Adio Static In FCPX Export

[clarkeshipley]

Hey guys
Im having trouble with my exported project in FCPX, as one of the songs comes out with alot of static noise in the exported version. In the project i had the volume of the song turned up higher than the rest, so i went back and turned it down and re exported it with no sucess. The rest of the project came out fine, and there are two other songs in the project that i think have the same audio settings. Any Help would be greatly appreciated. I am exporting directly to vimeo with quicktime.
Thanks
Clarke

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

might be what is called "clipping" (look it up as "audio clipping"), which is often caused by manipulating the volume (turning up the volume) beyond the loudest it can be without clipping.

If you have audio software that will draw the audio waveform in a big size, you can see if this guess is right or wrong. However, an easier test would be to go back to the static-filled song and turn it's volume way down, down below what your ear is judging to be loud enough (in other words, too low). Then re-render it and see if the static persists.

If so, go back to the master file you imported into FCPX. Be sure it doesn't have the clipping sound. Sometimes audio is recorded at levels too loud so the clipping is in the recording. If you hear it in the original, there isn't a lot you can do to make a bad recording a better recording when "bad" manifests this way.

If you don't hear it in the master file, re-import just that part, cut out the old one, replace with the new import and render without fiddling with anything. Did that yield that song without the static? If so, you could again experiment with adjusting the volume of that song but be sure to check to make sure you don't repeat the clipping mistake (if that's what it is).

And note: one solution to one part being too low is to lower the other parts rather than increase the volume on the one part. If you lower the volume on the rest, the end result might sound low but then volume in the playback device can be turned up without introducing clipping.

 

[Unami]

don't lower your overall audio levels too low - be sure to have your sound approaching (but never exceeding) 0db. turning up the volume in the playback device might result in damaged ears and speakers when the next clip or an ad (with correct levels) plays on the device. but as hobesounddaryll said - you still might have to lower the other parts to get a balanced mix.

look at the audio waveforms of your clip - all with a red, flat top? then the audio level is set too high - turn it down.

also have a look at your audio-meters (command-shift-8, if you don't see them). red dots at the top end indicate clipping.

don't use fcpx's 'fix audio' on music - it will ruin it.

if you've done nothing wrong in fcpx, it might just interpret the audio wrong. convert it to another format outside fcpx (e.g. use itunes or quicktime to convert it to an uncompressed .aif or .wav) and then reimport and replace in timeline.