Whether you’re doing film or TV scoring, or a YouTube video, Logic is a great option for audio post-production. Here are a few tips so you can start working with video in Logic Pro X.
1. Importing your movie. The easiest way to import a video in Logic is to drag the Quicktime file onto the tracks area, or use the key command “Option-Command-O”. Logic will let you import any video format supported by Quicktime. When you open a movie, you can also import its audio.
2. Setting your project’s sample rate. When importing a video, Logic will ask if you want to match the sample rate of the audio in the movie you’re importing. To set the sample rate manually, go to File > Project Settings > Audio (or use the key command “option-p” to access Logic’s Project Settings). Almost all digital video formats use a 48 kHz sample rate, so this is what we’ll use.
3. Setting your movie’s frame rate. When importing a video, Logic will ask if you want to match the frame rate of the movie you’re importing. To set the frame rate manually, go to File > Project Settings > Synchronization (or “option-p” to access Logic’s Project Settings).
4. Saving movie file along with your project. Make sure this option is checked when saving for the first time. Tip: If you forget to do this, you can always go to File > Project Settings > Assets and check the “Copy movie file into Project” option, then hit Save (⌘S).
5. Working with video in Logic’s Main Window. When a movie is opened in Logic, it’ll appear at the top of the inspector (I). Double-click the movie to open a floating window, right-click the movie window to select different window sizes or to set the movie’s start/end to the playhead’s position. Other useful settings can be found under File > Project Settings > General > Movie.
6. Working with Movie Scene Markers. In order to spot your movie for sound more efficiently, Logic will search the movie for scene cuts and will automatically create a marker for each scene. This is a great tool to know if you work with video. To create scene markers go to: Navigate > Other > Create Movie Scene Markers > Entire Movie.
Tip: Scene markers are locked to SMPTE position (time code), but can be converted to regular markers when needed. To do this, open the List Editors (D) and select the “Marker” tab. Then, select marker(s) and choose Options > Convert to Standrad Marker. The marker(s) will be unlocked and can be adjusted to your needs (they can also be locked again or converted back to scene markers).
7. Labeling Markers. Moving Playhead to Next/Previous Scenes. To see the scene markers, choose Track > Global Tracks > Show Marker Track. Once the marker track is visible, you can label markers by double-clicking them. To quickly move between scenes, use the “go to next and previous marker” shortcut: “option < >“.
8. Aligning Regions Exactly to the Playhead’s Position. This is a command you can use to quickly move regions to where the playhead is. First, select the region that you want to move, then, use “semicolon” to move the region exactly to the playhead’s position. This can also be combined with the “go to next and previous marker” command mentioned before. For example, place the playhead on a scene marker using the command (option < >), then use “semicolon” to move the region exactly to the start of the scene.
9. Locking region’s to their SMPTE position. When dealing with synchronized video, you will need sound effects and dialogue to sync in time with the movie, rather than with a bar position. For example, to prevent sound effects to be moved when changing the project’s tempo (or by mistake), you’ll need to lock them to SMPTE position (time code). To do this, first select the region, then in the Main window go to Functions > Lock SMPTE position. Locked regions will display a lock icon on the top left corner. You can also right-click the region and select “SMPTE Lock” from the menu.
10. Bouncing to Quicktime. Bouncing to Quicktime is useful for sharing mixes of your soundtrack. When you are ready to export your Logic project to video, select all regions (⌘A), then choose File > Movie > Export Audio to Movie. You can also right-click on the movie track to see this and other options.
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