(Article published in StudentFilmmakers Magazine.)
What Audio Format to Use and Why?
Working with Music
By Daniel LeBlanc
Audio formats can be very confusing at the best of times. Here’s my take.
MP3, WAV, AIFF, MP4, AAC, etc. are all excellent audio formats. Within all formats, a producer can decide on the quality and size of each file.
Let’s say I’ve spent many hours working to get the perfect mix on a song I just produced and want to listen to it in my car to see how it translates outside of my studio. First, I have to decide what format I’m going to go with. Then I need to choose the bit rate/sample rate/encoder to use. I usually will export a couple of formats to see how they sound. These are most often WAV and MP3. WAV files are full resolution in sound and file size. You can however choose to export WAVs at lower sample and bit rates, which will degrade sound and make the file size smaller. I generally go with 24 KBPS (kilobytes per second)/48KHz(kilohertz). As far as MP3s go, there are also many levels of quality. Some audiophiles will immediately dismiss MP3s because they are compressed audio files. I think there are very good sounding MP3s and crappy sounding MP3s. I choose to export MP3s at 320 kbps(kilobits per second) 44.1KHz(kilohertz). Under most circumstances, it is pretty hard to tell the difference between the WAV and MP3 version. Again, some audiophiles will disagree, but I have tested this theory many times and found it to be true. Keep in mind that so much goes into how a song will sound to you.
- How good is the song?
- How good is the system you are listening on?
- What kind of mood are you in?
You can take the best possible audio file and play it through your phone speaker or TV and it’s not going to have a chance to prove its worth. You can take an amazing song and export it as a lower quality audio file and it will probably still be great. You can take a bad song and record/mix/export it with the best possible equipment and it will still be a bad song and sound crappy.
In summing up, I’d say make sure the file passes your ear test and trust the source you’re getting it from. I have absolutely used 320kbps MP3s on high end projects with no issues whatsoever. I will however choose to use WAV files when possible.
The problem with downloading music when you don’t know how it was exported is that one company’s MP3 or WAV is not the same as another’s. Make sure you trust the source and ask questions if you’re not sure.
Daniel LeBlanc is an award-winning music producer, arranger, performer, and composes scores music for motion pictures and television. As a writer, Daniel has penned songs with names as diverse as Alanis Morrisette, Dean McTaggert, Harry Hess, Saskia Garel, Creighton Doane, Samantha Collard, and Julian Austin. Daniel has been nominated for CCMA Record Producer of the Year three times, has won numerous song writing awards and has been the recipient of gold and platinum records for his work.
www.DanielLeBlanc.ca
www.SidSonic.com
Artist Profiles
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2n6TmIsGByTKXVp3PH5Vtz?si=_RqXUfcxQuCFx_AsdX18lg
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/daniel-leblanc/30588338
Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCopW9-qWiMqaGNnNDFZryHA
Subscribe to StudentFilmmakers Magazine today! Click here >>
