Difference between revisions of "Editing & Mastering for Air: Using Fission"

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(The Basics)
(The Basics)
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'''Managing Your Data aka Sound Files''':  
 
'''Managing Your Data aka Sound Files''':  
*Use the desktop for files in progress to keep visual track of what you're doing while in session. Generate a folder when you're ready to pack it up and save on our server for safe keeping, and desktop cleanup after your session.
 
 
*Immediately create a backup of your original source file by doing a SAVE AS, which creates a copy, and leaves the original untouched. Use a new or add on moniker indicating that this is the EDITED version, like Draft 1, Edited, cut for Air, etc.  
 
*Immediately create a backup of your original source file by doing a SAVE AS, which creates a copy, and leaves the original untouched. Use a new or add on moniker indicating that this is the EDITED version, like Draft 1, Edited, cut for Air, etc.  
 +
*Use the desktop for files in progress to keep visual track of what you're doing while in session. Generate a folder when you're ready to pack it up and save on our server for safe keeping, and desktop cleanup after your session.
  
 
NOTE: Fission is NOT and NLE nor a DAW - it is a ''destructive'' editing software, which allows direct file edits, and can only recover (or UNDO) what is in recent memory, and only as far back as the last SAVE. This SAVE AS step above is a critical first step.       
 
NOTE: Fission is NOT and NLE nor a DAW - it is a ''destructive'' editing software, which allows direct file edits, and can only recover (or UNDO) what is in recent memory, and only as far back as the last SAVE. This SAVE AS step above is a critical first step.       

Revision as of 17:07, 23 January 2021

Overview

From Rogue Amoeba Software:
Fission is a streamlined audio editor designed to get you editing in minutes, not hours. It works with MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless and AIFF audio, enabling you to instantly trim and split files with no quality loss. Remove unwanted content, such as commercials, from your audio file. Re-arrange audio in a single file, copy audio from one file to another, or merge with a quick drag and drop.

Outline of Steps

Start the Fission application

Find the Fission icon on the dock at the bottom of the Mac window.

Open-fission.png

Opening your file

Once opened, use Finder to locate your WAV file. Drag and drop your file into the Fission window at right labeled "Drop File Here" or use the "Open Audio File" option at left.

Drag-into-fission.png

The WAV file will open and the waveform will display - shown here in yellow. The Waveform is a visual indication of sound along the timeline (above), and makes editing a snap. Blank spaces are portions without sound, and the height of the yellow waveform image indicates the volume. Gaps and peaks in volume are useful indicators for where edits may be needed.

Note the "Inspector" button at top right - clicking this will show or hide the summary information and labeling tools occupying the right side of the screen.

Fission-waveform.png

The Basics

Managing Your Data aka Sound Files:

  • Immediately create a backup of your original source file by doing a SAVE AS, which creates a copy, and leaves the original untouched. Use a new or add on moniker indicating that this is the EDITED version, like Draft 1, Edited, cut for Air, etc.
  • Use the desktop for files in progress to keep visual track of what you're doing while in session. Generate a folder when you're ready to pack it up and save on our server for safe keeping, and desktop cleanup after your session.

NOTE: Fission is NOT and NLE nor a DAW - it is a destructive editing software, which allows direct file edits, and can only recover (or UNDO) what is in recent memory, and only as far back as the last SAVE. This SAVE AS step above is a critical first step.

The Cursor and Playback: The red vertical line in the waveform is the "cursor" and is the indicator of where playback will begin when you "play" it. You can always click on the Play, Rewind and Fast-Forward buttons at the bottom to do these things, but skilled editors much prefer to use the keyboard's spacebar to start and stop playback, and manage locations of playback with the mouse instead of using the rewind and fast forward buttons.

Managing View: Fission is a visual tool, so it is important to get a good handle on manipulating the view of content rapidly.

  • Note the world view above, where you can see a frame around the area that you are zoomed in/viewing in the main view.
  • Use the mouse to point and click on a specific area in your sound (in either the world view or the sound below), and use the scroller on the mouse to zoom in and out. Wherever you click, the red playback cursor will be set, and will pl;ay from that position when you hit the space bar (or click on the play icon below)
  • The scroller (if not a physical dial) on the new Mac mouse is handled by sliding your finger across the surface of the mouse. Its a handy and powerful tool for zooming in and out, and is essential to rapid location of edit points.
    • You can click and drag the the magnification bar tool at bottom left to zoom in and out as well, but this technique will slow you down.

Precision Editing

General suggestions:

  • remove excess gaps and known issues in your sound first, to remove clutter and simplify the fine editing you'll get into next.
  • preview sounds that you are choose to delete briefly before hitting the delete key
  • click in the timeline behind or prior to the audio that was just deleted and review ho the remaining sounds flow together without the omitted sound.
  • if you make a mistake, choose Edit>Undo from the menus above, or press command (apple symbol) "Z" to undo the deletion

Delete: use the mouse to click and drag across areas of audio that you want to remove and hit delete.

Mouse Function: As you move the mouse over (or "hover" over) different portions of the audio or selected sections, its appearance will change from a plus symbol, to a hand, to a double arrow, which in turn changes what it will do.

The plus symbol is the default, and will allow a rapid selection of where to play with a single click, or with a drag, create a highlighted section to preview or remove. Once a selection is created, the mouse hover over the red cursor will allow you to move it with a click and drag.

When your mouse is over the red playback cursor line, the icon will be a hand. Use this to move the red cursor out of the way in order to select a new boundaries, or adjust the selected area's boundaries. This is an important step toward precision, and requires zooming in closely to your target point. Fission helps make this process accurate by allowing audible "scrubbing" of the content as you pass over selected audio.

Highlight-delete-fission.png
Zoom-for-gaps-fission.png

Splitting the audio

Highlight-split-fission.png
Split-segments-fission.png

Renaming the segments

Rename-segments-fission.png

Cyberduck

Open-cyberduck.png
Audiofinder-NAP.png