[Fairlight] Show Only 1 Channel Per Audio?

Hi,

In the fairlight, currently, all the audio shows "L" and "R" channels.
Is it possible to show only "one" channel same way with the edit page?

I just want to maximize my screen real estate.

You can see the problem here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/40hysy5n5jfh5 ... l.jpg?dl=0

There is a similar thread here (viewtopic.php?f=21&t=99331) but there is no answer.

Regards,
Ben

I'm not aware of any such capability. But for audio work, I think you really want all channels showing.

The best solution here may be a higher res monitor.

Hi Jim Simon,

Thanks for the response.
It's just that L and R channels, at least in my case are just the same. So it provides no use on my end.

If the clips are not in stereo, can't you just make the track a mono track?

Ben,

I think it's pretty much standard to show both channels. One way of thinking about it is that if you have two channels that are identical then it's really a waste using a stereo track for it in the first place, and if it's a stereo signal then by definition the channels aren't the same.

I will say this however; I think the visual feedback is less than optimal. To me it's not quick and easy to see if the two channels belong to each other or not. Tracks 4-8 in your screenshot for example are a fairly good example I think. The space between channels on one track (i.e. Tr4: Left/Right) is the same as between channels on adjacent tracks (i.e. Tr4:Right / Tr5:Left). I think that makes everything less tidy.

Possible solutions?

- instead of rounding the edges of each clip exactly the same including left/right on one track, how about only rounding the "outer" edges of channels that belong together, meaning those facing other audio tracks; top left of first channel but not bottom left of it, and bottom left of second channel but not top left of it. That way, with a 90 degree angle where they meet you could more easily give the appearance of the two belonging together and you'd get more separation between tracks...

- minimize the space between the channels (clips) so that it is smaller than the space between tracks (or in other words between clips next to each other on adjacent tracks)..

- some sort of shading or effect (might be unnecessary wasting of CPU/GPU cycles or possibly annoying)..

- there appears to be some sort of "line" that runs horizontally between tracks regardless of whether or not there are clips there (on the 'background' as it were) and it also appears to run between channels on a track. Getting rid of it on tracks between channels may also help.

I'm not sure of a way to do what you're asking. I agree with what Jim and Roger said. As a general rule foley is usually mono and comes from the center channel, more specifically it follows your dialogue. If the L and R channels are the same, as they appear to be, all you're really doing is making the sound louder and it still comes out the center. You won't really lose anything by making the footsteps mono, just adjust levels accordingly. Leave L and R for things like music and sfx. A good workflow could be to assign tracks(mono) 1-4 to dialogue and send those tracks to a bus designated for dialogue, tracks(mono) 5-8 to foley and send to a foley bus, etc then route those to your main. I'll usually make a bus for dialogue foley, sfx, music, and ambience depending on the project. I'm being a little general and there are exceptions as always but if L and R are the same just make it mono.

I'm not sure of a way to do what you're asking. I agree with what Jim and Roger said.

L and R channels, at least in my case are just the same.

Looking at the screenshot a bit more closely tells me the waveforms as drawn are different for L/R, meaning the two channels are NOT "the same". They appear to be stereo.

As a general rule foley is usually mono and comes from the center channel, more specifically it follows your dialogue. If the L and R channels are the same, as they appear to be, all you're really doing is making the sound louder and it still comes out the center.

Sorry for nit-picking, but just to be clear:

If we're implying a center channel then we're implying at least 5.1 surround, and if we do that then Left + Right stereo content is not necessarily 'coming out of 'the center''. That last part makes it sound as if you're still talking about the center channel, not the phantom center created by stereo playback.

I agree with what you say though.

Hi,

Thank you for all your response.
For the solution, I followed the advice on making the tracks Mono, and now they are just one single channel as I'd like.

They also sound the same if its a stereo track.

I'll just leave the stereo track for the music and sfx, as suggested.

Thank you again. Have a great day ahead!

Ben,

I think it's pretty much standard to show both channels...

mmmm i dont think so, the majority of professional audio software today, displays a single stereo audio track, and any panning modifier has evolved to a central line that you can edit. However, some older software like Avid Media Composer still shows audio in two separate L and R tracks, which fortunately can be viewed as a single track from the options panel.

In practice, there's no benefit to seeing the L and R channels on separate tracks; it shouldn't be the default option today in Fairlight. When deep editing is required, you generally go to a window or an option that allows you to correct in spectrum mode or separate the L and R channels or phases. I think DaVinci inherits many old features from Fairlight that will improve over time. Displaying tracks as separate L and R channels is not only impractical but also confusing, especially for those who come from DaVinci's editing window where stereo audio channels are represented in a modern and current way. It's necessary for DaVinci to offer an option to unify the visualization of stereo tracks as a single track.

Ben,

I think it's pretty much standard to show both channels...

mmmm i dont think so, the majority of professional audio software today, displays a single stereo audio track, and any panning modifier has evolved to a central line that you can edit. However, some older software like Avid Media Composer still shows audio in two separate L and R tracks, which fortunately can be viewed as a single track from the options panel.

In practice, there's no benefit to seeing the L and R channels on separate tracks; it shouldn't be the default option today in Fairlight. When deep editing is required, you generally go to a window or an option that allows you to correct in spectrum mode or separate the L and R channels or phases. I think DaVinci inherits many old features from Fairlight that will improve over time. Displaying tracks as separate L and R channels is not only impractical but also confusing, especially for those who come from DaVinci's editing window where stereo audio channels are represented in a modern and current way. It's necessary for DaVinci to offer an option to unify the visualization of stereo tracks as a single track.

Adrian, you're bumping a three year old thread but I read my reply again and from what I recall I'm saying pretty much exactly what you're saying. Unfortunately the OP's image is no longer available, but if you read my reply again and consider that when I wrote "channels" I meant that and not "tracks", and also consider that we agree, then you'll see... uhm... that we agree.

I think the OP wanted to NOT see both L/R channels in one track even though technically the track was stereo, and the reason was that the two channels contained the same audio. I was saying what you were saying that both channels should be visible in the track because the track is stereo. I was then also pointing out how the user interface at the time made it unclear whether or not you were looking at two mono tracks or one stereo track - i.e. the visual feedback could be improved.

So, we agree I think.

Ben,

I think it's pretty much standard to show both channels...

mmmm i dont think so, the majority of professional audio software today, displays a single stereo audio track, and any panning modifier has evolved to a central line that you can edit. However, some older software like Avid Media Composer still shows audio in two separate L and R tracks, which fortunately can be viewed as a single track from the options panel.

In practice, there's no benefit to seeing the L and R channels on separate tracks; it shouldn't be the default option today in Fairlight. When deep editing is required, you generally go to a window or an option that allows you to correct in spectrum mode or separate the L and R channels or phases. I think DaVinci inherits many old features from Fairlight that will improve over time. Displaying tracks as separate L and R channels is not only impractical but also confusing, especially for those who come from DaVinci's editing window where stereo audio channels are represented in a modern and current way. It's necessary for DaVinci to offer an option to unify the visualization of stereo tracks as a single track.

Adrian, you're bumping a three year old thread but I read my reply again and from what I recall I'm saying pretty much exactly what you're saying. Unfortunately the OP's image is no longer available, but if you read my reply again and consider that when I wrote "channels" I meant that and not "tracks", and also consider that we agree, then you'll see... uhm... that we agree.

I think the OP wanted to NOT see both L/R channels in one track even though technically the track was stereo, and the reason was that the two channels contained the same audio. I was saying what you were saying that both channels should be visible in the track because the track is stereo. I was then also pointing out how the user interface at the time made it unclear whether or not you were looking at two mono tracks or one stereo track - i.e. the visual feedback could be improved.

So, we agree I think.

aaaaaaaannnnd yes! we are agree! greetings!

Yes, it's extremely annoying that Resolve can't show stereo audio as one waveform in Fairlight, as most mordern audio solutions now can. It means that the waveform is way too small for me to work properly with it. However, since very few staff mebers seem to read anything here, and since all my feature requests and bug reports were ignored, I've given up on trying to make suggestions for improvement. It seems like a waste of time to me, since this thread will be buried anyway soon and then fade away into oblivion.
(Jim Simon almost always supports the status quo btw.)

Another absolutely horrible "feature" of fairlight is, that if you move a clip, it turns dark, so the waveform becomes barely visible. This makes it very hard to work with it. But again, since it's nearly impossible to get any feedback to Blackmagic, I have completely given up on providing any feedback (as you can see from my lack of activity on the forums.)
I would suggest you do the same, since it seems like a waste of time. It's almost impossible to get any feedback to Blackmagic, unfortunately.

Let us upvote bug reports and feature requests
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=188353&p=989029#p980853

If the waveform is too small why don't you increase the track size while you work on it? Shift+Mouse Wheel for height, Alt+Mouse Wheel for length.

Track Size.jpg (290.63 KiB) Viewed 283 times

I agree with you about the clips dimming when dragging.

If the waveform is too small why don't you increase the track size while you work on it?

Because then I have less space for other tracks. And again, I don't need to see both left and right channel at all times. It's a completely useless waste of 50% of the space, most of the time.