|
|
(Note that the drive partition names might be different on the Mac that you're working on.) |
Creating a New Session
Choosing a Destination Drive for Your Session
With Pro Tools launched, you'll see the Pro Tools icon in the program bar at the upper right of the desktop, and the menu bar will display a new set of choices, some of which will be grayed out. The upper right of the desktop should look something like this:
(Note that the drive partition names
might be different on the Mac that you're working
on.)
When Pro Tools opens a new session, it creates a folder on a
destination drive that you choose. This folder has the same name that
you give your session. If you were to open a session folder, the
contents would look like this:
Within the session folder are three items. One is a session document containing all the editing & mixing information about your session. (This is designated with an icon resembling a tape reel.) Another is an Audio Files folder which will contain the actual sounds that you record into your session. Another is a Fade Files folder, which contains any fade-ins or fade-outs that you create during your session.
We need a to choose a drive in which to place our session. The "Macintosh HD" partition is off-limits; our System software and programs reside there. Likewise, in this case there is a partition set aside for instructional demos. Students working with the Pro Tools LE Audiomedia Macs should use one of the partititions set aside for audio -- in this case Partitions 2 or 3.
It might be tempting to try creating a session on a Jaz cartridge and working directly from the Jaz. This is not recommended. The Jaz drives are not as fast as the Mac partitions or dedicated audio drives, and problems such as system crashes result from trying to play sessions from them.
So -- use a Jaz strictly for the backup and restoring of your work. Don't open a session from the Jaz -- always work from a drive designated for audio.
[For those working on the Pro Tools 24 systems, the drive set up is slightly different. Those systems need to have their audio files played from a drive connected to a separate SCSI bus dedicated for audio. Usually that will be a 9 gig drive, partitioned into Audio 1,2, and 3. Again, sessions backed up on Jaz should be copied to the designated 9 gig drive and not created or opened directly on the Jaz.]
In any case, when we create our session, we'll need to "point" Pro Tools to the drive where we want the session to end up. So:
Up in the menu bar, select File|New.
You'll get a standard Mac file management dialog window that looks like this:
This window tends to default to the last location used; here it has conveniently taken us to the Desktop, which is where we want to be. If we're not at the desktop we can easily navigate there by clicking the pulldown button. (It's currently displaying "Desktop" because we happen to already be at the Desktop.)
For this example we'll select the Audio 1 Partition and open it. (Remember: Do not select the Mac HD.)
Opening Audio 1, we'll see that some other sessions already exist on it.
That's ok as long as the drive still has plenty of room to spare. We've now navigated to a level where we want our session to end up, so we can go ahead and enter a name for the session (I've already done it in this example.)
Note: It's a good idea to incorporate your name into the session, just in case you forget to delete it later and need to distinguish it from someone else's work.
Before you press Save, we need to check a couple other details under "Session parameters." Pro Tools will default to working with "SD II" files which is what we want. (You can also select AIFF or WAV format.) The I/O setting of "Last Used" should set up a stereo mix; if in doubt, select "Stereo Mix" as that's we'll use for Pro Tools LE projects. The Sample Rate of 44.1 kHz suits us as well, because it's compatible with CD audiofiles.
However, the "bit depth" tends to default to 24 bit and what we want is 16 bit. (16 bit gives you CD quality, which is excellent, and many of the soundfiles we'll work with come off of CDs so sticking to 16 bit sessions will simplify life enormously in terms of file consistency. You cannot use 16 bit CD files in a 24 bit session. Although making original recordings in the 24 bit mode may give you a subtle difference in quality, you end up using 50% more drive space and much more DSP power from the Mac.)
AT LMU, ALWAYS USE THE 16 BIT DEPTH FOR YOUR SESSIONS! [This is not some big quality compromise. Most of the sound recordings you hear in major motion pictures are done in the 16 bit mode.]
After you've double-checked the parameters and entered a session name, press Save.
Next a dialog window will come up, requesting that you set a bit depth.
Next a session window should open. Depending on how others have been arranging their display preferences, it may, in addition to the basic edit window, have a transport and setup window displayed.
To see the entire session window click here. (Then use the "Back" button to return to this page.)
This is our basic "Edit Window" environment and it may seem a bit daunting at first (and we don't even have any sound happening yet.) Before we start loading any new sounds, we need to do some setting up.
The setup window is the one that has settings for "sample rate", "session start" and so forth. If it is not already displayed, we need to get it visible. From the menubar, select Display|Show Session Setup Window. It should look like this:
As mentioned before, most students really need only concern themselves with the "above the line" settings of sample rate, analog input, and internal sync, although a session start of 1 hour and zero minutes is a good practice to get used to. After checking and adjusting any Setup settings as needed, you can move the window out of the way or click it in the upper left to close it.
[About some of these settings: If you have a sample rate mismatch, it can affect the speed of sound playback. For instance, a sound recorded (or "loaded") at 44.1 KHz will sound speeded up or higher pitched when played back at 48 KHz. Sync to videotape picture can also be affected; if you have a 44.1 session in which a sound such as a background traffic ambience is cut to picture to last exactly 100 seconds for a particular scene, changing the sample rate of the session to 48KHz will not only result in a subtle pitch change in the traffic, but the traffic sound will end about 8 seconds before the end of the scene. For this reason it's important to keep the sample rate of a session consistent (and it's also a likely "culprit" to investigate if you experience sync problems.) This doesn't mean, however, that you can never bring a 48 KHz soundfiles into a 44.1 KHz session or vice versa. A sound effect may be usable, even though its pitch may be off slightly. But please note: some types of soundfiles must match the sample rate of the sessions in which they are played. One type is music, where pitch is an issue. Another is sync dialog, where sync relationships must be maintained over the entire length of the soundfile. In these cases, a "sample rate conversion" must be performed, creating a new soundfile at the proper sample rate.
Now about this "Sync Mode": if you want to record digitally from a digital source such as a DAT machine, an accurate sound transfer requires that the digital audio interface and the sound source need to be "beating to the same digital clock." In that case, you would switch the input from Analog to Digital and the Sync Mode to "digital" meaning that the reference for recording would be the clock of the DAT machine. N.B. -- after recording the sound into Pro Tools, proper playback of the sound requires that the Sync Mode be switched back to "internal."]
Before we can bring any sound regions into a session, we need tracks to put the sounds in. So from the menubar, choose File|New Track. A New Track window appears; it defaults to creating one new track but you can enter the number you prefer. (Hint: It's often handy to create a few more than you think you need; here I've entered "8" for what may ultimately require only four active tracks.)
The new tracks will appear in the edit window; their default names will be "Audio 1" through "Audio8." Notice that the New Tracks menu specifies "Mono." You could click on the Mono tab and choose to create Stereo tracks instead. That's a more advanced option; you can look ahead at stereo tracks here or just stick with mono for awhile.
Now before doing anything else, let's deal with an important step.
"Allocation" is Digidesign's term for choosing the drives on which you want audiofiles created in this session to end up. It's essential that you, and not the software, make this choice. (Pro Tools, left to it's own devices, has a tendency to "spread the audio wealth around", or to default to the last drive used, and these could be inappropriate choices.) Let's look at the Disk Allocation menu to get a better sense of what this is all about. From the menubar, select Setup|Disk Allocation. A new dialog window will appear.
You'll see that each audio track has a "Root Media Folder" listed.
That's where any new soundfiles are going to end up. Clicking reveals
a pop-up of all the mounted drives and partitions. I want my files to
go on the same drive as my session, so I select "AUDIO 1" for each
track and Pro Tools defaults to further specifying the session folder
of the current session. (NOTE: By holding down the "option" key while
making this selection, you can change all listed track record drives
at once.)
Now any soundfiles we record or create during this session should end up in the "Audiofiles" folder inside our session folder. Note: If later on, we create more tracks for our session we need to re-check our disk allocation for these new tracks. Otherwise Pro Tools could create new session folders on other drives and partitions and some of our audiofiles could end up in confusing places. You might even copy your session folder to your Jaz at the end of your work, thinking that you had all the audiofiles you needed, only to find out later that some crucial sounds had ended up who-knows-where. For this reason, make sure that the option "Use round robin allocation for new tracks" is not checked, and that you properly allocate your tracks to the correct drives immediately after creating the tracks.
Again: always check Disk Allocation when creating a new session, or when re-opening a session that has been restored from a back-up, or when creating new tracks. Failure to do so can result in files that go "missing in action."
Once you start playing around with the Pro Tools mixer, you'll discover that often you will get a nice relative balance between the various tracks, but that the combined mix level is either too loud or too soft. A Master Fader allows you to adjust the overall level of the mix without having to individually adjust the tracks.
[The Master Fader is essential when you are not recording to another deck but are instead digitally "bouncing" the tracks down to a single sound file. Without the Master Fader to indicate combined levels, it's easy to tend up with a mix file that is clipped and distorted.]
Making a Master Fader is similar to creating a new audio track. Select File|New Track. Click on the button that defaults to "Audio Track" to reveal a pop-up menu.
For a stereo mix "Master Fader (stereo)"
is selected. The new Master Fader "track" appears in
the Mix Window as another fader. Here in the Edit Window it looks a bit
like another
track.-------------------->
But unlike an audio track, regions cannot be placed in the Master
Fader portion of the Edit Window. Instead, a line representing volume
level fills the track. Notice that there are two virtual meters side
by side to indicate stereo levels.
Setting Track Size and the I/O View
Much of the following involves matters of personal taste and convenience. Over time you'll develop your own favorite style of working. For now, I'll indicate a few choices I've found useful.
First, when working with a small number of tracks you may wish to adjust the height of the track displays to show more detail. To do so, click on the small "ruler-like" vertical bar to the right of the track level meters.
A pop-up will appear giving you a wide
choice of track height displays. [In version 5.1 an even larger waveform size called
"extreme" is available.] As you bring sounds into your sessions,
you should experiment with different track heights to see
what you like best. For now, try the "medium" setting.
(NOTE: To change all the track heights at once, hold down
the Option key while clicking on the ruler.)
You may also find it helpful to display the "I/O view" in the Edit
window, next to the tracks. To do so, from the menubar choose Display
|Edit Window Shows|I/O View. You should end up with a larger track
display, with the added detail of the I/O column. Something like the
figure below right (I've added a sound effect to this track so you
can see a waveform.)
"I/O" stands for Input/Output. Besides
indicating the channel inputs/outputs for each track, the
I/O View also gives you a convenient display for pan
information and level adjustment. (You can adjust track
levels by clicking on the "vol" bar, or you can use the
virtual faders in the mix window. Likewise you can pan the
tracks by clicking the pan bar.) You can see how the "medium" track
display gives you better detail detail than the "small"
display -- instead of just "s" or "m" you can see the words
"solo" and "mute."
Please note that you can elect to look at the I/O information strictly from the mix window. (Early in my Pro Tools work , I got used to doing most of my "mixing" in the Edit Window, so this is largely a matter of taste.)
Next let's pull down the Operations menu from the menubar. (You may just want to accept the checked options as your guide and skip to Setup Preferences. Otherwise, read on for some quick explanations.)
"Destructive Record" is usually a bad
choice; it means that if you've made a recording and then
position the cursor to start recording over the previously
recorded file, it will actually overwrite the
previous file. Since one of the virtues of digital
editing is its non-destructive character, this choice would
be the exception, not the rule. "Loop Record", "QuickPunch" and "Auto
Input Monitor" will be covered in a section on
advanced
features.
"Pre/Post-Roll" means that when you position the cursor and start
playback, Pro Tools will back up slightly and begin playing back a
bit before the actual cursor position. This can be useful for hearing
the sound "in context." (The amount of pre/post-roll can be varied by
typing numbers into the Transport Window displays. You can also
adjust it by dragging the little green flags on the Timeline
Ruler.)
"Loop Playback" is an acquired taste; it means that if you highlight an area and press "Play" that area of sound will play and then immediately repeat and repeat... until you press the spacebar or the Stop button on the Transport. (Handy for critical checking of edits.)
"Page Scroll During Playback" simply means that the Edit Window will readjust to follow the progress of the cursor along a sound region. Otherwise as the playback cursor moves to the right, it can eventually move "off the screen."
"Link Edit and Timeline Selection." This is a new feature and somewhat confusing. For now, keep the two linked. As a practical matter, keeping them linked means that the position of the cursor will determine where playback begins. [If you're dying to read all the details, click here.]
["Online" means that Pro Tools is looking for some SMPTE time code to come its way, usually from a videotape. Obviously this doesn't apply to intro sound work, but others may frequently enable this option. See Advanced Features.]
Lastly, the systems may tend to default to Pre-Fader Metering, meaning that individual track levels will reflect the level of the original recording, not any adjustments you make. You may find it preferable not to check this option.
Next let's go to the menubar and select Setup|Preferences. Most of the defaults are fine, but we might want to change a few items on the first few pages of preference choices. But please note: preferences affect the way program works for all sessions; the choices made here are not unique to each session. In other words, if you are sharing workstations with others, and you open re-open a session you worked on earlier and find Pro Tools looking or behaving differently, you may want to check the preference settings to see if someone may changed some settings. So for consistency and trouble-free editing, I'd encourage LMU students to adopt the settings suggested here.
About these Display Prefs: if waveforms
in the Edit Window look unusual -- as if you're just seeing
the upper half of the waveform -- it means that the "Draw
Waveforms Rectified" choice has been checked. If a "graph paper" type of grid appears
in the Edit Window, it means that the "Draw Grids" option is
checked. (Some people find the grid appearance annoying, and
some report that it seems to slow performance on screen
re-draws.) Color coding the tracks means that the
waveforms in the different tracks will be in different
colors, rather than simply black. I find the color codes
useful for navigating through all the material.
Next comes the page for "Operation" preferences.
I've checked the top two choices; these aren't always the defaults. "Insertion" means the point at which the Selector Bar is positioned. Remember that the Selector Bar is one of our main tools; it's what we use to select areas for cutting, pasting, and so forth. By checking these two choices, it means that if I am playing a sound and press the spacebar (or Stop) the Selector Bar will go to the point where I stopped playback. Or, if I'm scrubbing around on a sound and release the mouse button, the selector will go to the place where I was scrubbing.
Without these options checked, "selection" becomes a step unrelated to where you are playing and listening to a sound. Personally, I like to link selection to the location where I'm doing my listening, but you can experiment a bit and see what you think.
"Latching" buttons is a matter of taste. When they're latched it means you can easily solo or record enable more than one track at a time just by continuing to click on more buttons. When they're "unlatched" you can still do so, but you need to hold down the shift key while clicking. Otherwise clicking the next solo button would un-solo the previous one.
The "Classic" style of using the numeric keypad is fine for newcomers to Pro Tools, but feel free to experiment. The Numeric Keypad Mode and the "Transport" option is covered in Advanced Features.
The next page has "Editing" preferences:
Of the items checked, the one that
matters the most is the "Auto-Name Separated Regions"
option. With this checked, Pro Tools will simply slap an ID
number at the end of region names for any regions created
with the "separate region" command. Otherwise Pro Tools will
prompt you to name the region. Like me, you may find that not every
region created during editing is so "special" that you want
to take the time to type in some unique name for it.
Auto-Name is handy, and it's not irreversible -- remember
that at any time you can rename any region simply by
double-clicking on it with the Grabber. (We'll deal with those "Default Fades"
later on when we cover advanced
features.)
As for conversion quality, there are choices ranging from
Low, to Good, Better, Best, and "Tweak Head." I've found that "Good"
or "Better" work just fine. "Best" results in file conversions that
tie up the computer for considerably longer with no clear
improvement. How much longer? Approximately "real time;" so a five
minute soundfile might four minutes to convert. Do not use "Tweak
Head" -- this will cause the computer to sit and process for
long periods of time for even a fairly short
audiofile.
That about covers the most important items in the Preferences category. Don't worry if some of these items remain mysterious to you -- there are dozens of things that most people never use and have never taken the time to figure out. (For instance, under the MIDI menu there's something called "Global MIDI Playback Offset." I just looked it up in the manual, and even though I have a MIDI keyboard hooked up to my system, it's doubtful I'd ever need this little item.)
Now that we've got a session and new tracks all set to go, we need to get some actual audiofiles to play with. That's covered on some other pages.
Go to "Recording New Audio into a Session."
Go to "Importing Existing Audio into a Session."
Copyright ©2000 by Rodger Pardee