Apple MA261Z/A User Manual - Page 600

Outputting Bars and Tone at the Head of Your Tape When you output your program to a tape for duplication or delivery to a broadcast facility, you'll typically include a 1 kHz reference tone at the beginning of the tape. The level of this tone is supposed to indicate what the average level of your audio mix is. For this tone to be meaningful, you must mix your audio so that the average level of your mix matches the level of the tone. Here's why: Â If you are duplicating the tape: Most tape duplication facilities use the reference tone at the beginning of the tape to set the audio recording levels when copying your master tape. If your average mix levels are too quiet or too loud relative to this tone, the copies will either be too low or distorted, respectively. Â If you're delivering your program for broadcast: Most broadcast facilities have very stringent requirements about what they'll air. If your program's audio levels are too hot (loud) or too soft, you might run into trouble with the broadcast engineer. In the worst cases, they'll return your tape to you as unsuitable for broadcast, and require you to send them a new one with proper levels. Labeling Your Tapes If you're outputting to a digital format, make sure you note what level your 1 kHz tone is set to on the label of your tape. If you're outputting to an analog format, you'll always set your 1 kHz tone to 0 dB. If you're creating a digital master tape, it's also a good idea to make a note of the level (in dB) of the highest audio peak in your program. You do this so that if your reference level isn't set to what the recipient expects, they'll know how much dynamic range is in your program and won't turn the levels up too high. For example, if you've decided to output your project with a -18 dB reference tone, and the highest peak in your program is at -7 dB, you'd write both these values on the label of your master tape. Stereo Versus Dual Mono Audio Final Cut Express HD handles stereo and mono audio slightly differently. If you have a clip with stereo audio, the level and pan controls for both channels are linked. You cannot independently adjust the left or right levels, and the pan control moves both channels at the same time. Pan and level settings for mono audio clips can be set independently. For more details about linking and unlinking stereo audio items, see "Audio Editing Basics" on page 425. Initially, captured clip items are stereo, but you can change this when you edit in the Timeline. 600 Part VIII Audio Mixing