Sound Mill X3 : User's Guide
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Product HomeAuto Fades
Page BottomLocator: Sound List Editor.
Auto-Fade tool bar
See About Auto-Fade section below for details on how Auto-Fade works.
Checking any of these items, turns On (enables) the associated fade effect.
- Auto-Fade-In On Play - When you click the Play button, the Sound Item volume will will fade-in from zero (0%) volume to the Sound Item's Maximum Volume.
- Auto-Fade-Out On Stop - When you click the Stop button, Sound Item volume will fade out to zero volume, then the Sound Item is Stopped.
- Auto-Fade-Out On Pause - When you click the Pause button, sound will fade out to zero volume, then the Sound Item is Paused.
- Auto-Fade-In On Resume - When you click the Resume button, the Sound Item play is Resumed and sound will fade-in from the current volume to the Sound Item's Maximum Volume.
- Auto-Fade Toggle All - Toggles all four Auto-Fade types (above) On or Off with one click.
- Auto-Fade Duration - The fade durations are set in the Sound Item Options.
Auto-Fade tool bar buttons
To Page TopAbout Auto-Fade
IMPORTANT: Do not use Fade Markers when using Auto-Fades. They will interfere with each other and cause undetermined results.
Auto-Fade avoids abrupt volume throttle (stop and start of audio) which may be jarring to the audience on high volume sound systems. It can be a useful feature when you want to pause audio during a performance at undetermined points. Auto-Fade-In begins at the Sound Item's current volume and continues until the Sound Item's Maximum Volume is reached. Auto-Fade-Out begins at the Sound Item's current volume and continues until the volume reaches zero (0%).
Fades In when...
- Audio play begins.
- Play button is clicked.
- Resume button is clicked.
Fades Out when...
- Audio reaches near the end of audio. The actual fade point is calculated by the Fade Duration.
- Stop button is clicked.
- Pause button is clicked.
Auto-Fade Duration
You set a desired Auto-Fade Durations in the Sound Item Options. All of four play actions (Play/Stop/Pause/Resume) can have a different duration if desired. Duration indirectly implies how fast or slow the fade rate will be. Longer duration implies a slower fade rate.
If you apply a Maximum Volume, it will take less time to fade-in/out. That is because the fade rate is calculated assuming a full fade from 0% to 100% volume. For example, if you set a Maximum Volume of 50%, the fade will complete in half of the Duration time. See Setting a Maximum Volume for more detail.
Auto-Fade Behavior Options
Additional Auto-Fade Behavior Options are found in the Options > Sound Item tab.
Excluding Sound Items
When you turn Auto-Fade On, it will apply to all Sound Items. However, you can exclude individual Sound Items from Auto-Fade behavior by checking the Exclude From Auto-Fades Play Modifier. You can also exclude All Automator Announcements with one checkbox in the Sound Item Options .
Notes
- When enabled, Auto-Fade will apply to all sounds initiated from the Sound List Editor, Easy Player, Automator or the Scheduler.
- Auto-Fade is a separate and distinct feature from Fade Markers.
- You can apply Auto-Fade to any or all of four play actions (Play/Stop/Pause/Resume). However, you will generally want to apply it as to a pair of actions, either Play/Stop or Pause/Resume or all four at once. For example, if you only apply it to Pause (and not Resume), the Sound Item's volume will go to zero on Pause and not fade back in when you click Resume.
- When applying Auto-Fade-Out to Stop and/or Pause, the audio continues to play until the fade-out completes (ie volume reaches zero).
- When using Auto-Fade, if you want to stop all sound immediately rather than having sound fade out, click the Kill All Sounds and Scripts menu item in the Sound List Editor. Useful if you have applied a slow Auto-Fade rate and don't want to wait for the fade to complete.
- The Easy Player Volume Status Bar will report Auto-Fade volume changes as they occur.
- Auto-Fade-In on Play begins fade-in immediately when the Play button is clicked. If the Sound Item has a Pre-Delay time applied, volume fade-in will continue during the delay time so that full volume may be reached before the audio file play begins.
Choosing Auto-Fades vs Fade Markers
Auto-Fades are the best and EASIEST choice in most cases for simple fade-in and fade-out behavior. You simply enable it on the Auto-Fades toolbar (Figure 1) and set the fade duration. Auto-Fade-In always ramps up from 0% to 100% volume. Auto-Fade-Out always ramps down to 0% volume. Auto-Fades includes playing from an Automation Script or with the Easy Player.
Auto-Fades
- Auto-Fade-In - Automatically fades in when Play or Resume is clicked.
- Auto-Fade-Out - Automatically fades out when Stop or Pause is clicked.
Fade Markers: These are used when you need fine level of control on fades on individual Sound Items such as: 1) need to set fades at specific times during the audio, 2) when you want to set volume levels for fades, 3) you want to have multiple fades in/out during the audio's playback. However these are labor intensive to setup.
Rules for Applying Auto-Fades and Fade Markers
Fades can be done by two methods to accomplish different sound design goals. You need to be mindful of the rules that apply if you are mixing the usage of Auto-Fades and Fade Markers.
Auto-Fades behavior
- Auto-Fades are enabled/disabled via the Auto-Fade tool bar (Figure 1).
- When enabled, they generally apply to every Sound Item.
- But you can exclude individual Sound Items from Auto-Fades by a checkbox in the Sound Item's Play Modifiers.
Fade Markers behavior
- Individual SoundItems Fade Markers can be enabled/disabled via the checkbox in the Start, End and Fade Markers panel.
- Fade Marker processing can be turned on/off globally via a button on the Behavior toolbar. When Active, only SoundItem Fade Markers that are enabled are processed. When off (disabled), no Fade Markers are processed.
