Why don't audio effects in PreE 9 work?

[Matthew Max]

I don't know if I have tried to use the audio effects in PE 9 before, but they won't drop onto anything. Does anyone have the secret to making them work? I'm just editing like I usually do, with the proper project settings.

[Steve Grisetti]

Well, they will only work when you drag them onto AUDIO files, of course.

And, if that doesn't work, you can just select the clip on your timeline and then click the Apply button on the Audio Effects panel.

Or do you mean that you can apply them to a clip but that they don't seem to make a difference? That's a whole different issue, Max.

[Matthew Max]

The Apply button is grayed out. In case it matter, all the audio effect icons look like a speaker facing to the right, with little blue sparkles or whatever around it.

Yes, I'm simply trying to apply effects.

[Steve Grisetti]

Can you be more specific about what steps you're taking, Max?

Are you, for instance, clicking to select a clip on your timeline and then clicking to select an effect and then clicking Apply?

Can you apply a video effect?

Can you think of any out-of-the-ordinary things that could be at work here (i.e., your program is installed on a drive other than your C drive; your C drive has less than 20 gigs of space; you haven't updated Quicktime in a while).

And what type of camcorder is your video coming from?

[Bob]

If you are dragging an audio effect to a clip that has audio and video, you must drop the audio effect on the audio track. Dropping on the video track will act similar to what you describe. Selecting the clip and clicking apply or dragging and dropping on the monitor window should apply the effect.

If you have selected a clip containing audio and the apply button is grayed out, something is definitely strange. You might try unlinking the video and audio and see if that makes a difference.

Does it do the same thing with an audio only clip?

[Matthew Max]

The audio effects will not drop or apply. They show the circle with the line through it that indicates it ain't happenin'. The apply button does nothing.

I tried everything you guys said, just to be sure, but it's no use.

The video effects work fine. And there aren't red lines over the video segments, except where there are video effects or manual fades. I exported an avi and made it a wmv, and it looked great. But the audio is not quite right, because it needs the effects.

I'm shooting with the Sony XR550v. But...here's something that may help you steer me right--

When I open up the last video project I did, the audio effects are fine. So have I accidentally hit a shortcut key and turned something off? And just in case this is related, when I switch to Sceneline mode, I can't find my tracks, except for the first clip. Remember, I make hundreds of these videos, so I am overlooking some little big thing.

[George Tyndall]

If you are dragging an audio effect to a clip that has audio and video, you must drop the audio effect on the audio track. Dropping on the video track will act similar to what you describe. Selecting the clip and clicking apply or dragging and dropping on the monitor window should apply the effect.

Bob, regarding applying an audio effect to an audio track, how does one verify that it has been applied? I tried right-clicking on the track and Show Properties, but that did not help.

[Barb O]

Everyone,
A thought that is probably a long shot --

What format is the audio that is giving you the current problem with the effects -- 5.1 or stereo ?
And more specifically --What is the audio type of your project setting and does it agree with the audio format being used ?

[Bob]

Bob, regarding applying an audio effect to an audio track, how does one verify that it has been applied? I tried right-clicking on the track and Show Properties, but that did not help.

You are using PrE 7. There are two ways. Here are what they look like in 7:

1) When you add effects to a clip, they will show up in the effects panel. Here, there are two effects: Bass, and DeNoiser. They will also show here if you later select the clip and go to the effects panel.

effects_props.jpg

2) The Properties panel. When you select the clip and show properties, the applied effects will show in the properties panel. Here are the same two effects show in the previous image.

effects_add.jpg

[George Tyndall]

2) The Properties panel. When you select the clip and show properties, the applied effects will show in the properties panel.

George (Mr. Watson): "So, the reason I saw nothing when clicking Show Properties is that there were no effects applied yet to the clip?"

Bob (Sherlock Holmes): "It's elementary, Mr. George."

Thank you, sir.

[Matthew Max]

Barb, you are making me take a closer look. The project setting is for 5.1 audio, but the footage was not 5.1 audio. The audio effects work fine when I bring the video into a project with regular stereo.

This raises another question, now that the other one is solved (Thanks to Barb and the rest of you)----should I leave my camcorder on regular video? The 5.1 does sound pretty nice, but I do mostly wmv's and I don't know that 5.1 would gain me anything in the final outcome.

(Ron, my wife LOVES this second video I made for her birthday with your Good Times music. She suggested I use your music with almost all of the 12 minutes. It's a very cool video of stuff from our California trip last month--lots of road footage, a cropduster, a few boats, and a Turkish restaurant.)