The all important editing process.

I have been editing audio since I had to cut tape with a razor. Alot of things have changed with the digital audio revolution. Digital editings' greatest advantage over analog in my opinion, is the fact that you can see the wave forms. Why is this the greatest advantage? Well, in the editing process, things can take time, a lot of time. Even for a seasoned pro like me who knows his editor inside and out. Editing takes time. Now, I'm not just talking about editing for continuity, which can be as simple as identifying gaps in the wave forms and easily edited out. I'm talking about what I like to call "NPR" editing. "NPR" editing is the process of removing all of the "ahhs" "and uhhs" and "ummmms" to make the interviewer and guest sound flawless, never reaching for a word on stumbling on a phrase. This isn't easy as when people get nervous, the can sometimes drop an "umm" between every word! Making edits of this nature VERY time consuming and sometimes even a daunting task.

So how does being able to see the waveforms in the audio file help? When I start on an "NPR" style edit, Within a minute or two into it, I can start to see the "uhhhs" in between words because they are usually identical to one another in waveform and usually create a sort of pattern within the speech. Using this methodology, you can cut editing time by 25% to 50% by first scanning through the file and cutting said recognizable waveforms. Sometimes this method alone is enough to make the speaker sound on top of his game. It is, of course, not as easy as it sounds. You really have to be comforatble with the visual side of editing and able to quickly scan a waveforms patterns to have this be effective. Also, there are times that "and" looks just like "umm" and if you are not careful, the speaker might not make sense anymore. This applies to the golden rule of editing, A good edit is one you don't hear. Having years of experience with a sound editor and editing waveforms is a must for it and there is a slim chance a newbie can pull this off.

One technique helpful in this type of editing is the use of markers. Dropping markers while a recording is in progress will save hours of editing. What this means is that while the recording is running, the engineer will "drop" a marker onto the waveform every time they hear the voice talent make a mistake or there is a noice, cough ect. that will need to be edited. In many sound editors, this is as easy as pressing the "M" key when you want to drop a marker.
I once recorded a client reading his Ebook. This was a 250 page book, and this was the fist time he had ever been in a recording studio. I think we spent around 11 to 12 hours with him in the booth. I was recording chapter by chapter, every chapter was its own file. Rather than stopping and doing re-takes everytime he coughed or had a sip of water, I simply let him read, if he made a mistake I instructed him to pause, take a deep breath and begin again, therefore, giving me a chance to drop a marker and mark that edit. Now, sitting there pressing "M" for 12 hours isn't much of a good time, but in a studio situation, you need to be at the console anyway. Of course I don't catch them at all, sometimes you need to do something else for a moment or you simply space out, so everything will still need a careful listen in editing. When it came time to edit, what could have been 2 weeks of editing was cut down to about 6 days. Just by looking at the file I could see 95% of the edits I needed to make, a HUGE advantage over flying blind.

In the world of Podcasting, this type of editing can mean the difference between sounding like a mumble mouthed clutz or the expert in your feild. Some people are natural public speakers and will not make a single mistake, but most of us will goof. Simply recording your vocals into a mic and sending them of as a Podcast without editing is usually a mistake, and the more time out into the edits, the better you will sound. I of course recommend using a professional editor such as myself if you want to truely sound like a pro. The time you save having someone else doing the dirty work will free you up to develop better content for your Podcast.