FCP 5/Capture 2 Mono Channels
 

Hey guys, I moved from FCP3 to FCP5, and I'm having difficulty figuring out how to capture to different mono channels. I'm going to the log/clip window and deselecting stereo. But it still doesn't sound right.

The situation is that I have a Beachtech with a wireless Mic plugged into the the left channel and a Rode Video Mic plugged into the the right channel.

Both A1 and A2 sound identical like the channels are mixing equally. And I want them to be separate.

Thanks,
Scott

try capturing a test clip and then select it in the viewer go to modify-stereo pair which should give you the effect you want.

The BeachTek has a stereo/mono switch that was checked I assume?

What camera/device is between the BeachTek and the firewire cable?

What devices (headphones/speakers) are used to monitor the audio in FCP?

Nate, I may not be understanding about selecting the clip in the viewer. The first thing I did when I got it in the sequence was unlink it and look at it in the viewer. At that time it wasn't a stereo pair as most of my other clips are, so I think I did captured it correctly. When I look at A1 in the viewer it is the same as A2 and both are called A1 in the viewer.

Mike, I do have the Beach set to Mono. The Beach records to a VX2100. I'm using a cheap Sony camera (DCR-HC26) as a tape deck. Firewire from camera to Mac-Mini. When I was testing the last clip, I was just listening/watching on my TV that I'm using as a monitor. Because the Mac-Mini's jacks are so difficult/crowded to get at, I don't plug headphones there until I'm syncing two tracks, but I'll definitely give that a try. Otherwise, I could change the settings and avoid the external monitor so the audio will come out of the computer speakers.

I've got a wedding today, and I don't think I'm doing anything wrong with taping the film/audio. Unless it's the Beach, and I have two of them and get the same results.

sorry Scott I ment select in the browser, anyways are you sure making it a stereo pair dosent work? there should be two little arrows connecting the two audio tracks if it is. That always seems to work for me. Try toggling waveforms in the timeline and see if the waveforms look different.

I must be missing something because the answer appears to be obvious - the BeachTek is set to mono. Both channels are being mixed together in the BeachTek as one then this mono signal is fed to left and right channels. If you set the BT to stereo, you should be good.


Mike.

What? Obvious Answer? You're kidding me! That's the exact opposite of what I'd expect, like walking down the stairs and finding your self up stairs.

What you said is about the Beach mixing both channels while set to mono is exactly what's going on. And it's exactly what I don't want. So for the past year I've been doing it wrong? Set the Beach to Stereo? And I'll get two distinctly different audio tracks?

I'll try that Mike. I'll also try looking up tech terms in the dictionary. Perhaps that will help. I just thought mono was a straight signal coming from one location and stereo was one signal as heard from the left and the right. And if anything, stereo would be a mix of two audio sources.

By the way, when I did the wedding yesterday, I got nervous and cut off my Rode Video Mic so the Rode's sound wouldn't mix with the wireless Mic. My other camera took a direct feed from the church's sound system. And I set up an R-09 Edirol in on the alter for additional back-up. Sounds like I did it okay, because from what you're saying, I never would have been able to split the audio had I used both mics and set the Beach to Mono.

Thanks,
Scott

The other thing to check is whether FCP is set to pan the sound to the center -- if you listen to each channel individually, are they still the same? If the viewer shows the clips with mono(a1) and mono(a2) audio channels, they are probably set to pan the sound to the center. You can click the green button down on the far left of the timeline to turn a channel on and off to check.

chuck