that match the incoming audio items.
Defining Timeline Audio Track Channels at Creation
When you first create a new audio track, you have to choose what kind of audio track it will be. Right- clicking in the bottom audio portion of the Timeline track header reveals a contextual sub-menu that lets you create one of three different kinds of audio tracks.
— Mono: Holds a single channel.
— Stereo: Holds stereo left and right channels. Stereo tracks can be panned.
— 5.1: Holds the six channels corresponding to a 5.1 surround mix. For broadcast, SMPTE specifies Left, Right, Center, LFE, Left Surround, Right Surround. For cinema distribution these tracks are ordered Left, Center, Right, Surround Left, Surround Right, and LFE.
— 7.1: Holds the eight channels corresponding to a 7.1 surround mix. For broadcast, SMPTE specifies Left, Right, Center, LFE, Left Surround, Right Surround, Back Surround Left, and Back Surround Right. For cinema distribution these tracks are ordered Left, Center, Right, Left Surround, Right Surround, LFE, Back Left Surround, and Back Right Surround.
— Adaptive: Capable of holding up to 24 audio channels. An adaptive audio track can hold clips with different combinations of channels, up to the maximum number of channels allowed within that track. The number of channels allowable on a particular Adaptive track is user-definable (1–24) at the time that track is created. If you edit a clip with more channels into an Adaptive track that was created to hold fewer channels, the extra channels are muted.
Four audio tracks with a variety of audio tracks shown. From the top down, Mono, Stereo, Adaptive, 5.1