Inserting and Manipulating Audio Clips

Quick reference

• 00:05 In previous lessons we talked about how to use objects like charts, tables, and
• 00:09 text boxes to tailor your slides to your specific needs.
• 00:13 In this lesson we will be walking you through how to add and
• 00:15 manipulate audio files on your slide deck to help communicate your ideas.
• 00:21 There are two ways to add an audio clip to a slide.
• 00:24 The first way is through the Media button located on the toolbar.
• 00:28 This option will allow us to add audio that exists in our iTunes library.
• 00:32 We simply browse for the track that we're looking for, and select it.
• 00:36 This will insert it onto our canvas.
• 00:39 The second option would be to drag and drop from anywhere on our computer, or
• 00:42 a shared resource like a file server right onto our slide.
• 00:47 Both options are valid, and both options will result in an audio file on our slide.
• 00:52 Once we have inserted an audio clip onto our slide,
• 00:55 you will notice the small control for that clip.
• 00:58 Clicking Play will allow us to sample that audio without having
• 01:01 to play the slideshow.
• 01:02 Now that we have the clip on our slide,
• 01:05 let's take a look at some of the options for manipulating this clip.
• 01:09 When we select the audio clip, the formatting pane on the right will adjust
• 01:12 accordingly, showing us options that are specific to audio.
• 01:16 At the top of this pane,
• 01:18 we have the option to replace this clip with another audio clip.
• 01:22 Where this may be useful is when we record an audio track of our own
• 01:25 using a tool like GarageBand, and insert that onto our slide.
• 01:30 If we make a change to that clip later in GarageBand,
• 01:33 we simply replace the existing clip with the new clip,
• 01:36 by clicking the Replace button and navigating to the new file.
• 01:41 Just below the Replace button you will find three controls for
• 01:44 playing back the audio, play, rewind, and fast-forward.
• 01:48 These should be pretty self-explanatory.
• 01:51 Below the play controls, we will find a volume control.
• 01:54 Occasionally you may run into an audio file that is either too quiet or
• 01:58 too loud relative to other audio files in your slide deck.
• 02:02 When this happens you find yourself reaching for the system volume and
• 02:05 adjusting.
• 02:07 When presenting however, you typically don't have that as an option.
• 02:11 So what this allows you to do is normalize the volume for
• 02:13 each audio clip independently.
• 02:16 Let's say for example, that we have three audio clips in our slide deck.
• 02:19 Two of them have normal audio levels, but one is much louder.
• 02:24 We would adjust our presentation audio system so
• 02:26 that the two audio clips sound good, then use the Volume control here to adjust
• 02:31 the volume of the louder clip to match the other two clips.
• 02:34 We have just normalized our audio clips.
• 02:38 Below the Volume slider we have options to edit the audio clip.
• 02:42 You won't be able to remove hissing and pops using this tool, other audio
• 02:46 editing tools are great for that, but you will be able to crop your audio clip.
• 02:50 In this example, we have an audio clip that is ten minutes in length, but
• 02:54 we only want to play a portion of that from the middle of the clip.
• 02:57 To do this, we will drag the left side of the slider,
• 03:00 called the start point, inward to where we want to begin the audio playback.
• 03:05 Next, we will drag the right side of the slider,
• 03:07 called the endpoint, inward to where we want to end the audio playback.
• 03:12 What we are left with is a part of the audio clip.
• 03:15 This type of editing is non-destructive to the original file,
• 03:18 meaning we can change these start and endpoints any time we want.
• 03:22 It will not remove the excess permanently.
• 03:26 In some cases, we may want to play a portion of an audio clip and
• 03:29 then a later part of that same clip.
• 03:32 This would require two start points and two end points.
• 03:36 Since we can't have more than one of each for a single audio clip,
• 03:39 we would need to take a slightly different creative approach to this.
• 03:43 We would add the same clip to our slide two times.
• 03:45 The first clip would contain the first section that we want to play,
• 03:49 while the second clip would contain the second section that we want to play.
• 03:53 Now that we have edited our audio clip, we can choose to repeat that clip.
• 03:57 We have two options for repeating, Loop and Loop Back and Forth.
• 04:01 With standard looping,
• 04:02 the clip would repeat itself beginning from the start point each time.
• 04:06 With a back and forth repeat, the clip would play beginning to end,
• 04:10 then play end to beginning, then beginning to end, then, well you get the idea.
• 04:16 This may not be used in too many places.
• 04:19 The one place where I have seen it used is in creating audio backgrounds for a slide.
• 04:24 Rather than looping, and
• 04:25 exposing your audience to a contrasting harshness when the clip loops, a back and
• 04:29 forth loop would create a seemingly seamless audio loop.
• 04:33 Our last option is this checkbox.
• 04:35 If this box is checked,
• 04:36 the audio clip will play automatically as soon as the slide is on display.
• 04:41 If the box is unchecked, the clip will play when you click on
• 04:43 the advance button on your keyboard or presentation remote.
• 04:48 Working with audio can be a lot of fun, and
• 04:50 can add a powerful punch to your slides when used properly.
• 04:54 Take some time right now to practice inserting audio clips to your slide deck.
• 04:58 Be sure to try the editing, and looping features when you do this.
• 05:02 The more you explore, the more ideas that will come to you,
• 05:05 to make amazing slide decks.

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