Strange Audio Problem
 

I got an email from a customer that said…

"there is no audio for a big portion of the ceremony... Actually, the only parts that we can hear audio are during the first and second reading, prayer of the faithful, and when the cantor sings."

I burned 4 copies of this wedding, sent 3 to the client and kept one for myself. I checked the audio on 2 different DVD players on 2 different Televisions and it was fine. I used Verbatim DVD+R DL disks. Has anyone ever had this happen to them?

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

I would have them send ONE disc back to you that exhibits the problem and see if it plays on on your player, since there is no point sending replacements for them all to do the same again.

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

Good idea Dave!

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

Do you monitor your edits through stereo speakers? I've seen situations where a video gets edited and delivered and sometimes either the left or right channel may not have audio some of the time, or at all. If the customer views with mono audio, they may hear silence on their end.

Thanks

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

Where you able to pan all your audio tracks to the center? I don't know what editing system you are using but in Final Cut Pro it defaults all my audio track to the left, probably thats what happened specially if they are watching it in a mono TV speaker.

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

Rickey, I use FCP 7. I don't know anything about panning my audio track to the center, I'll do a search to learn what that is. I've been editing the same way for over 10 years and never had this come up before and I don't want it to come up again. I tested the DVD on a old TV with a mono speaker and it works for me. I am stumped.

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago, which may have a bearing on it. I had put the audio on the dvd in L/R stereo, but the client could only hear part of the sound. I eventually discovered that they had a 5:1 surround system that had been wired up incorrectly and was listening for just rear channels that weren't there.

It would be worth getting one of their discs back to check and if it is ok then check their system. They may not have noticed a problem if they normally only watch commercial dvds.

Roger

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

Thanks Roger!

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

I'm with Jeff. This sounds like a problem with the stereo mix. I wouldn't be surprised if the client is playing the footage back on an old television or something with a single RCA connection for audio. It's usually best to mix footage like that down to mono.

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

With everyones help and some clues from the client I believe I have figured out how to resolve the problem.
The client said that only parts of the ceremony sound was lost. I looked at my FCP file and saw it was the audio I used from the digital voice recorders (Mono!). I listened to everything through stereo speakers and found that the audio was lost on one side, so I adjusted the panning on the mono tracks and now I can hear them through both speakers! Yay!

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

This is an amazing thread that demonstrates the usefullness and power of this forum. I've edited hundreds of weddings but I would have never thought of Jeff's idea that a mono track could be the issue for you Zelle.

I do love this place!

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

Glad it worked out. I always edit with stereo speakers, one on each side of my desk in front of me. Any such "dead channel" issues are immediately obvious. Avoid surround systems or sub-woofer thingies at the edit desk if you intend to edit and deliver in stereo, as they will only add to the confusion and maybe give a false feedback.

Many years ago, early NLE days, went to an associate's studio to help him with a similar issue. I believe he had a Matrox breakout box, and was using a 13" color TV as the output/preview display while editing. Noticed right away that the TV was mono so he was only using the LEFT audio cable - the right was dangling....unmonitored.

Thanks

Re: Strange Audio Problem
 

Even better, do a pass with headphones... you'll definitely notice things in the mix you might not otherwise!

Although you still need to check on a full surround system too, just to make sure it'll sound good in ANY listening environment - the old studio trick was to take a "rough mix" out to the car stereo system to see how most people would be listening to it - if it sounded good there, you might have a "hit"!