FCPX AutoDuck Not to be confused with Automatic Duck mentioned above, FCPX AutoDuck is a little utility that will do automatic ducking of music under dialog. Both Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro have added audio ducking in recent versions where FCPX has not (to be fair though this is always easier in FCPX with the Range tool). I developed FCPX AutoDuck essentially to solve my personal problem (the ducking) for a podcast that I produce (!) With Final Cut Pro X. Alex Raccuglia, main developer The Filler serves me to add music (background) when there is none in the music track.
- Automatic Duck Media Copy is a very helpful utility that reads Avid AAF exports or XML files from Final Cut Pro 7 or Final Cut Pro X and copies the media files referenced by the project to a location you specify. This makes it very easy to identify and copy the media you need for a specific AAF or XML File.
- I developed FCPX AutoDuck essentially to solve my personal problem (the ducking) for a podcast that I produce (!) With Final Cut Pro X. Alex Raccuglia, main developer.
Background music of my audio track created and performed by Cold Weather Company – from their track “Wide-Eyed” (2016).
Creating audio can become a challenge to make it sound just right. Going into this assignment, I was unsure of what was headed my way. Besides working with video editing software like Final Cut Pro and the audio on that, I have never specifically worked with audio files. It was a new territory for me – a new adventure!
However, looking back on my step-by-step process, the most difficult part was selecting which music to use as background music!! I spent a long time searching through Free Music Archive, but I was just not finding the type of style I was looking for to compliment this blog. I started to search my brain for a sound that would suit Traveling Desire. Finally, I remembered this band, Cold Weather Company, that I discovered one day at an event at Rutgers. Their sound fit perfectly as instrumental music behind my introduction. I contacted them, and luckily they gave me permission to use their song, Wide-Eyed!
Next, I uploaded it to Audacity, and after struggling a bit to figure out the buttons and maneuvers, I followed the instructions to get me to my destination. I had written a script prior and with about four tries, I was able to record my voice for the introduction! I watched the autoduck tutorial and added the effect that really transformed the way it sounded. It was so much better after the background music was pushed back while my voice was speaking over it. Also, I also used the compress feature a little bit. I really enjoyed playing with different effects and attempting to get the best out of the audio! It was definitely a new experience, but I really enjoyed figuring out how to work the new Audacity program. Plus, I think my audio resulted in a much better introduction than I had expected! The skills I learned will definitely be useful for any other audio clips I find myself wanting to edit in the future.
Anyone who uses Final Cut Pro X will know how long users have been asking for auto-ducking of audio on the Final Cut Pro X timeline. The problem is that Final Cut Pro X uses clip based audio, meaning there is no mixer and no busses, so even if you want to use a compressor to duck audio then there's no way to feed a side-chain signal to it.
However, if you want to auto duck audio fast in Final Cut Pro X now it's possible using this great new plug-in, SpeakUp from Audified.
Not primarily aimed at Final Cut users SpeakUp makes it possible to auto-duck the audio in Final Cut because it does not rely on any sidechain from a mixer but it uses its own process made up of a Sensor, a plugin that monitors the speech clips and a Performer, a plugin that does the ducking.
Auto Duck Final Cut Pro Audio Using This Audio Plugin From Audified
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Julian Rodgers has also been looking at Audified SpeakUp and he writes these observations.
'However tempting the automatic nature of ducking is, I never use it to dip VO in an edit. However carefully I set it up, it always needs some attention afterward. Automation guarantees the correct result but it can take a long time.
This is where the stand-out feature of SpeakUp comes in. SpeakUp is a ducker, it works well in that role and offers simplicity meaning that a less technically minded presenter would have little trouble operating it'
We've been putting Audified SpeakUp through its paces using Final Cut and it works like a charm.
SpeakUp In Detail
SPEAKUP SENSOR
Fcpx Autoduck
Firefox developer edition 64-bit. Just right amount of control.
- Sensitivity - adjust the threshold of voice-over detection
- Lookahead - tell the Sensor plugin how much to delay the speech so the music fades-out before the speech in the final render.
- Control Bus - choose up to two independent control busses if you need sophisticated scenario.
- Force Talk - push this button to be heard immediately no matter if you reach the Sensitivity threshold or not
- SPEAKUP PERFORMER
The Performer is fully controlled by Sensors. It can't be easier.
- Ducking Amount - defines the currently applied amount (0-100%) of desired attenuation
- Fade-out Time - transition time between 0 % and 100 % Ducking Amount
- Fade-in Time - transition time between 100 % and 0 % Ducking Amount
- Hold Time - keep the Ducking Amount value at 100 % while there is no speech
- Target Attenuation - set the target attenuation applied on music track
- Speech Frequencies Attenuation - set the attenuation of speech filter applied on your music track to enhance intelligibility of the voice-over
- Control Bus - set the performer to listen to Sensor signals on up to two independent control busses
Fcpx Auto Duck Free Download
Final Thoughts
Perhaps Apple has an auto-ducker in the works, but until there is one in Final Cut Pro X then Audified SpeakUp is the next best thing. It costs $139 and requires an iLok account (not iLok) to use the license, but if you make your money from Final Cut Pro then it's a small price to pay for the convenience it brings and the time saved, which of course is money.
Download a free trial and take it for a spin!