There's got to be a smarter way to master 26 individual recordings at once. My workflow is wasting my time, but it shouldn't be.
Summary: I'm looking for recommendations for editing applications (or Services, or scripts) that can perform (or automate) multiple AudioSuite-like operations sequentially. (This functionality would be similar to the way Apple Compressor handles multiple video processing jobs.)
Background: As a media producer at a small graduate school, I work with voice recordings of classroom lectures recorded by Marantz PMD-580s using Sennheiser G3 (and similar) wireless lapel microphones. One course usually yields 26 one-hour recordings. Often the recordings remain in storage for a while, and then I begin editing them all at once. I'm using Pro Tools 8.0.5, which is ancient so I am not expecting an answer for how to do this in my current software. I'm running Mac OS X 10.9.2 (Mavericks).
Workflow: Here's my current workflow, which will give you an idea of how I use AudioSuite, which may not be how those of you who primarily produce music use it. (I think this is more similar to a podcasting workflow.)
- Import recorded audio to Pro Tools.
- Trim beginning and end of file.
- Add fade in and fade out.
- Insert EQ, Compressor, and Deesser
- Make edits. (I need to listen to all the audio of some lectures but not others, depending on the professor, the content, the class format, etc.)
- Select track.
- Select track's first insert and copy its settings.
- Select effect from AudioSuite menu (the same effect as the one just copied).
- Paste settings copied from insert.
- Run AudioSuite.
- Repeat 7-10 for each insert.
- Repeat 6-11 for each track.
- Append " - FINAL" to the final AudioSuite product of each track.
- Import the " - FINAL" .WAV files into iTunes.
- Create MP3 version.
- Add ID3 metadata.
- Distribute.
There are usually 26 tracks per course. It feels like I'm wasting time waiting for AudioSuite to finish each individual operation before I can start a new one. I've tried selecting and AudioSuite-ing multiple tracks at once, and two negative effects occur, which together are unacceptable:
- The lengths of the tracks extend, becoming equal to the length of the longest track. This is a problem because it creates dead air at the end of 25 out of 26 tracks
- The same effect gets applied to each track, removing my ability to customize my edits. This is a problem because as users of this forum will know, the amplitude and tone of someone's voice sounds varies from session to session (class to class) depending on a swath of factors like health, mood, and distance from the microphone.
Goal: I would love to find an application (or Service, or script) that will automate steps 6-12 for me.