Setting Up Pro Tools Sessions for Editing

[ LiB ]

Setting Up Pro Tools Sessions for Editing

Now that you have recorded this great stuff into Pro Tools, it's time to edit it all to perfection . Post-production sessions can get quite large and visually cluttered when the track count gets high and the length is over a few minutes. Being able to focus on certain areas of audio with a simple and uncluttered screen will help you edit more efficiently .

Seeing the Information You Need

Pro Tools gives you the ability to hide elements that you don't need or want to see. You can customize the data that you see, whether it is rulers in the timeline or tracks that are not being used. You can resize tracks quickly so that you can see greater detail in certain areas. The Edit window is also capable of displaying mixing information as welland if you only use one monitor, like me, getting as much information in one area is very important.

Hiding or Showing Tracks

The Show/Hide window, shown in Figure 6.1, has been updated in Version 6; there are now more options for viewing and sorting tracks. But many times you're looking for a quick and simple method of changing views without setting up groups or presets. And if you have much experience working in Pro Tools, you will find that key commands are paramount to working efficiently. The more mousing around you have to do, the less efficient you'll be.

Figure 6.1. The Show/Hide window found on the left side of the Edit window.


A quick way to see only one track in the Edit window is to use the Option (Alt in Windows ) key while selecting tracks in the Show/Hide window. When you Option+click on any track in the window, all the tracks will follow the same action. For instance, if all of the tracks are showing and you Option+click on one of them, all of the tracks will immediately be hidden. The reverse is true of Option+clicking on a hidden trackall of the tracks will appear.

Here's how to quickly make only one track visible in the Edit window:

  1. Option+click on the track you want to see alone. All of the tracks will disappear, as shown in Figure 6.2. Track names in the Show/Hide window are not highlighted when they are hidden.

    Figure 6.2. Option+clicking on a visible track in the Show/Hide window hides all tracks at once. Hidden tracks are not highlighted.


  2. Immediately click (without Option) on the track again and it will reappear by itself, as shown in Figure 6.3. This track will be the only one highlighted.

    Figure 6.3. Clicking on that same track again causes it to appear by itself. Notice that Original dialog is the only track name that is highlighted.


It's that simple. To return to seeing all of the tracks, reverse the process. Clicking on the track will hide it, then Option+clicking on the track again will make all the tracks visible. Or you can just Option+click on an adjacent track that is not visible to achieve the same result. This trick only works when you want to view one track at a time.

In Pro Tools Version 6, it is now possible to show or hide tracks by their type. If you want to view only Audio tracks and hide any Aux, Master, or MIDI tracks, then choose Show/Hide > Show Only > Audio Tracks, as shown in Figure 6.4. This also works for hiding tracks by type. If you only want to look at the Aux and Master tracks, then choosing Show/Hide > Hide > Audio Tracks will leave you only the Master and Aux tracks, provided you don't have any MIDI tracks.

Figure 6.4. Choosing Show/Hide > Show Only > Audio Tracks hides all other tracks except audio tracks.


You can sort the track listing in this window by name, type, group (we'll cover groups later in this chapter), or voice, as shown in Figure 6.5. This can help you locate a track quickly when you have a large number of tracks.

Figure 6.5. Show/Hide > Sort Tracks By. Here you can re-order the list of tracks in the Show/Hide window. This will also affect the order of tracks in both the Edit and Mix windows.


Resizing Tracks

Once you have the tracks you want to work on in front of you, you might want to resize them for more accurate editing. You can do this by clicking in the vertical strip just to the left of the waveform display in any track, as shown Figure 6.6. Choices include mini, small, medium, large, jumbo, and extreme.

Figure 6.6. There are six choices for resizing track heights. They are accessed in the marked area between the waveform display and level meters in the Edit window.


  • Mini size is nice for reducing the onscreen clutter but keeping the track visible. Many tracks can be seen without scrolling, allowing you to get a view of the big picture.

  • Small allows the same visibility as mini but with the ability to see some basic automation and audio regions clearly.

  • Medium is what tracks default to when first created. This setting is very flexible, allowing most audio and automation editing tasks to be performed with precision. When tracks are very small, it's hard to actually see the audio or automation playlist you're editing. The medium size works well for most situations.

  • Large is helpful with stereo files, as it makes each side of the stereo waveform the same size as it would be on a mono track viewed at the medium height.

  • Extreme is useful when graphic editing of the waveform is needed or for precision editing of automation data.

  • Jumbo is very large and would only be used in very special situations where a high level of vertical detail is needed. I use this size when manually removing small digital clicks and pops with the pencil tool.

It is possible to use the Option key modifier to resize all tracks at once. While holding the Option key, click in the resize area and choose a level. All visible tracks will be resized to that level.

NOTE

GLOBAL MODIFIERS

The Option key is a global modifier it can be used to apply options to all tracks simultaneously . More global modifiers will be examined in this chapter. Try using Option+ (any track operation) and see what the results are. Knowing and using global modifiers is a key to high-speed operation of Pro Tools.

It is also possible to resize groups of tracks. Select several tracks at once, as shown in Figure 6.7. Press and hold Shift+Option and select a new viewing size; only the tracks you have selected will resize. This is an example of another global modifier. In most cases, when you use Shift+Option while performing an operation on several selected tracks, the same action will apply to all selected tracks.

Figure 6.7. Selecting several tracks at once in the Edit window. By holding the Shift key and clicking on several track names you can select them together. Selected tracks have their name highlighted in both the Edit and Mix windows.


Zooming, Scrolling, and Locating

An important part of using Pro Tools efficiently is being able to move around quickly and accurately. Scrolling endlessly with a mouse can slow you down and make it much more difficult to get things done. The following subsections describe some ways to move around quickly through a Pro Tools session.

Zoom Commands

Being able to zoom to an appropriate level is important in Pro Tools. You should choose a method that helps you in the way that you work best. Instead of mousing up to the Zoom buttons as shown in Figure 6.8, try using the key commands Command+[ for zooming out and Command+] for zooming in. You can leave your mouse where ever it will be used next and quickly hit the key commands to zoom to the proper level. The time it takes to move the mouse up to the zoom buttons and back down to where you're working might seem slight at first, but when you multiply it by the amount of times you zoom in and out during a typical session, the time wasted becomes significant.

Figure 6.8. The Zoom buttons in the Edit window. Using these buttons with a mouse can waste much valuable time.


I use a multi-button programmable mouse from Kensington, the TurboMouse Pro, pictured in Figure 6.9. I have programmed two buttons for zooming in and out. Having those buttons right there in my hand helps me to quickly see what I need to see. This is just one example of how you can streamline your work methods .

Figure 6.9. The Kensington Turbo Mouse Pro with a highly modified 8-ball installed. The weight of the 8-ball makes editing easier for me. This is one of many mice for which you can program buttons for frequently used commands. Mine has two buttons set up for zooming in and out.


Another tip for zooming involves a selected area on the timeline. Holding the Option key and pressing the Zoomer tool icon in the Edit window will automatically resize the Edit window to the selection you have made. In Figure 6.10, the selected area fills the Edit window after using the Option+click on Zoomer tool command. There is some margin on each side for convenience.

Figure 6.10. The Edit window after clicking on the Zoomer tool while holding Option. The Edit window will zoom to fit the selected area on the timeline.


The Universe window, shown in Figure 6.11, is another way to view and navigate around a large session quickly. The highlighted blue area represents the area currently viewable in the Edit window. By clicking in non-highlighted areas in the Universe window, the Edit window will move to show that area.

Figure 6.11. The Universe window. This window shows an overview of the whole session. By clicking in it you can move the Edit window's view to a new location.


Locating within the Edit Window

Getting around the timeline accurately is possible in many different ways. One of the oldest Digidesign conventions, dating back to the days of Sound Designer II (Digidesign's original two-track digital-editing application), is the use of the arrow keys to select and locate to the Start and End points on the timeline.

The down arrow key is used to set the Start point. This can be done on-the-fly while playing. The up arrow key sets the End point. The left arrow key locates the Edit window with the Start point centered. The right arrow key centers the End point in the timeline.

I don't use auto-scrolling because it makes it difficult to work on an isolated area and audi-tion that area without the Edit window scrolling to some other location. I like to see only one area until I'm ready to move to another. I use the arrow keys all the time to function like auto-scrolling. Here's how to do that:

  1. First, disable auto-scrolling by selecting Operations > Scroll Options > No Scrolling.

  2. Start playback and wait until the cursor disappears off the right side of the Edit window.

  3. Press the down arrow key. This sets the Start point to where ever the cursor is at the moment you hit the arrow button.

  4. Press the left arrow key. The Edit window immediately centers on the new Start point.

You can use the same method with the up and right arrow keys to center on the End point. It is also possible to hit and hold the down or up arrows. As long as you're holding the button, the Start or End point will be updated constantly to the cursor position. This can be handy for setting selections on-the-fly using your ears more than your eyes.

The use of the arrow keys is handy for setting punch in and out points if you're used to analog tape machine style operation. Pressing the down arrow key is like punching in, and pressing the up arrow key is like punching out, except that you are not recording, just preparing to. Once you have set the Start and End points, putting Pro Tools into record with some pre- and post-roll time gives you the same results as punching in and out on an analog deck.

If you constantly press the down then left arrow keys over and over again, the window will keep moving along with the cursor as fast as you can press the keys. Try this and see how it works.

The Tab key is important for locating and selecting areas on the timeline. The Tab key will move the cursor to the next region boundary. If you are in the middle of a region, Tab will move you to the end of that region. If you press Tab again, you will move to the start of the next region on that track or the end of the session, whichever comes next.

If you use the Tab key while holding the Option key, the direction is reversed , and you will move to previous region boundaries and eventually to the start of the session. Using these two variants of the Tab key can get you to important editing areas of the session quickly. Arriving at region boundaries, where much editing takes place, can help speed things up a bit during your sessions.

Using the Shift modifier with Tab will select an area from your current position to the next region boundary. You can select areas to fade by starting at a point at which you want the fade to begin and pressing Shift+Tab to select from there to the end of the region, as shown in Figure 6.12.

Figure 6.12. By pressing Shift+Tab, you can quickly select an area from a given point in the region to the end of the region.


If the cursor is across multiple tracks, then pressing the Tab key will move you to the next region boundary on any track in the selection. Figure 6.13 shows how a multiple track selection would move if you pressed the Tab key. Multiple tracks can be navigated through and selected in both directions using the Tab key technique.

Figure 6.13. With multiple track selections, pressing the Tab key moves you to the next region boundary on any of the tracks selected. With grouped tracks, this can be very useful.


The Tab to Transient function is another way you can use the Tab key to move around in your session. To enable it, press the Tab to Transient icon shown in Figure 6.14. When this icon is outlined in blue, the function is active. Now when you press the Tab key, the cursor will move to the next transient waveform in the current region or the next region boundary, whichever is next. This can be quite useful when you're editing percussive material. All of the modifiers work the same way: Pressing the Shift key selects the areas in between and Option reverses the direction. The best way to get an idea of how this works is to experiment. Import a drum loop, or any percussive sound file, and mess around.

Figure 6.14. The Tab to Transient enabling button. Use this to enhance the tabbing functions to include transient waveforms.


Auto-scrolling can be helpful in certain circumstances. For me, this is almost always during mixingit's nice to have an updated view of where you are in the track while you're mixing. Having such a view can help you prepare for the next move or simply remind you where you are. The simplest form of auto-scrilling is Operations > Scroll Options > Page Scroll During Playback. This option will update the whole Edit window to a new location once the cursor has reached the right edge of the window. Be careful when editing with this mode enabled, as you could be about to edit a region when suddenly the screen scrolls to the next page and you end up editing the wrong region. This is one reason I disable all scrolling while in Editing mode.

The nicest scrolling option to me is the Continuous Scroll with or without Playhead option. (Operations > Scroll Options > Continuous Scroll with or without Playhead). This option keeps the cursor stationary in the middle of the Edit window, and the audio waveforms scroll by as they are played . This gives the most immediate sense of what is going on in the session. The only problem with this mode is that it is processor- intensive and uses more resources than any other mode of scrolling. If you're viewing a QuickTime movie at the same time, only the fastest processors will be able to handle the load without becoming jerky and reacting slowly.

NOTE

KEYBOARD FOCUS MODE

There are several Keyboard Focus modes in Pro Tools that allow the alpha keys (the letter keys) to function as single-stroke command buttons. The Commands Key Focus mode enables the alpha keys to perform editing commands with a single keystroke. There are also Keyboard Focus modes for the Groups List, the Audio Regions List, and the MIDI Regions List. These modes are now available to Pro Tools LE users in Version 6. As all of these functions are available without using Keyboard Focus, I will not cover all of them individually. You can get a complete list of these functions by selecting Pro Tools > Keyboard Shortcuts in OSX, or Help > Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows. This will open a PDF file that contains a complete list of all commands. I recommend printing this list and using it for reference, as it will help you learn the commands much faster. The Groups List Key Focus mode will be discussed later in this chapter.

Edit Grouping

Pro Tools has very advanced grouping features that greatly help workflow in sessions. There are two types of groups: edit and mix. Edit groups group tracks in the Edit window, linking their editing functions together so that edits done on one track are also done on other members of the edit group. Mix groups link faders and other mixing functions for multiple tracks together in the Mix window. When you create a group, you are given the option to decide which type you're creating. You may also create a group that is both an edit and mix group simultaneously.

Creating Groups

To create a group, select at least two tracks by Shift+clicking on their names in the Edit window, and then select Edit Groups > New Group (Command+G), as shown in Figure 6.15. The dialog box shown in Figure 6.16 will open, offering you a choice of making an Edit, Mix, or Edit And Mix group. Creating an Edit and Mix group is usually a good idea, as it is nice to have things grouped in a similar way later on, when mixing. If you make a dialog group for editing, then when it comes time to mix, there will be a Mix group for the same dialog tracks.

Figure 6.15. The Edit Groups submenu found in the lower-left-hand area of the Edit window. Here you can create and organize your edit groups.


Figure 6.16. The New Group dialog box. Here you can decide whether to create an Edit or Mix group. It is common practice to create an Edit And Mix group together.


Editing Groups

Groups are used to help edit several tracks together in the same way. For instance, let's say you have six tracks of dialog and you need to move all of the edited regions to a new SMPTE location. Select all six of the tracks by Shift+clicking on each name in the Edit window. Then choose New Group from the Edit Groups submenu and assign a name, such as DIALOG, to this group. Now, click somewhere on one of the dialog tracks. Notice that the cursor is now across all of the grouped tracks, as shown in Figure 6.17. Any selection you make in any of the tracks will also be made in all of the grouped tracks. Moving all the edits is as simple as selecting an area that includes all the regions you want to move. Figure 6.18 shows several regions selected in a group.

Figure 6.17. The cursor has been placed inside an edit group. Now, the cursor sits across all six members of the group.


Figure 6.18. Several regions have been selected in an Edit group. Notice that all selections occur on all the tracks.


You can use the Shift+Tab method with edit groups to select areas starting exactly at the region boundaries. Here's how I selected the particular area shown in Figure 6.18:

  1. First I grouped the four tracks together. I called the group DIALOG.

  2. Next, I placed the cursor before the first region and on one of the tracks in the DIALOG group.

  3. Then I made sure the Tab to Transient mode was off.

  4. I pressed the Tab key. The cursor moved to the start of the first region.

  5. Lastly, I pressed Shift+Tab until all of the desired regions were selected.

Once you have grouped all of the regions you'd like to move, you can simply grab and move any one of them and the whole selection will move. You can also use Spot mode and click on the first region, then input the correct SMPTE number; all the regions selected will move relative to this new SMPTE position. This is just one example of how techniques can be combined to yield quick and accurate results.

Anything that can be done to a single track can be done to a group of tracks. Cutting, pasting, copying, erasing, repeatingyou name it. Grouping also becomes very important during mixing. I'll discuss that process in Chapter 9, "Delivery of Master Recordings."

Enabling and Disabling Groups

When you're working with grouped tracks, it is often necessary to edit one of the tracks individually. There are several ways to disable the grouping in order to work with one track at a time.

First, you can disable the group entirely by clicking on its name in the Edit Groups area of the Edit window, as shown in Figure 6.19. The groups that are highlighted are active; clicking on a name will disable that group, leaving the name not highlighted. When the group name is not highlighted, you can edit any track that is a member of that group without affecting the other tracks.

Figure 6.19. Clicking on the name of an Edit group here toggles the enabling of that group. Highlighted group names represent active groups, and non-highlighted group names represent inactive groups.


You can also use the Key Focus mode to enable and disable edit groups. Activate the Group Key Focus mode by clicking on the Group Key Focus button just above the Edit Groups window shown in Figure 6.20. When you first created a group, a letter was assigned to it in the New Group dialog box (refer to figure 6.16). In Key Focus mode, this letter refers to the alpha key, or letter key, you can now use to enable or disable the group. In Figure 6.20, the DIALOG and ADR groups are labeled a and b, respectively. If key focus is enabled, hitting the A key will disable group a (Dialog). Hitting the b key would enable the ADR group (as in Figure 6.20, it is disabled already).

Figure 6.20. The Group Key Focus enabling button shown here in the upper-right-hand corner of the Edit Groups section of the Edit window. When highlighted, Group Key Focus is enabled, allowing you to turn edit groups on and off by using the letter keys.


Re-Grouping Tracks and Re-Naming Groups

Many users have trouble re-assigning groups. If you want to add a member to a group or remove an unused track from an existing group, you must first select all of the tracks you want to be in the updated group.

Selecting Group Members

A quick way of selecting all the members of an existing group is to click in the area to the left of a group's name. This selects all the members of a group automatically. A solid dot will appear in the space, indicating that the whole group has been selected.

Notice, the default group ALL has a circle next to it in Figure 6.21. The circle indicates that somebut not allmembers of this group are currently selected. A dot with a circle around it means that all the members of that group are selected along with additional tracks outside the group.

Figure 6.21. Here you can see all three types of group selection indicators.


In Figure 6.21, you can see that the DIALOG group has all members selected plus some additional tracks. The ADR group has only some members selected, hence the circle. The Test group has all of its members selected and nothing else.

Create a test session with several tracks in it and group them in different ways to see how this works. You will find that these indicators can be very helpful in large post-production sessions.

Editing an Existing Group

You can alter an existing group by changing the members in it, altering the name of the group, or by doing both. You first need to decide if you want to add or remove members of the group. If so, then follow these steps to change the group composition:

  1. Select all the tracks that you want as members of the altered group. Start by clicking next to the name of the group in the Group List window to select all the current members of this group. Then use the Shift modifier to select new members or de-select tracks you no longer want to include in this group.

  2. Select Create New Group, or hit Command+G, to open the New Group dialog box.

  3. Here's the trick: Click on the letter assignment for the group. A list of all the possible group letters and any group names that are already assigned to them will appear, as shown in Figure 6.22.

    Figure 6.22. The group letters list in the New Group dialog box. Here you can choose groups to modify.


  4. Select the group letter of the group you wish to modify (in this case, DIALOG).

  5. Type in a new name if you want to change the group name.

  6. Click on OK and the group will be modified to reflect the new members and new name.

The group you just modified now contains the members you had previously selected and a new name, if you changed it, all under the same group letter as before. This is very useful when you want to use certain group letters for the same type of grouping in every session. I always use group d for dialog and group f for effects. With the technique I just described, you can constantly update these groups with new members as you add dialog and effects tracks to your project.

Creating Edit and Mix groups at the same time facilitates soloing and muting of whole sections of your project. If you just want to hear all the dialog tracks, press the Solo button on any dialog track with the dialog group enabled. Similarly, you can mute whole aspects of a production quickly and without any fuss. Disabling the group is as easy as hitting the appropriate alpha key, if Group Key Focus is enabled.

Managing groups in a large session (more than 32 tracks) will enable you to concentrate on more important aspects of the sound. Preparing your sessions with grouping can speed up workflow and allow for more creativity. That's always my goal! The tools should help you get to the creative aspects of sound design and leave the technical chores behind.

Using Counters and Rulers

Counters and Rulers are used to represent time in different formats. Rulers appear at the top of the Edit window and can be used as a visual guide for position and duration information. The counters appear in a number of windows throughout Pro Tools, but most notably in the Transport and Edit windows, where they can be used to position the cursor, Start time, and End times.

Rulers and Counters both share the same choice of formats, from Bars and Beats to Time Code and even Samples. Counters and Rulers provide different ways of viewing time in a Pro Tools session. It is essential that you be able to see the timeline from different time references. Depending on what operation you are performing, different counter and ruler formats can aid your efforts. For example, if you're placing music cues in the timeline, the Time Code Ruler and Counter will be much more effective than the Samples format. Viewing time in samples requires very large numbers that won't make much sense in terms of video time, which is measured in frames . However, the Samples format is much more useful during mixdown when you have to compensate for TDM latency within the mixer. We'll go into the details of DSP latency in Chapter 8.

Counters

Pro Tools offers two counters that can each have a different format, allowing you to view time in two ways at once. The Main counter is the larger of the two. These counters are visible in the following three locations:

  • In the Transport window, shown in Figure 6.23. You may have to choose Display > Transport Window Shows > Counters to display the counters in the Transport window.

    Figure 6.23. Both the Main and Sub counters in the Transport window. The Main counter is the larger of the two, and is set to Time Code. The Sub counter is set to Samples.


  • At the top of the Edit window, shown in Figure 6.24.

    Figure 6.24. The Main and Sub counters in the Edit window.


  • In the Big Counter window. Only the Main counter is visible, as shown in Figure 6.25.

    Figure 6.25. The Big Counter window shows only the Main counter. Choose Windows > Show Big Counter (Command+3) to see the Big Counter.


In the Transport and Edit windows, each counter has a pull-down menu to the right of it that allows the format to be changed to one of five options, as seen in Figure. 6.26. Each counter can display a different format. The Big Counter window will always display the format of the Main counter only.

Figure 6.26. The five choices for counter formats are Bars:Beats, Minutes:Seconds, Time Code, Feet:Frames, and Samples.


In the Edit window, there are additional readouts for counter numbers. These are used to view the Start (in-point), End (out-point), and Length (duration) of the current selection, as seen in Figure 6.27. Select an area in the Edit window and watch the in- and out- points change as you move. The duration also changes as you increase or decrease the size of your selection.

Figure 6.27. The Start, End, and Length indicators in the Edit window. These values can be manually entered by clicking on the number itself.


NOTE

DURATION COUNTER AS A STOPWATCH

Use the duration (Length) number to analyze the length of voiceover takes. It is very easy to get an accurate length by setting the Main counter to Minutes:Seconds and using Slip mode, then selecting the voiceover take you want to measure with the Selector tool. Be very precise about the Start and End points, in order to get an accurate measurement. The duration number will be the length in minutes and seconds. This method can only be used after recording. It is always a good idea to use a manual stopwatch while recording to get quick timings on each take.

You can manually set the in- and out-points by typing in values for them, as shown in Figure 6.27. This is useful when you have precise instructions about the length and location of an edit you need to perform. Just click the in-point area of the Edit window and you can enter a number in the format currently enabled in the Main counter. The same is true for the out-point.

If you enter a value for the Duration, the End will be modified so that it is equal to the in-point plus the value you enter for the Length. For instance, if you wish to copy an area starting at 01:30:22;17 and lasting for 10 seconds and 2 frames, then enter 00:00:10;02 into the Length area and the End will be updated to 01:30:32;19, as shown in Figure 6.28.

Figure 6.28. After entering a value for Length, the End point is updated to reflect the new length.


The in, out, and duration will all update when you use the arrow keys for selecting as well. The duration will update on-the-fly continually as long as you press the Up arrow key. This can give you a live counter for a relative position that is counting from any point in the timeline starting at zero. In this way, the arrow keys can function something like a stopwatch. While playing, hit the Down arrow as you would a stopwatch start button. You can press the Up arrow at any time to get a revised time, as you would use a lap timer, or press and hold the Up arrow to have the duration display a continuous running time.

Rulers

Rulers also help you get around and edit in Pro Tools. In TDM systems, the Time Code ruler is obviously going to be helpful when working with video. If you're working with music and video, the Bars:Beats ruler will be invaluable.

Use the Ruler pull-down menu, shown in Figure 6.29, to select which rulers should be visible. There are eight choices for ruler formats. In addition to the formats available as countersBars, Minutes, Time Code, Samples, and Feet:Framesthere are three other Ruler formats that can be viewed: Tempo, Meter, and Markers. Tempo and Meter rulers are used primarily for music. The Markers ruler can be used in just about any application. I typically view Time Code and Markers rulers in a post-production session.

Figure 6.29. The Ruler pull-down menu in the upper-left -hand area of the Edit window. Here you can select what types of rulers will be visible above the waveform display.


The Markers Ruler

Markers are helpful to anyone working with picture. They can help outline areas and give editors direction when spotting audio to picture. Pinpointing frame-accurate locations with markers helps you perform complex editing with precision and speed, without the need to memorize SMPTE numbers and keep lengthy logs and notes. Keeping your ears tuned to the sound without bogging down your mind with details allows for a more creative work context. I'll explanation how to use Markers in detail later in this chapter.

The Time Code Ruler

The Time Code ruler displays the SMPTE format of the current session. Knowing the SMPTE format is essential when working with time coded material and pictures. The ability to see the exact location of the cursor in SMPTE numbers also helps when spotting audio to picture. You can use a cue sheet with SMPTE times in conjunction with the Time Code ruler to accurately create markers where sound effects need to be placed. This will give you visual references for spotting audio.

The Feet:Frames Ruler

The Feet:Frames ruler performs the same functions as the Time Code ruler but should only be used when all timing references are being created in Feet and Frames format for film editing.

The Minutes:Seconds Ruler

The Minutes:Seconds ruler is helpful for dealing with real clock-time editing. This ruler goes down to the millisecond level, and thus is essential when you need a higher resolution for very precise editing. The Minutes and Seconds ruler is also useful in measuring lengths in a clock-time format instead of SMPTE frames. Many music-recording engineers are more familiar with durations measured in milliseconds , and so might find this ruler of more use.

The Samples Ruler

The Samples ruler has the finest resolution of any of the rulers. Neither Pro Tools nor any other PCM digital audio system is capable of editing with smaller increments than one sample. These values will give you the highest degree of accuracy available to the system. Using this ruler is cumbersome for editing in any real-time sense, though, because the numerical values are so high (48,000 values for one second alone at 48kHz).

The Bars:Beats Ruler

The Bars:Beats ruler is obviously used for music. Unless you're recording the music yourself, this ruler might not have any relevance to your session. If, however, the composer gives you a MIDI file that you can import into Pro Tools, this Bars and Beats ruler can add some valuable information such as where beats in the music fall in relation to frames in the video.

For instance, if, during a car chase scene, the music plays a large role in the pace of the action, this ruler could be used to help place sound effects in sync with the beat of the music. An old example of this comes from the original Batman TV series. The sounds heard in the intro to the show, such as "Bam!," "Smack!," "Boom!," and so on, have been placed in sync with the musical punctuation and film editing. These sounds certainly weren't placed with Pro Tools, but you can see how the Bars and Beats ruler might help with such a task.

The Tempo Ruler

The Tempo ruler is also mainly for music. It can be helpful for an editor to see where the tempo changes relative to the picture and other audio elements. If the music can be heard, these changes should be obvious, but having a visual clue can help out when you're trying to work quickly. Film composers can make much use of this ruler, as tempo changes are commonly used for dramatic effect. The ability to visually reference these changes against picture is very helpful.

The Meter Ruler

The Meter ruler is almost exclusively for music composing. Film composers would make use of this ruler in placing meter changes to specific picture changes.

Using Grid Values

The grid is a system that restricts cursor movements, selections, and region boundary placement to values larger than one sample. As one sample is the smallest increment available to any Pro Tools operation, the grid is used to divide the timeline into larger segments, allowing users to move in pre-defined steps rather than continuously through each sample. These larger increments can be based on a number of different time scales , which are as follows :

  • Clock time in Minutes and Seconds.

  • Musical time in Bars, Beats, and Tics. (There are usually 400 ticks per beat. Pro Tools 6 has 960 ticks per beat.)

  • SMPTE time code in Frames and Subframes.

  • Film measurements in Feet and Frames.

  • Samples.

  • Markers and Regions, which include both region boundaries.

Each timescale has several preset choices for values that would typically be used. For instance, the Bars and Beats grid has preset values for whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and so on. The Time Code grid has set values for quarter frames, frames, seconds, minutes, and hours.

Setting the Grid Value

Grid values are somewhat dependent on the setting of the Main counter. Setting the format of the Main counter changes which values are available in the Grid setting, as shown in Figure 6.30. This option can be disabled by un-checking it at the bottom of the Grid submenu.

Figure 6.30. Here are the grid value choices for time code. The option to have the grid value follow the Main counter can be turned off at the bottom of this menu.


Each timescale has preset choices for grid values. For instance, the Bars and Beats grid values start at one bar and divide equally down to a 64th note. There are also options to include dotted and triplet notes. This timescale has the most possible grid values. In audio post-production, the Time Code scale is used most often. The choices available for grid values are as follows:

  1. 1 second

  2. 10 frames

  3. 1 frame

  4. ¼ frame (25 sub-frames)

  5. 1 sub frame ( 1 / 100 th of a frame)

NOTE

ENABLING GRID MODE

In order to use the grid values, Grid mode must be enabled. Press the Grid button in the upper-left-hand area of the Edit window, as seen in Figure 6.31, or hit F4. Now, all cursor movement is limited to the specified grid value.

The Grid mode button in the Edit window. Alternatively you can press F4 to enable Grid mode.


I spend most of my time using a grid value of 1 frame. One frame is the smallest increment by which the picture can be edited. Using the same grid value can help you line up sounds to the actual video or film frames in your project. For instance, imagine you have just imported some score music from the film composer and you have been given a SMPTE start time and a 2-beep in the audio file. Let's say the start time of the music is 01:00:21;23 (the semicolon indicates you are using 29.97 drop-frame SMPTE). Here's how you can place the audio file in the correct location:

  1. Enter Slip mode (F1).

  2. Assuming you have already imported or recorded the audio into Pro Tools, either drag the audio file from the Audio Regions List into a new stereo audio track, or go to the audio you have recorded.

  3. Select the Trim tool (F6).

  4. Make sure the Trim tool is in Standard or Scrub mode, not TCE (Time Compression/Expansion). Figure 6.32 shows how to manually select the proper Trim tool.

    Figure 6.32. Manually select the Trim tool in either Standard or Scrub mode.


  5. Trim the music file close to the 2-beep.

  6. Zoom in to at least the millisecond level and fine-tune the trim to exactly the start of the 2-beep, as shown in Figure 6.33.

    Figure 6.33. Fine-tuning the trim to the exact start of the 2-beep tone.


  7. Enter Grid mode (F4). Using the Time Code format, choose a value of 1 frame.

  8. Zoom out so that you can see at least one second or so of time.

  9. Using the Grabber (F8), drag the region so that the start of the 2-beep lines up with the frame number that is two seconds ahead of the start time. Grid Mode will force the region to "snap" to each frame. If there is no 2-beep to use, simply line up the start of the music waveform to the given SMPTE start time in the same manner.

  10. Look up at the Main counter to see what your current start time is.

  11. When you reach 01:00:19;23, stop and let go of the region.

  12. The 2-beep is now lined up two seconds before the actual starting frame of the music. Hit Play and the music should be in sync.

  13. Once you have checked that the music is playing in sync, trim off the unwanted 2-beep.

Grid mode can also snap to other points inside the region boundaries. These points are called Sync Points; they will be discussed later in this chapter.

[ LiB ]


PRO TOOLS R for video, film, and multimedia
PRO TOOLS R for video, film, and multimedia
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2003
Pages: 70

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