Editing Audio – Part 1

You can learn the basics of editing an audio file pretty much on your own in about 10 minutes time. It’s really not hard. The challenge is doing it well. And by “well,” I mean that hard-to-define quality about the finished product that marks the difference between a “good” edit and a “great” one.

The way to go from “good” to “great” has a tremendous amount to do with practice and honing your instincts.

If you’re editing down a larger presentation into either bite-sized chunks or just a smaller product, you need to capture the essence of the larger presentation in this smaller format. That requires more than just familiarity with the content; it requires the discernment to know what can go and what is vital to keep.

Before you cut a word

Listen to the whole recording. Assuming that you’re recording something other than a book or short story written by yourself or someone else, there are going to be bits that you can take away (on books and short stories, I strongly suggest that you do not create “abridged” versions). In a live presentation, for example, you will inherently have the occasional “um…” or vocal tic that you want to get rid of. If it’s an interview or a teaching module, there will be parts that just don’t need to be there.

This process is very much like editing your written text. Not all of the words in a recording are golden; no matter who is saying them.

Listen to the flow of the recording. Find the heart of the message and make sure that you’re cutting away everything that does not support that heart.

Make a plan

Have a rough finished time in your head. Remember, recordings that last more than 30 or 40 minutes at a go are hard for most people to sit through (unless they have a hellishly long commute and a fully-charged iPod).

As you listen, write down the rough time code of the bits that are really good. Also make note of the parts that you can easily cut out. Listen again, finding more  that can go away. When you think you’re probably within 10 minutes of your goal time, go ahead and open up the editor you’re using.

Editing

Using your notes, cut away the parts you know you can cut away. Don’t worry if the resulting edits are a bit choppy, this is just your rough cut. See how close your edit ends up being to your goal time. If you’re like most people, you’ll still be over time by a measurable amount, but that’s okay. For now.

Make sure you’re saving your edited files separately from the source audio, but also separately from one another. Each round of editing should have a separate saved file. Sometimes you make a nice clean cut in one version, buggering it in another. You want to have these options available going forward.

Go for a walk. Write some emails. Do something to get your head out of the edit. Ideally, you’ll give yourself a day or two before you go back to it.

When you do go back to it, listen again. You are likely to hear more that can go easily. Cut it out.

Once you’re pretty close to your target time (remember … you will still need an intro and an outro and perhaps some theme music, so take that into account with your timing), start cleaning up your edits.

When something sounds a bit choppy, clean it up. Listen for the breath of the speaker before and after the cut you’ve made. Try to make that breath flow from before the cut to after it.  The cleanness of your edits is best judged by the silences. Does an unedited break in speaking sound like the edited break? If so, you’ve done a good job. If not, keep trying.

Practice, practice, practice

Unless you’re among the bizarrely gifted, your first edits will sound sloppy. That’s okay. You have to keep at it in order for you to improve. Editing regularly will improve the quality of your edits (and the speed with which you are able to execute them). Just don’t give up. It will get easier.

Oh, and one last note. Just as it’s really, really, really hard to edit your own written words, it is really hard to edit your own spoken words. Either give yourself enough time between recording and editing to forget about the recording or presentation, or find someone else to serve as your editor.

Up next: Editing software. How to choose.