IP - Editors FOUND: pre-PL editing of section 12 for The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies by John Buchan

[Freso]

I recorded my section of The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies by John Buchan a month ago, fully intending to also edit it myself. And… I’ve just kept putting it off, and at this point I have to admit to myself that this is not happening at this moment. Given that I don’t wish to hold up the project, well, here I am, looking for an editor to help out!

I have a 1h27m/500 MB Audacity/Tenacity project file (made with Tenacity 1.3.3, not sure what that corresponds to for Audacity versions) which contains my entirely unedited takes.

A lot needs to be cut out (duplicate takes etc.), it definitely needs noise filtering/cleaning, is almost certainly in want of volume adjustment(s), and if there’s anything else you think would make the audio better: go for it.

I would prefer to get a “moonendureth_12_buchan.wav” file (or even .aup project file with the edits) sent to me that I can then convert to MP3 myself and upload to the MC. It can be uploaded to any file sharing service (or e-mailed to me, PM me for address) and I can take it from there.

[Winnifred]

I recorded my section of The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies by John Buchan a month ago, fully intending to also edit it myself. And… I’ve just kept putting it off, and at this point I have to admit to myself that this is not happening at this moment. Given that I don’t wish to hold up the project, well, here I am, looking for an editor to help out!

I have a 1h27m/500 MB Audacity/Tenacity project file (made with Tenacity 1.3.3, not sure what that corresponds to for Audacity versions) which contains my entirely unedited takes.

A lot needs to be cut out (duplicate takes etc.), it definitely needs noise filtering/cleaning, is almost certainly in want of volume adjustment(s), and if there’s anything else you think would make the audio better: go for it.

I would prefer to get a “moonendureth_12_buchan.wav” file (or even .aup project file with the edits) sent to me that I can then convert to MP3 myself and upload to the MC. It can be uploaded to any file sharing service (or e-mailed to me, PM me for address) and I can take it from there.

Hi Freso,

I thought I might try my hand at editing your file, so I downloaded it to check it out (was forced to register for a free version of ufile.io and download Opera to be able to do so, and then started getting popups on my Mac for some antivirus I don't want, but I sorted this last out, and having ufile might mean I can upload the edited file there to return it to you if it's too large to email).

This will likely take me a week or two to complete, and will probably yield a file that's around half an hour long in the end (based on the word count). I'll be using Audacity 3.4.2 to edit it, and can send you either the aup3 file or export it to wav, whichever you prefer. I'll probably go through the file to remove all the repetitions first, then noise reduce, and apply loudness normalization at the end.

However, I have a couple of questions and one concern to raise before I start.

• Can I assume that the last version of the repetitions is the one you're happy with? I'd prefer not to have to make any judgement calls on your behalf. I would only use an earlier version if the last one had a click or pop or background noise that wasn't removable.

• Can I join the multiple tracks together? They'd be very hard to work with if I don't and there are many of them. I believe this means you stopped and started recording that many times? Joining them is a simple enough step, but there's no un-separating them once that's done.

• At Chapter 3 (around 45:30), the volume suddenly increases drastically and stays really high until about 59:00. De-amplifying, or applying loudness normalization to, recordings at this high level is going to cause clipping, and the result may sound a bit distorted. I tried it on a small part, and it sounded ok to my ear, but just to let you know this is a possibility. It sounds as if you either changed your volume settings or got a lot closer to your mic, but only for those 13 1/2 minutes.

In case you're wondering, I've been recording for Librivox for just over 2 years, and I edit all my own files. Nothing too fancy, but I'm comfortable with all the basics. I've also been PLing/DPLing for about a year now. I will follow along with the text as I edit your file, just to make sure that everything's in the right order (the track numbering is really wonky, so I just want to make sure that none of the tracks have shifted).

How does this sound?

Cheers,

[TriciaG]

If you export to WAV or FLAC, you can use the uploader. Choose the MC of the project and the proper file naming scheme.

(And both WAV and FLAC are lossless, so no data is degraded in using them.)

[Winnifred]

If you export to WAV or FLAC, you can use the uploader. Choose the MC of the project and the proper file naming scheme.

(And both WAV and FLAC are lossless, so no data is degraded in using them.)

That would be really convenient! Thanks, Tricia!

[BrianFullen]

If you export to WAV or FLAC, you can use the uploader. Choose the MC of the project and the proper file naming scheme.

(And both WAV and FLAC are lossless, so no data is degraded in using them.)

That would be really convenient! Thanks, Tricia!

I am able to open the aup3 in Audacity as an Audacity project file (aup3). It could either continue to be worked as a project or, as you say, exported from Audacity to mp3 or whatever. I'd give this a shot, but if you're keen to do it that's cool.

EDIT: what I see is a ton of clips. Many of those clips are stumbles. Before doing the Export Audio I suggest deleting all of the stumble clips. If you are used to working with clips that's EZPZ and would simplify the editing, I suppose. Cheers.

[Winnifred]

If you export to WAV or FLAC, you can use the uploader. Choose the MC of the project and the proper file naming scheme.

(And both WAV and FLAC are lossless, so no data is degraded in using them.)

That would be really convenient! Thanks, Tricia!

I am able to open the aup3 in Audacity as an Audacity project file (aup3). It could either continue to be worked as a project or, as you say, exported from Audacity to mp3 or whatever. I'd give this a shot, but if you're keen to do it that's cool.

EDIT: what I see is a ton of clips. Many of those clips are stumbles. Before doing the Export Audio I suggest deleting all of the stumble clips. If you are used to working with clips that's EZPZ and would simplify the editing, I suppose. Cheers.

Thanks for the offer, Brian. I’m curious to find out what it’s like editing someone else’s file. I have no issues with editing it in Audacity, but exporting it to wav after editing will allow me to upload the final file to the Librivox uploader rather than have to muck about with other uploading sites or email. And, as Tricia has kindly pointed out, the file won’t lose any quality as a result of that conversion (I did not know that). Freso doesn’t want an mp3 file; he wants to export the final file himself in the program he uses.

I listened to some of the recording and the repeats/stumbles aren’t necessarily in separate clips; some of them span more than one clip, so keeping them separate won’t make editing any easier. That’s why I’m suggesting I merge all the tracks first (takes but a minute, and there’s no good reason to keep them separate after editing, anyway). I shall just have to listen right through and delete as I go. Once I get going it should be straightforward. Freso is a good and conscientious reader from what I’ve heard so far; he’s trying to get every sentence just right.

Cheers,

[BrianFullen]

That would be really convenient! Thanks, Tricia!

I am able to open the aup3 in Audacity as an Audacity project file (aup3). It could either continue to be worked as a project or, as you say, exported from Audacity to mp3 or whatever. I'd give this a shot, but if you're keen to do it that's cool.

EDIT: what I see is a ton of clips. Many of those clips are stumbles. Before doing the Export Audio I suggest deleting all of the stumble clips. If you are used to working with clips that's EZPZ and would simplify the editing, I suppose. Cheers.

Thanks for the offer, Brian. I’m curious to find out what it’s like editing someone else’s file. I have no issues with editing it in Audacity, but exporting it to wav after editing will allow me to upload the final file to the Librivox uploader rather than have to muck about with other uploading sites or email. And, as Tricia has kindly pointed out, the file won’t lose any quality as a result of that conversion (I did not know that). Freso doesn’t want an mp3 file; he wants to export the final file himself in the program he uses.

I listened to some of the recording and the repeats/stumbles aren’t necessarily in separate clips; some of them span more than one clip, so keeping them separate won’t make editing any easier. That’s why I’m suggesting I merge all the tracks first (takes but a minute, and there’s no good reason to keep them separate after editing, anyway). I shall just have to listen right through and delete as I go. Once I get going it should be straightforward. Freso is a good and conscientious reader from what I’ve heard so far; he’s trying to get every sentence just right.

Cheers,

Sure. I've proofed recordings in which the reader "marked" repeats with finger snaps etc. to make them visible ... but then sometimes forget to remove them in their final edit before upload. The clips, or at least a goodly number of them, seem to serve the same purpose as those "markings". I just figured that, as a project, it could be worked back-to-front by selecting a clip and if good move to the preceding one, deleting preceding stumble clips as you went toward the project's start. But you've actually spent time on it and I'm sure you're right. Cheers.

[Freso]

• Can I assume that the last version of the repetitions is the one you're happy with? I'd prefer not to have to make any judgement calls on your behalf. I would only use an earlier version if the last one had a click or pop or background noise that wasn't removable.

Generally, yes. I think there was maybe one part that I did several (>3) takes of and maybe I wasn’t fully satisfied with the final one either. There might also have been 1 or 2 times I did extra takes just because I thought I could perhaps do better or that a slightly different stress/intonation would work better. So, largely, yes, the last take will be the one that I’m happy with, but if you think a previous one is better, please by all means go with that. :) (Btw, if you’re curious, there’s also ~4–5 hours of footage of me doing the recording.)

• Can I join the multiple tracks together? They'd be very hard to work with if I don't and there are many of them. I believe this means you stopped and started recording that many times? Joining them is a simple enough step, but there's no un-separating them once that's done.

Definitely! You edit, so whatever you need to do to edit, you do. I still have the raw/original/source files if I should ever want/need them for anything. Whatever makes the editing easier/smoother for you, please do!

• At Chapter 3 (around 45:30), the volume suddenly increases drastically and stays really high until about 59:00. De-amplifying, or applying loudness normalization to, recordings at this high level is going to cause clipping, and the result may sound a bit distorted. I tried it on a small part, and it sounded ok to my ear, but just to let you know this is a possibility. It sounds as if you either changed your volume settings or got a lot closer to your mic, but only for those 13 1/2 minutes.

Alright! I do think there was a bit where my audio settings were changed a bit. Just let me know if anything is beyond salvation and I will re-record it.

How does this sound?

Absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for taking this on! ❤️

[Winnifred]

Hi Freso,

Just a progress report: I've just finished removing all the repeats, and applying noise reduction. Once I'd done that, the volume, though at the high end, was within the allowable range, so no loudness normalization is necessary.

I'm going to listen to it once through again, to adjust some of the silences, apply the De-Clicker in a few places where there are loud clicks, and reduce the volume of some of your introductory inhalations (where you draw breath before beginning to speak). That shouldn't take too long.

The file is now just under 40 minutes.

I hope to upload the wav file for you by the end of this week.

Cheers,

[Winnifred]

If you export to WAV or FLAC, you can use the uploader. Choose the MC of the project and the proper file naming scheme.

(And both WAV and FLAC are lossless, so no data is degraded in using them.)

Hi Tricia and Freso,

Just hit a snag. The edited WAV file is 209 MB, so Tricia, I'm assuming that's too large to use the uploader? (I started to, then saw the note saying no more than 100 MB.)

FLAC is only 72.9 MB, so that would work, but can you use a FLAC file, Freso?

Thanks,

[TriciaG]

Oof.

FLAC should be okay, hopefully Freso agrees.

If not, and it has to be WAV, maybe divide it into 2 or 3 files?

[Freso]

FLAC is only 72.9 MB, so that would work, but can you use a FLAC file, Freso?

FLAC is perfectly acceptable. It’s less about the format and more that it’s lossless. :) Thank you!!

[Winnifred]

FLAC is perfectly acceptable. It’s less about the format and more that it’s lossless. Thank you!!

Oh, good. That simplifies things. I uploaded the file here: https://librivox.org/uploads/knotyouraveragejo/moonendureth_12_buchan_128kb.flac (39:06)

In my first round, I listened to it against the text, and deleted the repeats. In almost every case, I used your final version. Then I went through it once more and applied a few other effects (De-Clicker, Noise Reduction) and deleted any left over keyboard noises, long silences, etc.

Mostly, I didn't reduce the volume of your breaths, as they seemed to me to fit nicely with the voice, especially for the older characters. I adjusted a few of the silences, to make the flow seem more natural, and applied some noise reduction to bring down the background noise. Converted to MP3, the recording shows these specs in the Checker:

128 kbps 44,100 Hz Mono
Track Length: 39:6.32 (m:ss.ss)
 
Volume: 91.2 dB
DC Bias: -1 (-0.0027%)
Clipped Audio: 0 ms (0.00%)
Background Noise: 41.3 dB

You might want to take a close listen between 19:00 and 23:30 or so. That's where the volume was suddenly much higher, and after deamplifying the whole section 1 dB, I think there's some clipping (although it doesn't show up in the Checker).

In the latter part (after 23:30 or so), there were a few odd sounds (loud cracks or distortions). I tried to delete them wherever possible, but wasn't always successful (some are too closely integrated with the speech to be removed). You'll have to decide whether you can live with them.

I like your Scottish accent; to my ear, it sounded authentic. This was a lovely story.

Let me know if you have any questions.

(Post edited to remove reference to loudness normalization, which wasn't applied.)

Thanks,