Why does my DVD audio level differ from the level in FCP?

Have you noticed a discrepancy between the audio in your Final Cut Pro timeline and the audio of the finished DVD when using Compressor's DVD presets?

That's because the Dolby Digital 2.0 audio preset in Compressor has several functions to improve unsuitable audio, but if you have already mixed your audio they might do more harm than good in some cases. Rather than just telling you which settings to use, I'm first going to explain what these functions are designed to do because there are a lot of misconceptions about them.

Compression alters your dynamic range (the difference between the loudest and quietest sounds in a soundtrack) by compressing the level of sounds to fit within a certain range. The loudest sound in a Dolby soundtrack can be 105dB. Considering the fact that prolonged exposure to 90 dB audio can result in hearing loss, most people do not play their audio at 105dB. When you set up a Dolby decoder with a reference tone, you are telling it the volume level it should play 105dB audio at. So if this is lower than 105dB (which is likely), you will lose some of the very quiet sounds on the soundtrack. The compression presets allow you to regain these sounds by sacrificing some dynamic range in the process.



It is set to Film Standard by default but if you have already performed a mix with a moderate dynamic range, further compression is not likely to be necessary and so it is worthwhile to switch this to None.



Dialog normalization is a feature on several Dolby decoders that ensures all content plays back at the same level. The listener sets their preferred playback level and the dialogue in every DVD and TV show plays back at the same level, meaning you don't need to keep reaching for the remote in order to adjust the volume. Contrary to popular belief, it only adjusts the overall volume level when the source changes (i.e. when you begin playing the DVD or when a new TV program begins) so dynamic range is preserved throughout the movie. It does not dynamically adjust the volume as the movie is playing.



The normalization value indicates the difference between the overall level of dialog and the maximum audio peak of 0 dBFS. The default is set to -27 dBFS, which is the established level for film soundtracks. It is also the level most decoders are set to by default. If you have your decoder set to -27 dBFS and then, for example, try to play a -25 dBFS movie, the decoder will lower the overall volume by 2 dBFS so that the general dialogue level remains the same. If you do want to switch it off when compressing your audio files (if you've already leveled your sound mix for example), set it to -31 dbFS.

So if you would like your audio to be exactly how it was in Final Cut Pro, set Dialog Normalization to -31 dBFS and set Compression in the Pre-Processing tab to None. However, these functions do serve useful purposes for the end user and it is worthwhile to bear their needs in mind.

What does 2009 hold for Final Cut Studio?

Now, 2008 has been a year of frustration for us editors. We've seen few Final Cut Studio updates (and some of those have broken more things than they fixed), we've seen matte displays replaced with glossy ones, we've seen no Apple at NAB 2008 and we've seen very little in the way of Mac Pro updates.

Has Apple abandoned pro users? Are they more interested in making iPods? Yes and no. Yes, of course, they will want to put a lot of resources into something that contributes strongly to their bottom line. However, I don't believe they have abandoned pro users at all.

Everything changes with Snow Leopard. Snow Leopard is Apple's way of telling us it still cares. Look at the feature list - Grand Central, OpenCL, QuickTime X, even the 2.2 gamma change - is there anything there that will benefit the average Joe Bloggs user when he's checking his email? No, this is a lean operating system designed for performance. And it's also designed to sell Mac Pros of course, and make the 8-core Mac Pro you bought a year ago worthwhile. This is an operating system designed to put the Mac back on top of the list of pro must-haves. Apple has a massive head-start on Microsoft here.

And what better way to promote Snow Leopard and the Mac than with a highly-optimized version of its flagship pro suite, Final Cut Studio.

I don't think Apple is abandoning us at all. I think they are just diverting their pro app resources into something much better. Think how the number of patches and the number of fixes has dwindled lately. Updates are rare and they only fix major issues. It makes sense that Apple would only put resources into fixing major bugs if Final Cut Studio 2 was at the end of its life.

Another thing I find interesting is that Apple is putting Shake updates in Pro Applications Updates but it is not putting Logic or Aperture updates in there. This would suggest that there may have been a merging of the Shake and Final Cut Studio teams.

And let's look back at the original launch of Final Cut Studio 2. If you remove Color from the equation, there's really not much there. Worth upgrading, sure, but no big architectural changes like FCP 4.0 to 4.5 or 4.5 to 5.0. Could it have been a version designed to tide us over until the big changes came along? Only Apple knows the answer to that question.

So here are my predictions:

1. Final Cut Studio 3 launches in 2009 to coincide with the release of Snow Leopard. I don't know how backwards-compatible it will be, it could well be Snow Leopard-only (which also means Intel-only). It will be largely rewritten to take advantage of new Snow Leopard features and hardware acceleration.

2. LiveType will be killed off and its features will merge into Motion. Motion will inherit some of the features of Shake. This will better position it to compete with After Effects. It remains to be seen whether Apple will keep the node-based interface from Shake or spin it off as a separate application. I don't think Apple will completely merge the two together as they have different target markets and different complexity levels.

3. There will be greater interoperability between Final Cut Studio applications. Color will be redesigned to better fit into the studio. Interfaces will be improved so that there is greater coherence between applications.

4. Media management will be redesigned and there will be tighter integration with Final Cut Server.

5. The current NLE fashion is to have an automatic transcription tool. I would imagine Apple would implement this too, as it has great potential, even with the inevitable inaccuracies. Imagine this with Final Cut Server - you could easily search for that elusive line of dialogue within hundreds or even thousands of media files.

Ok, some of these are predictions, some of these are wishful thinking. But I believe Apple will at least optimize FCS3 for Snow Leopard technologies, because Snow Leopard is pointless if software isn't written to support it. At the end of the day, performance is what matters most.

Other features that may not come but I'd like to see anyway:

1. Why do we have to keep exporting to XML? Why not just make the FCP project file XML?

2. Add scripting abilities to the applications in the Studio and improve their expandability. Apple can't possibly think of everything - let third party developers fill in the gaps. It might also win over some larger companies who will be able to integrate it with their other applications and databases.

3. Blu-ray - Who even knows? It might interfere with Apple's iTunes business model but either way, BD support in Adobe Encore is proving that there is a demand for it and it is possible to provide it in an authoring application despite the draconian licensing issues.

Roll on 2009!

Pro Applications Update 2008-05 is out

Apple just released Pro Applications Update 2008-05. This is identical to Pro Applications Update 2008-04 except it now comes with Color 1.0.4.

The news is still hot off the press so Apple haven't gotten around to updating their release notes at this point in time, however, given the timing and the fact that only one application was modified, it is safe to say that this patch was released solely to fix the dreaded XDCAM bugs in Color 1.0.3.

If you are currently running 1.0.3 and suffering from the XDCAM bug I would advise updating to this version. If not, the Golden Rules (TM) apply as usual:
* Never update in the middle of a project.
* Don't update if you don't actually need any of the features included in the update.
* Always clone or backup your system beforehand.
* Wait for at least a week to see if there are any reported problems with the patch.
* Wait even longer if you're using third party hardware or plugins e.g. the AJA Kona card or FXFactory plugins.

Update: Changelog is now up:

XDCAM Clip Relinking Is Fixed
XDCAM EX, HD, and 422 clips now relink properly.

ISO Changes in the RED Tab Appear Correctly
Instances where the Color UI did not accurately reflect changes made to the ISO parameter in the RED tab of the Primary In room have been fixed.

Improvements to the Blur Node in the Color FX Room
Adjusting the spread parameter of the Blur node no longer causes the clip to scale up.

Possible solution to Color 1.0.3 XDCAM issues

As reported earlier, the new Color 1.0.3 patch cannot seem to recognize XDCAM footage, reporting it as offline. Matt Bucy on the Apple discussions board seems to have come up with a potential fix though. It would appear that the problem is with the XDCAM codec that Sony's capture utility uses, and the problem goes away if you re-encode the video with Apple's flavor of the codec.

Matt recommends going to File > Media Manager and selecting Copy referenced media. You could also export to a QuickTime or put the files through Compressor (the latter being the least recommended option due to recompression taking place).



Let me know how well this works for you. Hopefully Apple will fix this soon.

Solving missing framework errors in Final Cut Studio

If one of your Final Cut Studio applications crashes the minute you open it, chances are it's down to missing frameworks. If you click the Report button on the crash dialog, it will tell you the reason. Alternatively you can fire up the Console in /Applications/Utilities to see the message.

You'll probably see a message like this:


Here's how to copy that file back:

1. Firstly, if you have another machine running Final Cut Studio, it's much easier to take the file from that machine (in this case /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BrowserKit.framework) and copy it to the same location on the current machine.

2. If you don't have that luxury, you will need to extract it from your installation DVD. Put the disc in the drive and open up the Terminal in /Applications/Utilities.

3. If you are using Final Cut Studio 3, type the following:


If you are using Final Cut Studio 2, type the following:


Press enter after typing cd /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks, then paste the next part as one whole line. After typing the sudo gunzip... line you may be prompted for your password.

If you are using Logic Studio, substitute Logic Studio for Final Cut Studio. If you are missing a different file, replace BrowserKit.framework with the other file's name (ProKit.framework is another common missing file).

4. If this doesn't work, replace the cd /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks line above with:


Then copy the same sudo gunzip... command from above. This will copy the file to your desktop. In the Finder, browse to /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks and copy the file from your desktop to that folder. You may be prompted for your password.

5. If problems still persist after copying the file, it is likely that Final Cut Studio is expecting a later version of the framework than the one on the DVD. The only solution in this case is to copy it from a machine running the same version of Final Cut Studio as you, or to uninstall Final Cut Studio and then reinstall it from the DVD and patch it to the latest version.

Color 1.0.3 reportedly breaking XDCAM footage

A large number of Color 1.0.3 users are reporting that the latest version breaks XDCAM footage. Apparently their XDCAM media is listed as being offline, with no way to reconnect it. The symptoms vary - some report that 30p XDCAM works fine, others report that no XDCAM works at all. Some are saying it is an issue with 1080p clips only and that 720p is fine.

Currently no-one has managed to come up with a workaround and the only suggested course of action at this stage is to uninstall Color and reinstall version 1.0.2. As far as I'm aware, that is still available from Apple's site. If you experience problems with round-tripping from FCP you will need to uninstall the entire Studio, reinstall from the disc and then ask on some forums for the old FCP 6.0.4 update (included in Pro Applications 2008-02 I believe) because, frustratingly, Apple only posts the very latest updates on their site.

This is why it is recommended to not update in the middle of a project and to read up on the patch in some forums before updating. And to be on the safe side, clone your hard disk before you update as well. We can only hope that Apple fixes this issue soon (don't hold your breath) and in the meantime, all those experiencing issues should notify Apple so they are made aware that it is affecting a large number of their users.

Update 12/14/08: See the fix here.

11-28-08 New AppleCare articles

Here are all the ProApp-related AppleCare articles from the last two weeks.

Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro: Creating an Easy Setup for capturing DV with 32 kHz audio - If you often need to capture DV (digital video) that has an audio sample rate of 32 kHz, you may want to create an Easy Setup in Final Cut Pro with all the necessary settings.

Final Cut Pro: Audio channel 4 may show no activity in Log and Transfer window with RED clips - When you ingest RED clips with four audio channels, the audio meter may show no activity on channel four when you preview in the Log and Transfer window.

Final Cut Pro: Restoring a DV device connection in QuickTime 7 - If you notice a loss of connectivity between Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express and your DV camera or deck after upgrading your versions of Mac OS X and QuickTime, here's what you can do to resolve the issue.

Final Cut Server

Final Cut Server: Connecting the database to the correct local user account - Final Cut Server uses configuration data which refers to the administrative user that installed the software. This configuration data contains the User ID (UID) which is different than the username of the administrative user. There may be situations where the Final Cut Server configuration data does not match any existing UIDs of local administrative users. For proper functionality, make sure that the UID in the Final Cut Server configuration data matches the appropriate administrative user's UID.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack: About Recording Latency - Audio recorded with Soundtrack may not be in sync with existing tracks in the project. After recording an audio clip, the clip is slightly out of sync with the other tracks in the project. Typically, this occurs on computers with a single microprocessor. The latency may be more pronounced on computers with slower microprocessors.

DVD Studio Pro

DVD Studio Pro: Rules for Entering DVD@CCESS Links - The DVD@CCESS feature allows you to add additional interactivity to your DVD title when it is played on a computer. When authoring a DVD, it's important to enter the links in the correct format, or they might not work as desired.

Shake

Shake: May show version 4.1 after update to 4.1.1 on Mac OS X - The Shake 4.1.1 update affects only the QuickTime component. You may notice the Shake version number does not change across the rest of the application or its scripts.

Qmaster

Apple Qmaster: Sharing sometimes does not enable with custom shared cluster storage path - Sharing sometimes does not successfully start when you have set a custom shared cluster storage path. When you click Start Sharing in the Apple Qmaster System Preferences pane, the button dims and may not switch to Stop Sharing. If you quit System Preferences and reopen it, the Stop Sharing button may appear to be active, but the Quickcluster may not be available in Compressor.

Pro Applications Update 2008-04

Yesterday Apple posted a big ProApp update containing updates for several applications.

Final Cut Pro 6.0.5

Improved High-Precision Rendering
If you render sequences using the high-precision video processing setting, make sure to update to Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 for improved reliability when rendering still images and footage in high-resolution formats.

Extended Metadata Support for the Panasonic AG-HMC150 Camcorder
Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 captures the additional metadata for footage recorded with the Panasonic AG-HMC150 professional AVCHD camcorder.

Improved Support for the Panasonic HDC-SD9 Camcorder
Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 provides enhanced precision and reliability when ingesting files from the Panasonic HDC-SD9 camcorder.

Improved Support for Metadata Imported from P2 Cards
Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 provides support for extended metadata that is captured on P2 cards.

However, one of the biggest features doesn't even come from Apple. RED have posted their Final Cut Studio Installer that adds native .R3D file support to FCP 6.0.5.

Compressor 3.0.5 and Qmaster 3.0.5

Using QuickClusters and Back to My Mac on the Same Computer
The QuickCluster feature of the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system is a simple and automated alternative to creating and configuring clusters manually. In previous versions of Compressor, enabling the Back to My Mac feature in Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard would remove any existing QuickClusters. This issue has been resolved. For more information about QuickClusters, see the Distributed Processing Setup guide.

Color 1.0.3

Improved Format Support

Color 1.0.3 provides support for XDCAM 422 media and for the RED plug-ins for Final Cut Studio.

The RED plug-in and accompanying documentation can be downloaded at http://www.red.com. For workflow suggestions and more information about this format, see HD and Broadcast Formats, available from the Final Cut Pro Help menu.

Improved Application Reliability
Overall application reliability has been improved, including in the following areas:

* Using trackers in the Geometry room
* Using the Reconform command
* Adjusting the Minimum and Maximum nodes in the Color FX room

Improved EDL Handling
Accuracy and reliability during EDL import have been improved.

Application of Display LUT Now Indicated Consistently
Color 1.0.3 consistently indicates when a display LUT has been applied to a project in the Project Settings tab of the Setup room.

Improved Handling of DPX Image Sequences
Color 1.0.3 provides improved reliability when reading and outputting the header information of DPX image sequences, including timecode, frame size, aspect ratio, and transfer code.

The Fix Headers Button Now Works Properly
The Fix Headers button, which appears in the clip bin of the Setup room when you select an image sequence, now correctly alters the header information of DPX image sequences.

Improved Handling of Interlaced Media
Interlaced clips with Pan & Scan adjustments in the Geometry room correctly render the exact range of clip media.

Tangent Control Surface Mappings Are Improved
The HSL qualifier and reset control surface mappings for the Tangent CP100 control surface have been fixed.

Shake 4.1.1

* This update addresses compatibility issues for QuickTime codecs greater than 8 bits.

I don't think anyone expected Shake updates but yes, you read that correctly. Apple later posted a knowledge base article clarifying that the fix was for the QuickTime component only so Shake itself will still display 4.1 as its version number. It's also worth noting that this only applies to people who applied for the Shake 4.1 crossgrade or purchased it after 4.1 came out - 4.0 owners will not be able to upgrade.

Pro Applications Update 2008-04 Release Notes

I know you're probably dying to install these updates but first, make note of the Golden Rules (TM):
* Never update in the middle of a project.
* Don't update if you don't actually need any of the features included in the update.
* Always clone or backup your system beforehand.
* Wait for at least a week to see if there are any reported problems with the patch.
* Wait even longer if you're using third party hardware or plugins e.g. the AJA Kona card or FXFactory plugins.

How to keep your job as an editor

As an editor, there are certain technical things you can do that will, in most cases, result in instant dismissal by your employer. Here are some tips on how to avoid these pitfalls.

Black frames

We've all done it - you've got the timeline zoomed out, you drag a clip and think it snapped to the end of another clip but really it snapped to a marker or overlapping bit of audio right next to it. Consequently there'll be a gap and a flash of black when the clip is played back - which producers and audiences never fail to notice.



Before you output, put the playhead at the start of the timeline and press Shift-G. This will jump the playhead to the next gap in the timeline. If you encounter a gap, press Ctrl-G to close it. If no more gaps can be found, the playhead will jump to the end of the timeline.

Unsafe luma levels

Maximum white is higher on a computer than it is on a TV. Consequently, it is possible to set white levels beyond maximum levels for NTSC broadcast. If this happens, overmodulation can occur which means that the signal can leak to radio frequencies other than the ones assigned to the TV channel, resulting in the TV company getting into big trouble with the FCC. Not surprisingly, this trouble would come your way very quickly (that's a worst-case scenario by the way).



When I am color correcting, I always switch on the luma indication in Final Cut Pro (View > Range Check > Excess Luma). This will tell you with a warning triangle and red "zebra" lines which areas are above the recommended limit. You can then use a 3-way Color Corrector to bring down the highlights until the triangle changes into a green tick.



Then, just before my project is ready for output, I create a new sequence in Final Cut Pro and nest the old sequence inside it by dragging it from the Browser into my new timeline. I then go to Effects > Video Filters > Color Correction > Broadcast Safe to make the entire nested sequence broadcast safe.

Why do I perform this step when I already made it safe earlier? Because you can't be too careful. Maybe I thought I'd corrected each one but I'd actually missed one out by mistake. Maybe I added a last-minute clip that I forgot to correct. And if you're wondering why I nest it instead of just selecting all the clips and applying the filter to all of them, that's because I might be asked to make a last-minute change right before it goes out (in the world of broadcast TV anything is possible at the last minute). Nesting the sequence ensures that everything inside that sequence will be broadcast safe, no matter what I change later on.

It's also worth mentioning that the default settings for the Broadcast Safe filter work for the vast majority of cases. It's rare to have to modify them.

Peaking audio

Like luma levels, audio levels have a maximum limit as well. If they exceed 0 dBFS on Final Cut Pro's audio meters, they will produce an audible "crunch" noise that is very ugly to hear and will instantly distract any engaged viewers.

For broadcast work, it is recommended to have your dialogue around -12 dBFS (but not lower than -18 dBFS), with very loud sounds not exceeding -6 dBFS. Film post production tends to work with a higher dynamic range so the dialogue is normally around -18 dBFS.

The most important thing, however, is that your audio doesn't exceed 0 dBFS. To ensure this, after you've completed your mix, drag the sequence from the Browser to the Viewer, then go to Mark > Audio Peaks > Mark. This will put markers in your timeline at every point where the audio exceeds 0 dBFS. This is another of those situations where even though you've already mixed it, it's so quick and easy to check for peaks that there's no reason not to do it.



To remove the markers again, go to Mark > Audio Peaks > Clear or Mark > Markers > Delete All.

Incorrect field dominance

Here's one you probably won't spot unless you are using a broadcast monitor. This is why it's important to use a broadcast monitor or at worst, a regular TV, to view your work before output.

Interlaced video uses fields to display the image. There is a field for odd-numbered lines and a field for even-numbered lines, and they are displayed one after the other for every frame. But which one should be displayed first?

NTSC video uses the Lower (Even) field dominance, meaning it shows the even-numbered lines first. If you add a clip to your timeline that has Upper (Odd) field dominance, its fields will be reversed and the motion between those fields will be reversed, so moving objects will tend to judder as they move forwards and then backwards. PAL and HD video use the Upper (Odd) field dominance, with the exception of DV-PAL, which uses Lower (Even).

This is generally not a problem with footage acquired from an NTSC or PAL camera, as it will already have been shot with the correct field dominance. The problem usually occurs with motion graphics and visual effects sequences because they have been created in software that can create both types of footage and has to be manually told which dominance it should use.

If you have been given footage that has the wrong field dominance, first try to obtain correct footage from the person who originally supplied it. If this is not possible, go to Effects > Video Filters > Video > Shift Fields to swap the fields around.

In some cases, Final Cut Pro can get confused and think that a file with the correct dominance is incorrect, so it automatically adds a Shift Fields filter when you import it. If you suspect that the file is actually correct, first check the clip for automatically-assigned filters and remove them.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that when you drag the first clip to a new sequence, Final Cut Pro 6 will ask you to change the sequence settings to match the clip if they differ. A lot of people click Yes without thinking, but taking a moment to check whether the clip in question does actually have the correct settings will save a lot of head-scratching later on.

I hope this article has given you ideas on how to avoid these problems because in a lot of cases, mistakes aren't made through ignorance but instead lack of time, lapses in concentration, tiredness, etc. That's why most of the steps in this article are very quick and easy ways of double-checking after you've already implemented corrections. These are important aspects to keep under control so it helps to have a range of defensive measures in place. When your job could potentially be on the line, you can't double-check often enough.

11-16-08 - New AppleCare articles

Apple just posted some new ProApp-related AppleCare articles.

Final Cut Pro / Express

Final Cut Pro: Choosing a Hard Disk - The disk that contains your computer's operating system is called the startup disk or boot disk. In addition to the operating system, the startup disk also stores your applications (such as Final Cut Pro), your application preferences, system settings, and documents. Because the files on the startup disk are your most critical data, maintaining the startup disk is vital. Because digital media (especially high data rate video) makes your disks work harder, you should use dedicated disks for capturing and playing back your digital video and other media files. Consider your media disks as storage units that work long, hard hours, while your startup disk keeps your system properly organized. If a disk is going to malfunction, it's better if your critical data is separate from your replaceable media files. Depending on what kind of computer you are using, you may be able to use internal and external hard disks to store your media files. Each has benefits and drawbacks.

This is a very detailed article with a lot of useful technical information about the required minimum seek times, spindle speeds, etc for Final Cut Pro. Well worth checking out.

Final Cut Express 2: How to Delete the Preference Files - Learn how to resolve issues caused by unusable preference files in Final Cut Express 2.

Final Cut Express HD 3.0: Configuration error when using with iMac G5 (iSight) and Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) - If you open Final Cut Express HD 3.0 on certain computers, you'll get a "Configuration Error" message that indicates that your computer is missing certain hardware or software, or possibly an AGP graphics card.

Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Express: Convert MP3 and AAC audio files for compatibility before importing - This document explains how to import MP3 and AAC-encoded audio files into Final Cut Pro 3, Final Cut Pro 4, and Final Cut Express.

Final Cut Express HD requires a Quartz Extreme AGP graphics card - To use Final Cut Express HD, you need a computer with an AGP graphics card that is capable of handling Quartz Extreme.

Final Cut Server

Final Cut Server: Unable to launch the specified application - In some cases the Final Cut Server client application may not open when you double-click the Final Cut Server.jnlp icon or Final Cut Server.app icon. This may happen after switching user accounts or restarting your computer from a volume other than the one you used to download the Java Web Start Final Cut Server client.

Soundtrack Pro

Soundtrack: How to Configure Digidesign Audio Devices - Learn how to use Digidesign audio devices with Apple's Soundtrack music application.

I guess they're talking about Soundtrack Pro here, not Soundtrack, as the original Soundtrack was discontinued 5 years ago.

Qmaster

Apple Qmaster: Optimizing cluster storage capacity - By default, the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system saves temporary process files in the /var/spool/qmaster directory on the cluster controller's startup disk. Computers in the cluster will access this location as needed. If you are processing large source media files that exceed the available storage space on the startup disk, you may run out of storage space on that disk.

Logic Pro / Express

Logic 8: How overlapping recordings are assigned to take folders - The Takes feature in Logic Pro/Express 8 is a powerful way to organize multiple recordings of a part in your projects. Here are some tips and explanations of what it will do in various situations.

Logic Express 8: Troubleshooting Basics - If Logic Express 8 isn't starting up properly or performing normally, try these basic troubleshooting steps to remedy the situation. Please note that these steps aren't exhaustive, and are not intended to cover any specific issue. They are fundamental, basic steps that are most effective in getting Logic Express 8 into good working order, and are the steps most often suggested by AppleCare Technical Support.