ProTools 2010 Revision 1

8/8/2019 ProTools 2010 Revision 1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/protools-2010-revision-1 1/12

Today’s seminar session is intended as a revision exercise in some of the

fundmental concepts of Pro Tools, which will assist you with both the forthcoming

Studio Practice assessments in Electric Mayhem and also audio editing briefs to be

set as part of the Industry Module.

This handout has been prepared using version 8.x of the software and some of

the screen shots and tools may differ slightly from earlier versions but the general

concepts will be the same.

You should then work your way through this sheet; exploring each section and

learning your own way of operating the software.

The core audio to experiment with and complete the tasks can be found on :-

Statler/FdSc Core Data/Studio Practice/Level 2/Example Sessions

1. Creating a new session

Course : FdSc Music Technology Session : Pro Tools RevisionLocation : S104 Date : 30.11.10

Choose appropriatename. Pro Tools willcreate the main folderusing this name

Select file format. Therecommended format isBroadcast wav, as this is

the most compatiblewith other systems

Select sample rate andbit depth. NB : Thiscannot be altered onceyou have set it

Selectappropriate location. Notthe desktop!



2. Folder Structure

When you create a new session, Pro Tools automatically creates a new folder

named for your session. There is no need to create a new folder to save yourwork in.

The Session File is the document that Pro Tools creates when you start a

new project. Pro Tools can open only one session file at a time. The session

file is named with a .ptf. Pro Tools sessions created with versions 5.0 - 6.x

will be have the file extension .pts.

The Audio Files folder contains all audio recorded or converted during the

session.

The Fade Files folder contains any crossfaded audio data generated by the

session.

The Region Groups folder is the default directory for any region groups that

you export from your Pro Tools session.

The Session File Backups folder contains automatically generated backups

of your Pro Tools sessions. These files are created when working on a

session and the Operations preference for ‘Enable Session File Auto Backup’

is enabled. If you need to get back to a point in time you can use the relevant

back up file.

The WaveCache.wfm file stores all of the waveform display data for the

session. This allows Pro Tools to load a session more quickly.




3. The Edit Window

There are two “main” windows in which you will work in Pro Tools :

This window is the main window for editing, importing, arranging etc. The Edit

window provides a timeline display of audio, as well as MIDI data and mixer

automation for recording, editing and arranging tracks.

As in the Mix window, each track has controls for record enable, solo, mute and

automation mode. The shortcut for this window is Command (Apple) + W

4. The Mix Window

This window is the main window to mix and view tracks. Tracks appear as

channel strips, with controls for inserts, sends, input and output assignments,

volume, panning, record enable, automation mode, and solo/mute.

The shortcut for this window is Command (Apple) + =




5. Importing Audio

To import audio into the session, there are 2 options. You can either import to

Track or Region List.

Import To Track – This will import audio directly to a track and will create a track

based on file information i.e. stereo/mono and filename. This method is good if you want to import prenamed audio and want to use each audio file within the

session.

Import To Region List – This will import audio to the regions list and make the

audio files available to use within the session. No audio track will be created

therefore you will need to create one yourself and then drag the audio from the

regions list to the edit window.

Once you have chosen to import audio by either method, Pro Tools will ask you to

choose the audio file(s) required and either convert if the file type/bit depth/

sample rate are not the same as the session, or just a straight copy if the file has

the same attributes as the session.




After copy or conversion has been chosen, press done, Pro Tools will then ask you

to choose a destination folder. This folder will default to the audio files folder

within your session, this is generally the folder you will want, therefore you can

just press choose unless you want to choose another folder.

Below is the edit window after importing audio to track and audio to region list.

If you have used the import to regions method

then you will need to create a new audio track.

This can be done by going to Track>New..

Notice the keyboard shortcut is next to theoption, this can save time in a session.


Two audio tracks in theregions list, importedusing to track and toregion list methods

Track created fromaudio to track withaudio file placed onthe track



Once a track has been created you can double click on the name to rename it,

remember the name you give the track will be the name of the audio file recorded

on it.

Once you have audio in your edit screen you can now press play (spacebar) and

listen to it.

To go back to the beginning of the session you can simply press RETURN, this

will take the locator to 0:00:00 or 1I1I000.

Task: Experiment with different importing methods, import audio using both

methods to consolidate your understanding of each method. Think of

particular situations where each method may be used.

Mix Window

Once you have imported audio and created tracks, you can now use the mix

window to view track faders, plugins etc.

A new feature in Pro Tools 8 - is the ability to set up Window Configuations,

which are very similar to Screensets in Logic. Window Configuations can be

numbered and stored for instant recall, and also directly associated with track

markers.


Notice thekeyboard shortcutfor mix window



6. Audio Editing

Below is the main editing section on the edit window.

Edit Modes

Pro Tools has four Edit modes: Shuffle, Spot, Slip, and

Grid.

Shuffle

In Shuffle mode, you can move, trim, cut, or paste regions freely within a track or

to other tracks, but their movement is constrained by the position of otherregions. If you drag an audio file to an empty track it would position the audio at

the start, if the track is not empty, the new file would snap to the end of the last

existing region in the track.

Slip

In Slip mode, regions can be moved freely within a track or to other tracks. In this

mode, it is possible to place a region so that there is space between it and other

regions in a track. Use Slip mode when you want the editing without any

restrictions to placement in time.

Spot

Use Spot mode to place regions at precise locations. In Spot mode you can specify

a frame location (or a location based on any of the other time formats), capture an

incoming Time Code address, or use a region’s time stamps as reference points

for spotting. This can be particularly useful when performing post production

tasks around SMPTE frame locations.

When Spot mode is enabled, Pro Tools asks you to specify a destination location

when a region is dragged from the Region List.


Edit ToolsZoom modesand waveform

size

Edit modes formoving regions



Grid

In Grid mode, regions that are moved, trimmed or inserted “snap” to the currently

selected Grid value. This is basically snap mode in other programs and is goodfor time based work. The grid can be changed to different resolutions for more

accurate editing/positioning, this is demonstrated below.

Task: Experiment with different edit modes, move and import audio in each

mode to consolidate your understanding of each mode. Think of the

usefulness of each mode in particular situations. See if you can work out how to set up the whole given session with each part in the correct place.

Edit Tools

Zoom Buttons : Use the Zoom buttons to zoom in and out vertically and

horizontally on MIDI and audio track material. You can also store and recall

five Zoom presets.

Zoomer Tool : Use the Zoomer tool to select a zoom view in a track. Double

click on this tool to view the whole session. Also when this is selected you

can use the drag box to zoom in on a section see below. Zoom can also beachieved by using Command (Apple) + [ or ] to zoom in and out respectively.


Select to changegrid resolution



Zoom Toggle : Use the Zoom Toggle to switch between the current zoom view

and a defined zoom view.

To store a zoom state using Zoom Toggle:

1 Make an Edit selection.

2 Click the Zoom Toggle button. It will light to indicate that Zoom Toggle is

enabled.

3 Adjust Track Height, Vertical Zoom, Track View, and the Grid as desired.

4 Click the lit (enabled) Zoom Toggle button again to revert to the last zoom

state.

5 Make another Edit selection and click the Zoom Toggle button to recall the

stored zoom state and continue editing.




Trim Tools : Use the Trim tools to trim regions and region groups. The

behaviour of the trimming tool is dependent on selected edit mode. There are

two trimming modes as shown below, this is achieved by clicking and holding onthe trim icon.

Standard trim is used for general trimming of regions and will be the general

choice for most tasks, Pro Tools also defaults to this.

TCE is the Time Compression/Expansion trim tool, this allows time stretching of

audio parts and if used in grid mode can be accurate if used correctly.

Loop allows you to quickly create looped copies of a certain part (å la Logic)

Selector Tool : Use the Selector to make selections on tracks. This can define

loops, new regions, edit points etc. The selector is also dependent on edit mode,i.e. if in grid mode, the selector will snap to grid resolution.




Grabber Tools - Use the Grabber tools to select, separate, or move regions on

tracks.

There are 3 grabber modes as shown below, this is achieved by clicking and

holding on the grabber icon.

Time Grabber selects an entire region on a track

with a single click.

Separation Grabber cuts and pastes an Edit

selection from one location to another by clicking

and dragging.

Object Grabber lets you select multiple,

nonadjacent regions.

Smart Tool : Use the Smart tool to Trim, Select, or Grab regions in tracks without

having to individually select tools. This is an easy and versatile way of editing and

also allows fade in/out.

To select the smart tool, click on the bar under Trim Select and Grab tools as

shown below, or press F7 and F8 simultaneously.

Move the arrow around the audio region in smart tool mode and observe the

arrow change into the aforementioned tools. See below.


Click on this barto activate theSmart tool - itwill turn blue



Scrubber Tool : Use the Scrubber tool to listen to sections of the

track material. Click hold and move the icon over the region of audio

to listen to that section.

Task: Experiment with the various tools and zoom modes to consolidate your

understanding of different forms of editing. Note what situations each tool may

be appropriate for.


ProTools 2010 Revision 1

Documents

Transcript of ProTools 2010 Revision 1