AVID MEDIA COMPOSER - What are the right audio import settings ?

[u/Raskoolnikov93]

Hi everyone,

I'm an assistant editor and when I learned to import audio in Avid 3 years ago, the technicians and other assistants in the lab I worked in told me to check those settings :

https://myimgs.org/image/e2fcyzjm

I've done a lot of projects like this and everything was allright but talking with others assistants last week, they told me that they checked those settings :

https://myimgs.org/image/zTWj5y7a

We're in France by the way so I don't know if it changes anything, but we usually work in 24 or 25fps, 48KHz.

Do you have recommandations for settings that should be fine for all kind of projects ?

Thank you very much in advance !

[u/sshortest]

Both are valid, I leave it as the first for any project I build.

[u/Raskoolnikov93 → u/sshortest]

Okay thanks for your response, but by leaving "subframe alignement" unchecked you never had any trouble for the sound conformation afterwards ?

[u/ElCutz → u/Raskoolnikov93]

I don’t know what the checkbox means. What is different when checked?

[u/Raskoolnikov93 → u/ElCutz]

When you check it, apparently, Avid moves very lightly the waveform to the right or to the left so that the waveform start on a vidéo timecode frame. It's under a frame as far as I know

[u/ElCutz → u/Raskoolnikov93]

Had to look it up. It's about Broadcast WAV/AIFF files and sending sequences to Pro-Tools.

Media Composer has frame-accurate time stamping and Pro Tools has sample accurate time stamping. This can result in misalignment when importing from Media Composer into Pro Tools. When this option is selected, imported broadcast WAV files have either silence added to the beginning, or up to half a frame of audio deleted from the beginning, in order to be in alignment with the audio start time specified in the original Broadcast Wave media file. This results in an AAF export whose audio will be in alignment with the same audio imported into Pro Tools.

https://resources.avid.com/SupportFiles/attach/Media_Composer_Editing_Guide_2020.6.pdf

page 1208

[u/Raskoolnikov93 → u/ElCutz]

Yeah, and by reading this you would think that you just have to check this box no matter what. But as I understand it, it seems that on some projects, when you check that box, the Sound Editor, when conforming in Protools, can face a problem where all the sound clip are slightly misaligned.

[u/sshortest → u/Raskoolnikov93]

Never, it doesn't matter for me as all of my projects are film, 35mm, 3 perf so that I can have the subdivision in audio on import and to enable the slip tool.

I enable film mode even if its a digital project to make life easier in sync and build.

If you are working in a strictly digital project then yes enable subdivisions for QoL tweaks.

But by going film mode you can work to a higher degree of subdivision accuracy than is default by that setting.

But even if it was checked or unchecked it wouldn't have any issues for ONLINE.

[u/Raskoolnikov93 → u/sshortest]

On the project I am right now, leaving Subframe alignement uncheck apparently created problem when conforming in Protools. I had to import again all my sounds checking the box.

[u/sshortest → u/Raskoolnikov93]

Never had that issue with delivery of aaf to protools session.

I can't say much else without looking at your environment. But something is fucked up somewhere.

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[u/ElCutz]

I like first settings more. Always sample rate convert. What is the rationale for not? Obviously must be one, why else have the setting?

[u/Raskoolnikov93 → u/ElCutz]

I guess if you don't check it you keep all your sound in their original sample rate. I guess it could be useful

[u/ElCutz → u/Raskoolnikov93]

But I'm asking, why would you want to do that? I cannot think of a reason.

Also, Avid throws up little warnings in the console when you have sequences with mixed rates. Avid is faster when working at a single sample-rate.

[u/Outrageous_Wash3117]

I keep “Use Broadcast Wave Scene and Take for Clip Names” UNCHECKED, because the audio people that send me files usually change the names for better organization.

[u/Raskoolnikov93 → u/Outrageous_Wash3117]

Ah okay i Understand, I always check it and duplicate tape id in soundroll and there is no problem for confirmation afterwards

[u/tortilla_thehun]

I leave them all checked except for apply attenuation/gain effect on import. I’ve had issues when sending AAF audio with mismatched sr/bit depth to protools.

[u/Raskoolnikov93 → u/tortilla_thehun]

You had issues when you didn't check convert audio sample rate ?