Working with clips, channels, and tracks

Mapping the audio channels in clips determines the type and number of audio tracks in which they appear in a sequence. Also, mapping channels determines their destination channels within the master track, and therefore in the final output file. For example, if you map channels 1 and 2 in a stereo clip to the Left-Front and Right-Front channels in a 5.1-channel master track, the two source channels appear as a single 5.1-channel track when placed into a sequence. They feed the Left-Front and Right-Front channels of the master track. When the final output is played through a 5.1-channel surround sound system, the original two channels play through the Left-Front and Right-Front speakers, respectively.

To learn more about mapping audio channels, see the video tutorial, Audio Channel Mapping In Premiere Pro CS3 on the Creative COW website.

Karl Soule shows how to map audio channels in Premiere Pro in this video tutorial. This video is for editors dealing with footage using split-mono tracks (voice on one track, ambient sound on another). This quick tutorial on audio channel mapping is a must-see.

By default, clip audio channels are mapped to the master track when they are captured or imported into a project. You can specify how Premiere Pro maps them by selecting a Default Track Format in the Source Channel Mapping pane of the Audio Preferences dialog box (Audio Channels in Premiere Pro CS5.5 and later). You can also change how clip audio channels are mapped after importing them into a project.

Finally, you can specify which output channels Premiere Pro uses to monitor each audio channel. For example, you can monitor the left channel of stereo tracks through the left-front speaker of your computer speaker system. Set this default in the Audio Output Mapping Preferences dialog box.

You can specify how Premiere Pro automatically maps clip audio channels to audio tracks and the Master Track on import or capture.

In Premiere Pro CS5.5 and later, you cannot modify audio channels of a merged clip. They must be mono by default. However, you can still reorder and enable/disable all of the available audio channels from the component clips.

You can export audio in P2 sequences back to their original four channels if you map clip audio channels to 5.1 channels correctly. You can export to four channels, for example, if you want to transfer your final output file back to P2 media. Map the channels in your P2 clips before placing them into a sequence, and before using the File > Export To Panasonic P2 command.

You can specify the channel in a target hardware audio device for each channel in a sequence Master track. You map channels in the Audio Output Mapping pane of the Preferences dialog box. Premiere Pro plays each sequence channel through the hardware channel you specify. For example, your project could have a 5.1-channel sequence, but your system hardware might support only two channels. You could specify which of the two hardware channels carries each of the six sequence channels.

16-channel sequences, however, remain mapped to 16 output channels if the selected hardware device has fewer than 16 channels. For example, the selected device could have only two channels. You could then map only the first two channels of a 16-channel sequence to the two hardware channels.

To map sequence channels for a hardware device, you first select the device in the Map Output For menu. The list below the Map Output For menu shows the hardware channels supported by the device chosen. You then map sequence channels to each hardware channel using channel tiles.

For example, if you choose a third-party 16-channel audio device, the list shows 16 hardware channels. If you choose a stereo device, the list shows only two hardware channels. Tiles to the right of each channel name in the list represent the three types of sequence channels you can map to that hardware channel: stereo, 5.1, and 16-channel.

By default, Premiere Pro selects Premiere Pro WDM Sound (Windows), or Built-In (Mac OS) as the device. However, if your computer has a supported third-party audio device installed, it appears in the Map Output For menu. Select the third-party device to make its supported channels appear in the list.

These icons appear on the Audio Channels tab of the Modify Clip dialog box, and in the Audio Output Mapping dialog box.

The following icons indicate channel mapping for stereo mixes:

You can extract audio from clips and generate new audio master clips in a project. The original master clips are preserved. Any source channel mappings, gain, speed, duration, and interpret footage adjustments in the original master clips are applied to the new, extracted audio clips.

You can select an audio clip in a sequence and generate a new audio clip that replaces the one you selected. The new audio clip contains any editing and effects you applied to the original sequence clip. If you trimmed the original sequence clip, the new clip contains only the trimmed audio instead of the entire audio of the original master clip.

The Breakout To Mono command creates mono audio master clips from a clip’s stereo or 5.1 surround audio channels. Breaking out a stereo clip results in two mono audio master clips—one for each channel. Breaking out a 5.1 surround clip results in six mono audio master clips—again, one for each channel. Premiere Pro preserves the original master clip. The Breakout To Mono command does not create new files, only new master clips with appropriate source channel mapping.

Premiere Pro can automatically break out individual stereo and surround channels to discrete monaural clips as each clip is captured or imported.

You may sometimes find it useful to use a mono audio clip as a stereo clip. Using the Modify Clip dialog box, you can apply a mono clip to a pair of left and right stereo channels.

If you have a stereo clip with sound recorded in only one channel, or if you have a stereo clip that has sound in one channel that you want to replace with the sound from the other channel, you can use source clip channel mapping, the Fill Left audio filter, or the Fill Right audio filter.

You can link one video clip to multiple audio clips and you can link multiple audio clips together. When you link audio clips in a sequence, you link only the instances of the master clips. The original master audio clips in the Project panel are untouched.

Linked clips remain synchronized as you move them or trim them in a Timeline panel. You can apply audio effects, including Volume and Panning effects, to all channels in the linked clips. If you make an edit that moves one of the linked clips without moving the others, out-of-sync indicators appear.

You can display and trim a multi-clip link in the Source Monitor. To view a track in the multi-clip link, choose from the Track menu. You can view and play only one channel at a time in the Source Monitor. If the linked clips contain markers, the Source Monitor timeline displays markers only for the displayed track. If the Source Monitor displays a multi-clip link from the Project panel, you can use the Overlay (or Overwrite in Premiere Pro CS5.5 and later) or Insert buttons to add the linked clips to separate tracks in a Timeline panel.

The Effect Controls panel displays all the video and audio tracks in a multi-clip link with the applied effects grouped together by track. You can apply effects from the Effects panel to a specific group in the Effect Controls panel.

The audio clips must have the same channel type and each clip must be on a different track. If clips are already linked, such as an audio clip linked to a video clip, they must be unlinked before you can create a multi-clip link.