Import the QuickTime movie “car scene.mov”File menu -> Import -> Video...

Introduction to EqualizationCopy the “EQ Session Materials ” folder from the server to your folder on the computer’s scratch drive or your external drive.

This QuickTime has sound, so make sure that Import Audio from File is checked.

Now listen and watch. There’s some really horrible car rumble. We’re going to have to use an EQ (equalizer) plug-in to lessen the rumble.

If you don’t already have the inserts column showing, go to the View menu. View -> Edit Window Views -> Inserts A-E.ORUse the pull-down menu, and select Inserts.

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You will be asked for a destination for the audio from the QuickTime. Make sure it’s the Audio Files folder for the session you just created. (The default Audio Files folder is usually the correct one.)

Launch ProTools and make a new session.

There are five insert buttons in each of two columns, meaning that you can use up to ten plug-ins per track.On the “carscene.1” audio track, click the top button, then select plug-in -> EQ -> 1-Band EQ 3 (mono).

The 1-Band EQ 3 window opens.There are six typesof EQ.

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Clicking on the buttons displays the name of each type of EQ.

We don’t see a curve for Low-Shelf, Peak, and High-Shelf EQs in these illustrations because their default values have no boost or cut.

“Q” is the slope of the curve.

Lower values give more gradual slopes, higher values give steeper slopes.

On Low-Pass and High-Pass EQs, there are four values: 6, 12, 18, and 24 dB/octave.

Low-Pass EQ High-Pass EQ

Notch/Peak EQ Range 0.10 to 10.00

Q = 2.82Q = 0.20

Q = 0.37 Q = 10.00

Notch

Peak

Shelf EQ Range 0.10 to 2.00

Q = 0.50 Q = 1.82

GAIN is the amount of boost or cut. The range is ±12 dB on Low-Shelf and High-Shelf, ±18 on Peak.

FREQ (frequency) is the center frequency. The range is 20 Hz to 20 kHz.

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Option-click any control to return it to its default value.

To get started removing the rumble, we’ll use a High-Pass (aka Low-Cut) EQ.

The rumble is gone, but the voices sound very thin. The (default) cut-off frequency, 1000 Hz, is too high, and needs to be lowered. Lower the cut-off FREQ until you just hear the rumble returning, probably around 350 Hz. The voices are still thin...

Now let’s see (hear, actually) what happens with a steeper slope (“Q”). Increase the Q to 18 dB/oct (octave).

There’s one more steeper slope -- 24 dB/oct to try. And as before, we can lower the cut-off FREQ to around 140 Hz and still filter out most of the rumble, while restoring the voices to their natural resonance. VOILA!

The rumble is mostly gone again, but the voices are still thin. Again lower the cut-off FREQ until the rumble just returns, around 240 Hz. The voices are starting to sound more natural, but they’re not quite there yet.

Listen to the track from the beginning. To get a sense of the difference that the finely-adjusted High-Pass EQ makes, toggle bypass on and off as the track is playing. Pretty dramatic, eh?...

active (not bypassed) bypassed (not active)

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Import the audio file “Dynata Dynata.wav” from the “materials for class week 4” folder. Use menu: File -> Import -> Audio... Then use the Import dialog menu like we did last week. When you get the Audio Import Options box, set the destination to New track. This create a new track with the music playing from the beginning.

Now let’s add some music, and make it sound like it’s playing on the radio in the car.

Play the session from the beginning. It should be obvious that the new music track 1) doesn’t sound like it’s coming from the car radio, and 2) it’s too loud and drowns out the conversation in the car.

Let’s deal with #1 first. As imported, the music track sounds as if it was playing through high-fidelity speakers. However, many car radio speakers sound more like telephones -- with restricted high- and low-frequency response, heavy in the mid-range.On your music track, insert a 7-Band EQ 3 (mono) plug-in.

The initial temptation may be to boost the mid-range, since many car speakers are very mid-rangy. However, this doesn’t do anything to decrease the low and high frequencies, and by adding energy causes the track to clip.

There are controls for seven EQ types -- High-Pass Filter, Low-Pass Filter, Low Frequency, Low-Mid Frequency, Mid Frequen-cy, High-Mid Frequency, and High Frequency. Any combina-tion of the seven may be active at once.

We can try Low-Frequency and High-Frequency shelf EQs, but they still don’t fully eliminate the very high and very low frequencies.

The best solution is to activate the High-Pass and Low-Pass filters with a steep slope, and tune their frequencies toward the mid-range.

“Sounding like a radio” is very sub-jective. Use your ears to make adjustments to suit your taste. If necessary, lower the volume on the music track to put it into proper bal-ance with the dialogue.

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