IRIX Base Documentation 1998 November/IRIX 6.5.2 Base Documentation November 1998.img/usr/share/catman/u_man/cat1/dmedia/soundtrack.z/soundtrack

Text File | 1998-10-30 | 21KB | 463 lines

ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))                                                    ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))



NNNNAAAAMMMMEEEE
     soundtrack - multitrack digital audio recorder/editor


SSSSYYYYNNNNOOOOPPPPSSSSIIIISSSS
     ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk [ ----ddddiiiissssppppllllaaaayyyy displayname ] [ filename ]



DDDDEEEESSSSCCCCRRRRIIIIPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNN
     SSSSoooouuuunnnnddddTTTTrrrraaaacccckkkk is a graphical application for recording, editing and
     processing up to 32 tracks of audio. SoundTrack can be used to create
     multi-element soundtracks for movies, commercials, and web pages.  A wide
     variety of soundfile formats is supported for import/export and
     cut/paste.  Also, SoundTrack allows pre-mastering of digital audio tapes
     via the export-to-DAT feature.

     For more detailed instructions on using _s_o_u_n_d_t_r_a_c_k, access the on-line
     help facility via the "Help" menu item on the right side of the main
     menubar. Also, please read the soundtrack chapter of the IRIX release
     notes for digital media which contains important up-to-date information
     on the current release of the program.

     SoundTrack provides the following major features:

     ----   Realtime audio recording and playing of up to 32 tracks of audio.
         The total number of tracks which can be played back simultaneously
         depends on the type of machine the program is running on; generally,
         more powerful systems can play back more tracks at once.

     ----   An extensive transport control area includes controls for starting
         and stopping record or playback; for placing markers at specific
         locations in a project; for enabling looping and selection playback;
         and for incrementally increasing or reducing the size of the current
         selection.

     ----   Per-track controls for muting, soloing, setting the volume level and
         pan position, and selecting the input source.  Use of screen area can
         be controlled by using the more/less triangle button which
         shows/hides the track waveform displays.  To conserve screen space,
         you may wish to hide tracks which are not being edited currently.

     ----   Cut & paste editing of audio data within soundtrack and between other
         digital media applications, such as cdplayer and moviemaker.

     ----   Full support for Adobe Premiere(TM)-compatible plug-in effects.
         Plug-ins for fading in and out, parametric equalization, DC offset
         correction, echo effects, and volume changes are shipped as part of
         the system.  See the _A_u_d_i_o _P_l_u_g-_I_n_s section below for brief
         descriptions of the standard audio plug-ins.





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ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))                                                    ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))



     ----   Multi-level Undo/redo for all essential editing, processing, and
         track management functions.

     ----   Multiple types of markers and mechanisms for instantly moving to a
         desired marker or selecting between ranges of markers.

     ----   DAT pre-mastering using the "File | Export" menu item.  Markers will
         be used for program and index points.

     ----   The ability to import audio data from virtually any format of sound
         file and automatic sample format conversion to the project's current
         parameters.

     ----   Some or all of a project can be mixed down (exported) to any of the
         soundfile formats supported by the SGI Audiofile Library.

     ----   Movie files can be opened and played back in sync with the audio.
         Markers may be inserted into the project at specific frames within
         the movie.  This allows synchronized "spotting" of sound effects,
         dialog or music.

OOOOPPPPTTTTIIIIOOOONNNNSSSS
     ----ddddiiiissssppppllllaaaayyyy ddddiiiissssppppllllaaaayyyynnnnaaaammmmeeee
           Specifies the X display to use.  If none is set, uses the value of
           $DISPLAY.  If $DISPLAY isn't set, uses ":0".  Note that sound will
           be played on the host running _s_o_u_n_d_t_r_a_c_k regardless of the display
           setting.


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           specifies the name of a SoundTrack project file.


SSSSOOOOUUUUNNNNDDDDTTTTRRRRAAAACCCCKKKK PPPPRRRROOOOJJJJEEEECCCCTTTTSSSS
     SoundTrack stores your work in projects.  A project consists of one
     master project file and an arbitary number of associated audio files and
     waveform decimation files used for graphical display.

     The File menu items 'New/Open/Save/Save As' all operate at the project
     level.  The menu items 'Import/Export' operate on single soundfiles used
     for data exchange with other programs.

     The name of the master project file is the official top-level project
     name, and this is the file you select when you want to open or save a
     project.  A project file does not contain any audio data.  Instead, it
     describes the structure of the project and contains the names of
     additional files which hold the actual audio data and waveform plotting
     information.  This architecture allows SoundTrack to manipulate the
     project much more quickly and efficiently than storing all of the audio
     data in a single file.





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ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))                                                    ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))



     If you want to copy or move a project to a different location, you must
     copy both the master project file and all the auxiliary files.  To make
     this easier, SoundTrack uses the project name as a prefix for all the
     associated audio and waveform data files.  You can copy a soundtrack
     project to another location by typing:

          cp projectname* newlocation

     where _p_r_o_j_e_c_t_n_a_m_e is the name of the project file and _n_e_w_l_o_c_a_t_i_o_n is the
     name of the directory to which the project should be copied.


     Similarly, to remove all files in a project, type:

          rm projectname*



IIIIMMMMPPPPOOOORRRRTTTTIIIINNNNGGGG FFFFIIIILLLLEEEESSSS
     The 'File | Import' command is used to place existing soundfiles onto
     tracks in the form of clips.  Before importing the soundfile, set the
     insert cursor on a selection of one or more tracks for the destination.
     SoundTrack maps each channel of the source file to the next selected
     track so that you can edit them independently.  For example, if you are
     importing a stereo soundfile, you should select two tracks to receive the
     incoming clips.  The imported audio data will be pasted into the project
     at the location specified by the selection.


EEEEXXXXPPPPOOOORRRRTTTTIIIINNNNGGGG FFFFIIIILLLLEEEESSSS
     The 'File | Export' command is used to mix down the project data into a
     single soundfile.  You'll need to use this command when you want to
     produce a soundfile that is playable by other sound programs that don't
     understand the soundtrack project format.  Many options are available in
     the export dialog box for choosing the soundfile type and sample
     parameters such as sample rate, bit width, number of channels and
     compression.  This allows you to compose your project in a preferred
     working format, but save a mixdown to a specific target format.

     During export, the project data is is effectively "played" into the
     mixdown file. This is important to know, since the settings of the track
     parameters (mute/solo/pan/volume) as well as the master volume control
     will be used during the process of creating the output file.


SSSSEEEETTTTTTTTIIIINNNNGGGG TTTTRRRRAAAACCCCKKKK PPPPAAAARRRRAAAAMMMMEEEETTTTEEEERRRRSSSS
     Each track consists of two parts: a track control strip, and an audio
     waveform editing area.  The track control strip is always visible and
     contains the track's name, solo and mute states, volume and pan position
     sliders, and the track input source selector.





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ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))                                                    ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))



     To select a track, simply click on the Track's name.  The track will
     highlight to indicate that it is selected.  To deselect a track, shift-
     click on the title.

     To create a new track, select "Create Track" from the Tracks menu.  A new
     track will be created after the last selected track (or at the end of all
     tracks if no track is selected).

     To change the name of a track, either double-click on the title or select
     the track and choose "Set Name..." from the Tracks menu.

     To change the track's volume, simply click and drag on the track volume
     selector.  To change a track's pan position, click and drag on the Pan
     slider.

     The solo ("star") and mute ("speaker") buttons can be used to solo or
     mute a track.  When a track is soloed, only it and any other soloed
     tracks will be audible during playback.  This function is useful if you
     want to quickly audition a track by itself.  The mute button will turn
     off a track during playback.  It can be used if you don't want to mix the
     audio on a particular track in with the rest of the tracks during
     playback.

     The input selector button is used during recording to specify whether a
     track should record the left or right channel of the currently selected
     input device.



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     SoundTrack allows the audio waveforms to be selected in one of two ways:
     as continous waves or as distinct objects (clips).  We refer to the two
     methods as _l_i_n_e_a_r _s_t_y_l_e and _o_b_j_e_c_t _s_t_y_l_e.

     LLLLiiiinnnneeeeaaaarrrr ssssttttyyyylllleeee provides the traditional point, click & drag approach to
     selection as implemented in many word processing applications. To cut a
     region of audio data, you just click-and-drag over the region to be cut
     and then select 'Edit | Cut'.  To paste, click once to set the insertion
     point and then choose 'Edit | Paste'.  You can shift-click to extend the
     selection to another track or to exclude the track).  Also note that the
     track strip changes color to indicate that the corresponding track
     includes the selection.  You can create discontiguous selections by
     shift-clicking on the track strip to add or remove the track from a
     selection.

     It is possible to paste fewer tracks of data than you originally cut or
     copied.  For example, if only a single track contains an insertion
     pointer when you select 'Edit | Paste', only the first track on the
     clipboard will be pasted.  You can extend the insertion point to multiple
     tracks by shift-clicking on the track strip. So, if you have three tracks
     of data on the clipboard and you want to paste all three, you can click
     on the destination track where the first clipboard track will go, and



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ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))                                                    ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))



     then shift-click on two other tracks to specify the destinations for the
     remaining tracks on the clipboard.  The advantage of this approach is
     that you may paste to any three arbitrary tracks, even if they aren't
     consecutive.

     OOOObbbbjjjjeeeecccctttt ssssttttyyyylllleeee provides edit selection more like an object-based drawing
     program: you select a clip by double-clicking within it's bounding
     rectangle.  After selection, the clip is drawn inverted to indicate that
     it's selected.  You can add additional clips to the selection by shift-
     clicking on them. This style of selection and editing allows easy
     manipulation of whole clips which are spread out among the tracks.

     After making a selection (either linear or object style) on one or more
     tracks, you may invoke one of the editing commands from the Edit menu or
     one of the plug-in modules from the Effects menu.


PPPPLLLLAAAAYYYYBBBBAAAACCCCKKKK
     You can start playback either by clicking on the Play button on the
     transport or by pressing the Space Bar.  If the "Play Selection" button
     (the button immediately to the left of the transport) is depressed,
     soundtrack will always start playing from the beginning of the current
     selection and will stop when either the end of the selection or the end
     of the project is reached.  If the loop button is depressed, soundtrack
     will loop back to the beginning of the selection.

     If the "Play Selection" button isn't depressed, SoundTrack will resume
     playback at the current play location (indicated by the downwards-facing
     arrow which runs along the top of the ruler).  You can change the current
     playback position by clicking in the playback indicators display area.
     If the "Loop" button is depressed but the "Play Selection" button isn't,
     SoundTrack will, upon reaching the end of the project, automatically
     return to the beginning of project and continue playing.

RRRREEEECCCCOOOORRRRDDDDIIIINNNNGGGG
     Use the system Audio Control Panel to select the desired input source for
     recording (i.e., microphone or line input).  Also set the input level to
     an appropriate setting for recording.  Remember that if the level is too
     low, the signal will be weak and boosting it later with the Normalize or
     Volume plug-in will also increase the noise level.  If the setting is too
     high, the signal will be 'clipped' and sound distorted.

     In order to record new clip data onto a track, the track must first be
     selected.  Either click on the track control strip (the area containing
     the name and other controls), or click to set an insert point within the
     clip waveform area.  Either of these actions will enable recorded data to
     be received on the track.  You can record on more than one track
     simultaneously; simply select multiple tracks by shift-clicking on them.
     Set the input channel on each track to be recorded so that track will
     receive the correct source channel of data.





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ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))                                                    ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))



     Then, hit the PLAY or RECORD button to start the transport. While
     playing, you may hit the master RECORD button in the transport to toggle
     recording on or off.  To stop recording, you may either hit the transport
     RECORD button again or just hit the STOP button.  A clip will be created
     for each period that recording was enabled.

AAAAUUUUDDDDIIIIOOOO PPPPLLLLUUUUGGGG----IIIINNNNSSSS
     Audio Plug-Ins are accessed from the "Effects" menu.  The following
     plug-ins are shipped as standard with the current release.  Additional
     plug-ins may be available from other vendors and will show up in this
     menu after installation.

     EEEEcccchhhhoooo PPPPlllluuuugggg----IIIInnnn

     The echo plug-in adds a repeating echo effect to the selected area.
     There are two time parameters (in seconds) that can be adjusted to
     produce different effects.  The Delay Time sets the amount of time
     between successive echo impulses, while the Reverberation Time sets the
     amount of time it will take for the echo to decay to -60 dB.

     The Preview button allows the user to audition the resulting echo effect
     before committing with the OK button.  Note: you must turn off the
     Preview button before adjusting the parameters again.


     FFFFaaaaddddeeee IIIInnnn////OOOOuuuutttt PPPPlllluuuugggg----IIIInnnn

     These modules perform simple linear fades on the selected area, causing
     the signal amplitude to gradually increase from or decrease to zero.

     NNNNoooorrrrmmmmaaaalllliiiizzzzeeee PPPPlllluuuugggg----IIIInnnn

     This plug-in can help to adjust the level of signals that were recorded
     very low.  It rescales the amplitude of the audio samples to fit the full
     dynamic range.  Note, however, that raising the level of the signal will
     also bring up the volume of any noise in the original recording.  If the
     noise level is unacceptable, you may need to re-record the signal with a
     higher input level for better signal-to-noise ratio.

     PPPPaaaarrrraaaammmmeeeettttrrrriiiicccc EEEEqqqquuuuaaaalllliiiizzzzeeeerrrr PPPPlllluuuugggg----IIIInnnn

     This plug-in consists of an equalizer module which can be used to boost
     or cut three bands of frequencies by -20dB to +15dB.  Each band is made
     up of a second-order parametric filter whose bandwidth, center frequency,
     and gain/attenuation can be adjusted by the user to achieve various
     effects.  While the parameters are being changed, the corresponding
     frequency response curves are plotted to help visualize the filter
     effect.

     Use this plug-in to compensate for level differences that are restricted
     to specific frequency areas of the signal, such as "bass" (low
     frequencies from app. 20 - 400 Hz) or "treble" (higher frequencies from



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ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))                                                    ssssoooouuuunnnnddddttttrrrraaaacccckkkk((((1111))))



     app. 8 - 16 kHz) for example.

     The Preview button allows the user to audition the resulting equalization
     effect before committing with the OK button.

     RRRReeeemmmmoooovvvveeee DDDDCCCC OOOOffffffffsssseeeetttt PPPPlllluuuugggg----IIIInnnn

     This plug-in removes unwanted DC offset components from the selection
     when the audio signal is not centered around zero.  These artifacts are
     sometimes produced by recording equipment and should be removed in order
     to re-center the waveform.

     VVVVoooolllluuuummmmeeee PPPPlllluuuugggg----IIIInnnn

     This plug-in increases or decreases the volume of the selection by a
     given decibel (dB) value.  Unlike the Parametric EQ, the change of volume
     will affect all frequency bands at once.  The module allows a maximum
     change of 8.5 dB which corresponds to the approximate doubling or halving
     of the perceived loudness.

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     apanel(1), cdplayer(1), datplayer(1),
     moviemaker(1), mediarecorder(1), sfinfo(1), mediaconvert(1)
































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