MC1413 ADV. MIX SUITE STARTUP GUIDE Ground Rules 1. absolutely no food or drinks in the Mix suite 2. never touch the projection screen in front of the room 3. the acoustical panels and diffusers on the walls are fragile and expensive --do not touch them 4. do not reconfigure any cables in the mix suite contact the tech office in mc1320 if you have issues. MC1413 ADV. MIX SUITE STARTUP GUIDE VERSION 2018 Page 1 of 10
Mix suite power up procedures In order to prevent popping and to ensure that all PT Interfaces properly sync up, it is important that everything be turned on IN THIS ORDER: 1. Turn on Furman Power Conditioner on right side 2. Turn on Furman Power conditioner on Left Side 3. Turn on Avid Sync + HD IO 4. Turn on avid PRE (if needed) 5. Turn on Smart Rack set output either to imac or Blackmagic (imac for dual screen setup / Blackmagic for using the Vocal Booth) 6. Turn on Outlaw Receiver, push input till it reads 7.1 direct, then turn up the amplification to -16dB 7. Turn on Mac Page 2 of 10
Protools 12 HD startup Creating a New Session 1. Create a project folder in the AUDIO_RAID. Create your folder inside of the Class folder for your semester, eg. 2018 Spring Sound+Image/Your Name However if you have access to the Mix Suite outside of a Class just use your name. 2. Click the ProTools 12 icon in the dock to launch the program. 3. Choose create project/blank session in the startup dialogue. 4. The typical settings for Video Projects are Audio format:.wav Sample Rate: 48k / 48000 Bit rate: 24 bit 5. The typical settings for Audio Projects are Audio format:.wav Sample Rate: 44.1k / 44100 Bit rate: 16 bit 6. Name your session and save it in your folder you created in step 1. MC1413 ADV. MIX SUITE STARTUP GUIDE Page 3 of 10
Updating an existing Session 1. Copy the session from your harddrive to your folder in the AUDIO_RAID Drive 2. Open the session, you will see a dialogue and choose the option that sets the Playback engine to HDX 3. Your session will now open, save a copy in your folder. 4. Go to the setup menu and choose Playback Engine Make sure the Playback Engine is set to HDX 5. The settings here are optimized for the Hardware and Software setup in the mix suite. You can adjust them if needed, but this is a good place to start. H/W Buffer Size is directly related to latency, which is how fast ProTools processes audio. Fewer samples means ProTools will run more responsively, which is beneficial for Live & ADR recording. A higher H/W Buffer means that Protools will have more resources for Signal Processing, which is beneficial for Mixing & Mastering, particularly when using DSP Effects & Plugins. 6. If you get a popup message stating that your hardware does not have sync: Go to Setup > Session In the session format window, make sure that: Clock Source: SYNC HD Clock Reference: Internal/VSO Locked rectangle should turn to a solid Green. Page 4 of 10
Updating an existing Session (cont.) Managing Inputs & Outputs The most potentially complicated part of migrating a session involves the input output setup. To configure your inputs and outputs to match the Mix Suite, go to: Setup > I/O Setup Select the Input Tab. the settings should appear as shown here: If there is a variation, select the Import Settings button on the bottom of the window and import the file titled: FVNMA Mix Suite Do the same for the Output Tab. the settings should appear as shown here: If there is a variation, select the Import Settings button on the bottom of the window and import the file titled: FVNMA Mix Suite Page 5 of 10
audio monitoring Calibration The room has been calibrated to the industry standard: center weighted 85db, which professional sound studios and cinema theatres are calibrated to. To monitor your sound mix at the calibrated level for Cinema Theatres including the Gene Siskel Film Center, Set the Control Room level at 0dB, and set the Outlaw receiver to -16dB Monitoring from the Main Speaker system(5.1 Surround JBL): The Main button on the bottom of the monitoring panel should be selected and Green. The Mode should be set to 5.1 & all Speaker Outputs(L C R Ls Rs LFE) are all ON. The SOLO switch should be OFF. The Alt Sur, St 1, St 2, and Sum switches should be OFF. To Monitor from the Tannoy Nearfield Stereo Monitors: Select the Alt Mon button below the Control Room Knob, this will mute the Main Output and playback only through the nearfield monitors. To Monitor from the Headphones: Turn up the Headphone Level Knob next to the main output knob. It is always active so keep it at zero when you are not using it. Note: Keep in mind that when working in 5.1ch projects, monitoring to Stereo (Headphone Out & Nearfield monitors) you will only hear the Left & Right Channels. Change your track outputs to C24 5.1 Surround - Stereo to downmix your outputs for stereo. Page 6 of 10
importing and working with video Optimized Specs for Video Files in ProTools File Type: Quicktime.MOV Codec: Apple ProRes 422 LT Resolution: HD 1280 x 720 Match Framerate to Video Project: 23.976, 24, 29.97, etc. Your session settings should match the video standard: 48 khz, 24 Bit, with audio format set to.wav Importing a Video File 1. Go to File > Import > Video File & this dialogue will appear. 2. The default settings shown here will work well for most projects. However, animation projects may not have audio, so you can choose not to import audio for projects where there will not be a source/scratch audio track. 3. Make sure the Video will import into a New Track and it is best to import it at the Session Start. Note: You cannot have multiple video framerates in ProTools. This means that If you have videos on the same sequence set to 23.976 and 29.97, they cannot exist in the same ProTools session. Additionally ProTools will not import video with a different framerate than a video already in the session. Check Framerates & Session settings: Once your video file is in your ProTools session, it is good practice to double check the framerate of your ProTools session and the Video file. Here you we have a video imported and it is on its own video track, but the framerate is highlighted RED This means that the session and the video are not properly sync d. If you are experiencing this issue, 1. Go to Setup > Session (Session Setup) 2. On the right side of the Session Setup window is the Timecode Rate 3. Make sure the Timecode Rate of the session matches your imported footage Page 7 of 10
setting up for the vocal booth sending Protools audio & talkback 1. The Cue Output feeds into the Headphone Amplifier in the Vocal Booth. 2. To send audio from ProTools to the Vocal Booth select the Main > Cue button in the Monitor Panel, this will patch your Main Left & Right Outputs to the Headphone amplifier in the Booth. 3. You can Monitor the signal to the Booth by selecting From Cue under the Headphone Level Knob. this will patch the Vocal Booth signal to your headphones. Keep in mind that the headphone amplifier can only play back Left and Right Channels, if you are working in 5.1 surround sound you will need to change the track output to Stereo in order to get all channels down mixed for stereo headphones. 4. To speak to the Vocal Booth, turn up the Talkback Knob to the halfway point, and push the Talkback button to activate the built-in mic. Sending Video to the Vocal Booth ProTools uses an external Blackmagic Device to output video tracks to the projector and the vocal booth. Enable Video Output by selecting Options > Video Track Online If you want to Monitor what the Vocal Booth is seeing, go to the Smart Rack and select Blackmagic Device, this will re-route the signal of the projector to mirror the Vocal Booth Display. Using the headphone amplifier in the vocal booth 1. Plug headphones in to any of the six headphone out inputs on the headphone amp. 2. DO NOT plug into the first jack labelled DIRECT IN. 3. Use the Master Volume and Level Knobs plus the EQ knobs on each output to adjust the signal you re receiving from ProTools Page 8 of 10
setting up tracks & Inputs for recording 1. Create new Mono tracks for recording. (Command+Shift+N) or go to Tracks > New On average 2 or 3 tracks is good for ADR use, make sure they are set to Mono. 2. The Avid Pre is connected via MIDI to the Mac, which allows you to control the preamps within ProTools. To view the preamp controls, select View > Edit Window Views > Mic Preamps Here we can see preamp controls for each input. Each Input A1, A2, A3, etc corresponds to the input on the Avid PRE, so A1 is input 1 on the PRE. 4 cables connect from the Avid PRE to the Vocal booth and are labelled for the Input it is connected to. Audio Input Selector Inputs A1 A2 A3 A4 are routed to the Vocal Booth Record Enable & Track Input Monitor Use Track Input Monitor to hear the Mic Input Turns on Phantom Power Turns up Mic Gain Once your tracks are set up properly, you should be able to listen to the talent via Track Input Monitor & he or she can listen to ProTools via headphones and to you via TalkBack. 3. Start recording Record Enable the Track, select the Master Record button in the Transport Controls and select Play. Page 9 of 10
Mix suite power SHUT DOWN procedures In order to prevent popping and it is important that everything be turned off IN THIS ORDER: 1. SHUTDOWN Mac 2. Turn DOWN AMPLIFICATION OF Outlaw Receiver TO -48DB THEN HIT STANDBY TO TURN IT OFF 3. Turn OFF PROJECTOR, LET IT COOL DOWN THEN TURN OFF SMART RACK 4. Turn off Avid Sync HD + HD IO ON LEFT SIDE 5. Turn OFF Furman Power conditioner on Left Side 6. TURN OFF AVID PRE 7. Turn OFF Furman Power Conditioner on right side Page 10 of 10