Real time audio mixing

Niallt wrote on 1/4/2006, 11:23 AM

Sorry that this is such a basic subject - I have searched the archives for previous posts, but can't find anything.

I'm trying to mix together several audio tracks for a documentary - music, ambient sounds, talking heads and voiceover. I'm trying to adjust the faders on each track as it previews, so that my slider selections adjust over the duration of the track. So, the ambient/music tracks drop to make way for interviews and voiceover, but fades back in at other points.

Can I mix these in real time using Vegas 6, or do I have to adjust each sequence with a series of volume envelopes and set hundreds of points along these envelopes? The manual/help file talks about buses and such, but doesn't actually tell you how to achieve this, and I've left my copy of DSE's book at home in another country.

So far, I've managed to dynamically adjust the volume envelope on the top audio track, but can't achieve the same effect on the audio tracks below this.

Any suggestions?

Comments

jetdv wrote on 1/4/2006, 11:35 AM

I use the Voice Over tool in Excalibur (here's a demo)

Ultimate S has an Audio Ducking tool to assist with this as well.

PierreB wrote on 1/4/2006, 11:48 AM

You achieve real-time audio mixing by using the automation settings on the audio tracks ("show automation controls"). You then set the automation to either latch or touch, depending on whether you want the envelope to stay where you leave it or return to 0db. Hit the play button and mix away... the automation controls will create those multitudinous envelope points (you can set vegas to automatically "thin" all these points in your preference settings).

If you do a lot of this, you might want to consider a control surface, like the Behringer or Mackie.

Pierre B