I am a new member here on the Forum and am also new to video NLE. I am looking forward to learning all about this new capability.

I recently returned from a trip to Sicily, where I shot a lot of video. I would now like to edit this down to a manageable size. That’s the relatively easy part. I would also like to add music and commentary to the audio track; as near as I can tell, that is also possible.

But let me now say that an amateur travel video will have great portions of audio which are completely useless, such as standing on a high windy spot with nothing but a deafening wind roar on the audio track--or those scenes where there are chattering people around you while shooting. I would say that perhaps only 10% of all my scenes have audio I want to keep. Obviously, this unwanted audio has to be subdued or eliminated.

Now the problem: I own Cyberlink PowerDirector Pro 2. I was horrified to read in the chapter on Audio Mode: “Note: You are not allowed to trim the audio portion of the original video files.” For heaven’s sake, that’s exactly what I need to do, if I want to get anything worth presenting. It sure sounds to me like I am at a dead end with this software.

My question: Is it even possible edit the original DV audio track at all? I would be satisfied with the ability to mute and un-mute at selected points in the final edit, although altering the volume between these two extremes would be more desireable. I would still want to add music and commentary in the final version, of course.

Assuming that I have wasted my money on this software, and am willing to try again, is there something else out there which will do what I want? Or does the technology simply not permit it? In the analog world, I know it can be done with a simple mixer. Surely there is a way in the digital realm.

Thank you for any light you can shed on this matter.

First off, welcome to the forums and the world of video editing!

There's so many video editing packages available, it's hard choosing the right one - and to be honest, pro-sumer packages such as Adobe Premiere really stand out from the low end applications.

For example what you want to do with your audio is simplicity itself with Premiere. You can vary the sound levels throughout a clip at various points or through the entire clip, so you could say increase the volume when someone speaks, then dip it back down when you get that gusty wind noise. You can also unlick the audio and video so that you can change the start and end points of the audio but not the video, delete chunks of the audio only or delete the audio in its entirity.

You can also add several layers of audio, so for example you can overlap audio from one scene to another to make a conversation flow, or insert audio from another clip.

This is the fantastic feature of non-linear editing - the freedom to edit to your hearts content without destroying the orginal material. If you're up for spending some cash, check out the like of Adobe Premiere, Vegas Video or Ulead Media Studio. You may be able to pick up Premiere 6.5 for around $200 now that version 7 is out (saving a LOT of money!)

Hope this is what you were looking for!

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Thanks so much Marc for your reply. I was sure it would be possible to do what I want; thanks for confirming that. Yes, I am willing to spend the cash, if that is what it takes. I have already discovered that this master audio edit capability is not mentioned on most of the specification sheets I have looked at online--or at least I don't think it has been. Is there a particular wording I should look for?

I will search for some Adobe Premier 6.5 special pricing, but I am not sure I am going to find it very easily. (I was unable to find a good deal on Photoshop 6 when 7 came out, for instance.) Do you feel confident that Vegas Video and Ulead both offer this capability also? It should be easier to find special pricing for them.

Once again, thanks for your help. I will keep you informed about what transpires.

LEW

Given their proven track record in providing top-notch audio creation software, I would pressume Vegas Video 4 from Sonic Foundry would be the way to go.

Infact, looking at the review, I'm tended to invest in it myself! This is an extract from one review at http://www.creativecow.net/articles/...m/vegas4_rev/:

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