Audio Subsystem
MashCaster comes equipped with a basic multi-track recording system that allows you to apply a multitrack soundbed to your shows without having to open another application to do it. The Audio Subsystem provides the ability to individually record up to 5 tracks of audio, and apply sound effects processing to any or all of these tracks.
The Audio Subsystem can be broken down into the following parts:
- Player Controls: Provides control over recording & playback.
- Tracks Buttons: Provide recording and playback status by track, as well as menu options for changing status and adding effects.
- Sound Effects Processing: Provides the ability to add effects such as chorus, flange, delay, & pitch shift.
- Mixer: Provides volume and mute control over each track individually, as well as the show as a whole.
Player Controls
The Player Controls behaves in much the same way as any other media player does, with a few important differences.
- Master Volume/Mute: Brings up a slider with a mute for setting Mashcaster’s overall sound level.
- Time Code Display: Displays the current time relative to the beginning of the show.
- Record: Records audio onto record-enabled (red) audio track.
- Play: Plays back the current active show, starting at the current time.
- Stop: Stops show playback. Returns the seek bar to the beginning of the show.
- Loop: Toggles looping on playback.
- Seek Bar: Indicates Current Time relative to the start and end of the show. Can be used to quickly change Current Time by dragging the Seek Knob to the desired point on the Seek Bar.
- Previous/Next Key Frame: The event buttons (double arrow keys) move the seek bar back to the previous key frame, or ahead to the next one. See Keyframe Animation.
- Previous/Next Frame: The frame buttons (single arrow keys) move the seek bar back to the previous frame, or ahead to the next one.
Track Buttons
The Track Buttons provide recording and playback status by track, as well as menu options for changing status and adding effects. Here's how they work:
- Red indicates that the track is enabled for recording.
- When the player is in record mode, audio is routed to the record-enabled track.
- When a new show is created, Track 1 is automatically armed.
- When dragging audio from the Media Manager to the stage, the audio is placed in armed track, at the seek bar location.
- Only one track can be record-enabled at any one time. Once audio has been recorded to a track, it will appear green, as soon as you record-enable another track. (Until you record-enable another track, the armed track button will remain red).
- A track can be muted by right-clicking on its track button and selecting “Mute” from the context menu. A muted track will appear amber.
Sound Effects Processing
Sound effects processing can be added to a recorded track by right-clicking on the corresponding track button and selecting one of the sound effects presets from the Add Effects submenu.
Note: Some presets, specifically those involving a speed change, will change the duration of the effected audio. If these effects are applied to a track after it has been assigned as a voice track for a talking picture, the synchronization will be affected as well. To avoid this problem, apply the sound effects processing first, then assign the audio track to the character. For more info, see the section on Talking Picture.
Mixer
The mixer allows you to adjust the relative volumes between tracks, mute individual tracks, and set the volume and muting of the show as a whole.
The mixer is accessed via the Speaker Icon, pictured above, located towards the left side of the Player Controls.
The master volume, labeled “M”, on the left side of the mixer, controls the overall volume of the show on the Stage. Each of the track sliders controls the volume of its associated track. The mute buttons, at the bottom of each of the sliders, allow you to mute or unmute each track individually. You can mute the entire show by muting the Master volume control. As with the track buttons, mute is amber, and green indicates a track that is play-enabled.