A number of years ago I spent four long days in a state-of-the-art studio recording sound tracks for 6 puppet videos. After having performed the productions live for several years it was a fairly simple matter to re-mix new sound tracks using music for which we had obtained broadcast rights. It was fascinating to use this $50,000 computer and play with the effects that could be produced: shifting pitch, adding reverberation, rearranging the music, changing the timing, etc. Little did I know, that a short time later this editing capability would be available on a Mac.

Being a long time PC user, it was only recently that I discovered the ease and joy of the Mac. My office staff wanted something simple, so I invested in a LC III Mac, but soon upgraded to a Quadra 660 AV, added a Notebook 180, and lately a 6115 Performa. For sound editing software, I used SoundEdit Pro (for under $200) Now I'm using SoundEdit 16, a very nice upgrade along with Premiere, and am most pleased and impressed with the results. The AV machine is best since it has playthrough ability, meaning that even without a CD-ROM drive, I can plug in a CD player and hear the music from the CD being played on the computer speakers as the sound is being recorded. In fact, for ease of use, I play music into the MAC from a standard CD player rather than my built-in CD and record and playback voice tracks from a recordable mini CD. I could play into the Mac from a quarter inch tape recorder or turntable, in fact any device that plays sound can be plugged into the Mac. For voices, I "sample" at 22 kHz and 8 bits, but for highest quality music, I sample at 44 kHz, 16 bits.

One of the frustrations that I have encountered when mixing sound tracks for puppet shows, is the need to re-adjust the timing after the show has been performed a few times. I never seem to be satisfied with the sound track, which means returning to the reel to reel recorder and re-cutting and splicing, or dubbing onto another cassette umpteen times. Happily now, with the Mac, once I record a sound bite, band or track, I can save it, re-edit any part of it and run off another (digital) copy with no loss of fidelity.
The Mac records digitally, just like the CD or DAT. Mini CD recorders are now available for under $500 which allows one to put 74 minutes on a 2 inch disc. Mini CD players are even cheaper. These Mini CDs are also digital, so once you edit on the Mac, or make a digital copy, you can transfer the sound track to another mini CD or cassette, for playback during your performance.

SoundEdit is an easy software program to use. With it you can add 13 effects to your recording: shift pitch, add reverb or echo, remove noise, add silence, re-do timing, play it backwards, change volume, etc. Almost anything you need can be done while watching the screen perform its sound magic.

The software gives an option of recording at 48 kHz sampling rate, the same quality as DAT, or 44 kHz, that of CDs, or all the way down to 5 kHz for saving memory and synthesizing voice recordings. (Sampling is essentially the number of times per second that the recorder samples...or records...the sound, the more times per second the higher the sound quality.) The limiting aspect is memory, but a nice touch to this software is that it uses the hard drive for temporary storage, so a lot of RAM is not required. You can add or combine unlimited tracks, depending upon memory. For example one minute sampled at 11kHz uses 657K, at 22kHz=1304K (1,304,000 bytes), 32kHz=1875K, 44kHz=2584K. One double sided HD floppy disk holds 1.4Mg (or 1,400,000 bytes), so if you want to put a recording on a 3.5" floppy, you could record about a minute, sampling at 22kHz.

For storage of finished sound tracks, you can record to the 2" mini CD or save the clips along with the final mix on a removable disk system such as the SyQuest or Zip drives. The new Jaz drive sells for $600 and holds a Gigabyte of memory on each removable disk...such capability unheard of just six months ago! (Watch Iomega stock!) I was able to store (and fill) a 48 minute audio track on a 270 Mg SyQuest cartridge.

The recent upgrade for SoundEdit is SoundEdit 16, which allows recording at 16 bits instead of 8 (higher quality and faster.) Street price is about $200. Once you lay down a voice track, you can add additional tracks for sound effects and music. After all the editing is the way you want, you mix them into one final track which uses less memory than the individual clips. By playing back at 44 kHz, you have a CD-quality track.

The Fig. 1 screen shot *FIGURE NOT AVAIABLE* shows approximately a 3 min.18 sec. recording on Track one. I've added a segment at the 30 sec. point and another on Track three just before the minute mark. Notice the scale is expanded so that the total amount shown on my 13" monitor is about 3:40 minutes. Fig 2 *FIGURE NOT AVAIABLE* shows only one track with the scale expanded so that the selected portion covers half a second. By being able to focus on even one hundredth of a second, it is easy to cut "the tail off a comma" if desired. I have been able to delete a single word and even an inflection to modify a actor's reading. For a singing part, I am able to enhance a high note by amplifying just the part that needs help.

Premiere is a program for video and audio editing. By using Premiere after the sound clips have been edited in SoundEdit 16, mixing is faster and smoother. Again you can add tracks but the biggest advantage is being able to drag a sound clip back and forth and placing it precisely where you desire. There is a volume line running along each track. It's simple to point, click and drag the volume line up or down to build or fade the sound clip. The method I use is to import SoundEdit clips (files) saved in the AIFF format to Premiere, and then place them where I want them on the time line. In Fig. 3 *FIGURE NOT AVAIABLE* you see the many clips that I've placed on four tracks. The volume line shows the "dots" or handles for dragging. Notice the time scale shows about nine minutes on the present screen setting. The sound clips are in the box, lower left, and the Controller box can be dragged around the screen, the same as in SoundEdit.

If all this seems complicated, just take my word for it, with a little time invested and the right tools at your fingertips, you will be doing state-of-the-art editing and discussing your new found skills like a seasoned nerd!

Jim Gamble

(Special thanks to one of my associate puppeteers, John Chambers, for teaching me all about this.)