Lost all of my files...? Bug or operator error?

[MarkEMark]

Hi All:

I have been recording podcasts all week. I created a folder on my Mac, created an Audacity project, and recorded the reading. I added all the files for music bumpers and such, saved it, and created an mp3 of the project.

Then, I created my next recording by creating a copy of the first using the 'save project as...' command under the file menu.

I recorded the next podcast, and cleaned it up, saved the project by hitting "save" and didn't create any mp3's, but simply began the next podcast recording in the series by "saving project as..." and starting all over.

Today, when I went to open the .aud files, the program couldn't find the recordings used in each of the 'saved as' files, JUST the first project, but NONE of the rest of the recordings (2-6 in the series)

This represents a week's worth of work, and I am sure it is self inflicted, but was hoping some of you could let me know what I did wrong and how to manage this better moving forward. I thought when I was 'saving as...' I was creating a new project by "save project as..." I was saving a copy of the original that I could then record the new vocals in and keep the rest of the music bumps and such...

Any thoughts? I'll be re-recording over the weekend if I can speak well enough after the vodka tonics I'm going to be drinking to calm down! A weeks worth of work is gone!

Thanks in advance.

Mark

[kozikowski]

Calm down.

The default Audacity Project does not make a personal copy of the show music. It uses the music files presented to it, but leaves them there. If you create a condition where Audacity can not find your music files, the music in the show drops dead.

So plug the Thumb drive with all the music on it back into the computer and all the show music should come back.

After you do that, Export the show as WAV or AIFF. those really are self-contained music files and you can use those for archiving -- and posting. Do Not edit and produce in MP3. MP3 creates musical damage and you can't stop it.

Someone said Vodka was terrific in your jogging water bottle because people can't tell it's not water. It makes t he trip a lot more fun.

Koz

[kozikowski]

The other thing you can mess up is save a Project and then move it. If the pathway to the music files changes, there goes the music.

You can change an Audacity Preference setting so this doesn't happen any more. I think Audacity 1.3.13 comes this way now.

Preferences > Import/Export > [X] Make a copy.....

Koz

[kozikowski]

It makes me think you did something like that because we have elves that edit progressively more and more complex shows by doing exactly what you did, and they come out with a complete show at the end -- no missing bits.

Just to cover the bases.... You are using Audacity 1.3, right? Audacity 1.2 is deadly on newer Macs.

What's the podcast?

Koz

[MarkEMark]

Hey Koz!

Thanks for the details. I'll digest them as I try to re-create/locate what I did wrong. THere were noither files in the folder where I saved the projects. I created one project folder, and then went through each one and ... well, you read the first post )

I appreciate you helping me. I will go back and have a closer reading of them to get a handle on the problem.

I am now the Digital Assets manager for Dale Carnegie Training's new Online Division. I have been involved as kinda the initial manager of the whole division while they looked for a person with the background and ability to take the whole thing and run with it. I have recently shifted to what I have wanted to do for years, and that's create things like podcasts, video skits and such. THat's where I live now, and loving life!

So, the podcast stuff is our first creation for some new material we'll be posting, and I am doing the voice over work for it. Audacity seems perfect for that as it is simple to use, but powerful with filters and such.

Except when I open Project files and it tells me I have no files in the project anymore.

I have started re-recording all the voice work, (fortunately there were only 5 podcasts missing and I can re-read them in short order, but the cleaning up of the breathing is still a chore. I haven't been able to get the noise gate filter to remove all the places I want automatically...)

I really appreciate your fast and detailed help! I'll keep you posted on what I discover when I follow the instructions on your posts.

Best,

Mark

[kozikowski]

Noise Gate only works when there's a fairly high difference in volume between the trash and the performance. As they get closer and closer together, they get harder and harder to separate. You eventually reach a point where you get rid of all the trash, but occasionally, you lose a word or two of the show. That's the diminishing returns thing.

Gate Threshold is the setting. As the number decreases (higher volume) it suppresses more and more of the show.

I know of no other tool that will fix your show, so if this doesn't work, you may need to figure out a better way record your voice. As before, I didn't complain about being too close to the microphone or other bad microphone technique because you found perfectly natural -- just asthmatic.

Not everybody can be a voice presenter/announcer.

Koz