IMA DIGITAL AUDIO LAB HARD DISC RECORDING Pro Tools LE Information Sheet Start Up Procedure Turn on main power switch for audio system, as usual Next, turn on the computer. This will also turn on ProTools MBox I/O interface unit (which derives its power from the USB computer connection) Now you will need to log on to the system: Your user name is student and the password is audio Wait while system loads basic program data Launching ProTools Double click on ProTools desktop icon When program finishes loading, you are ready to start your session (ProTools is loaded when you see a grey background with the Digidesign logo) At this point, you need to select the line input / output choice on the MBox (remember that it defaults to mic input on power up). To select line, you press the selection switch once for both channel 1 (left) and channel 2 (right). These switches are on the top lefthand side of the MBox. This procedure will ensure that you can get signal from any input(s) on the mixing console out to the computer. Remember that the Audition Output of the mixer feeds all of the digital recorders, including the computer It is also important that you know how to bring the signal back from the computer for monitor purposes. This is accomplished through Input #12.. Note that this input should only be assigned to the Program Output (not Audition) to avoid the possibility of a feedback loop Starting Session From 'file' menu you have two initial choices: 'new session' or 'open session' If you are just starting, choose 'new'; if you want to continue a previously started session, choose 'open'
At this point, a box will open on the screen; at the top of the box you should see a small rectangle with Documents (or something similar) & a down arrow t beside it It is absolutelv essential that you follow this next instruction; in entire system meltdown: failure to do so may result Click on the down arrow and select Pro Tools (F) drive Always choose the ProTools (F) drive for all your recording work; do not choose any of the other drives as they have specific alternate functions. It is imperative that you do not, under any circumstances, choose the internal host computer hard drive - this is the drive that houses the all the program data; it has no room for audio files, and recording to it can corrupt the program management files. Be extremely careful here, as the system generally opens on the host drive, so you activelv have to choose the correct drive (again, labeled ProToo/s) When you have selected the correct drive, you will be prompted to name the session; choose any easily remembered name (such as your own) and click 'save' (or alternately, press the return/enter key) If you are opening a previous session, when you select the ProTools drive, it will list all the files currently saved to disc. Choose your file and click 'open'. Always click on the ProTools icon rather than on 'audio' or 'fade' files - clicking on the icon loads the session, complete with all audio files, etc. You are now ready to start recording / editing digital audio Ending Session When you are ready to end session, click on 'file' and drag cursor to highlight 'close session' - you will be prompted to choose save changes - 'yes' or 'no' Choose whichever option you want, and this will close your current file. This action should I~e y. back at the grey Digidesign desktop screen Choose 'file' and drag cursor to highlight 'quit' at the bottom. program This will close ProTools Next, choose 'start' (at the bottom) and choose 'shut down'. This will turn off the computer. Remember that this computer is not connected to the internet, so you don't need to log off. Also, remember that shutting down the computer will automatically shut down the Mbox interface Finally, turn off master power switch on wall for audio system shut down
( SESSION INFORMATION Recording Procedure When the ProTools program is loaded, the ProTools title shows up on the left side of the screen and the background is grey with the Digidesign logo What follows assumes that you have selected 'new session' from the FILE menu, and that you have designated the Pro Tools (F) drive as your destination drive The ProTools initial default screen should show the edit and transport windows. you can select them via the WINDOWS menu (far right menu choice) If not, If you so desire, you can show the mix window instead of / as well as the other two (for most applications this will be unnecessary, unless you are doing a large-scale mixdown and feel more comfortable with a virtual mixing console). This would be accomplished by choosing Show Mix under the WINDOWS menu My recommendation is that you just work from the edit window; it is simpler and more useful plus all mix window functions are available, and you will be spending far more time editing than recording or mixing. I also recommend that you choose (under Edit Window Shows) the I/O View, Inserts View, and Sends View. These are all under the DISPLAY menu To get started, the first thing that you will need to do is create some tracks to record onto: 1. From FILE menu, choose new track and enter the number of tracks you want when prompted (for most initial sessions, you would probably want to create a single stereo track for recording from any stereo input source connected to the mixing console. For a microphone input you would be creating a mono track. Both of these would be an audio track). At some later point, you may want to create another ~ of track (audio, auxiliary return, master fader, and MIDI track are your options) 2. At this point, you can name the tracks if you want by double clicking on the track name and entering the desired name; if not, the tracks will default to Audio 1, Audio 2, etc. 3. If you choose to create 2 mono tracks for a stereo pair, be sure to pan tracks hard left & right to retain stereo image, and then highlight each track by clicking on its name (shift clicking after first one), and from FILE menu choose Group Selected Tracks. You can name the group if you desire. Also, you can designate your group for edit, mix, or both. This group will now show up
in the Group Section in the lower left hand corner of the display screen. will ensure that any editing you do will affect both tracks simultaneously This When your audio system is configured to record from the appropriate source, you would now record enable each track by clicking on the record switch in the track Play source, check input level (remember that you will set an incoming signal level from the fader on the mixing console, so check both VU meter on console & plasma meter in ProTools track display). Adjust playback monitor level on board as usual. After re-cueing & pausing your source device, you can now start recording by clicking on the Record switch, then the Play switch on the transport window (remember that the space bar toggles between Play and Stop each time you press it), and then starting your source When your selection has finished or you have faded the source device out, press Stop (or the space bar) and recording will stop. At this point your track waveforms will be displayed within the track Take your track(s) out of the record mode by clicking the record switch off You can now audition your recorded tracks to prepare for either overdubbing audio or the editing process more Editing Procedure Once you have recorded / imported some audio, and your waveforms the tracks, you are ready to start editing are displayed in The ProTools program has six specific Professional Tools to utilize during the editing phase of your session: 1. Zoomer: used to affect the size of the waveform display; specifically to visually zero in on a specific portion of a waveform to assist in the edit 2. Trimmer: used to trim off unwanted audio info from either the beginning or the end of the track (can be used anywhere in the track, of course). This tool can also be used to trim / expand a region - to 'uncover' data previously trimmed or expand a region placed within a track 3. Selector: used to identify specific regions within the track(s). This is the most important of the tools that is used, not only for this primary function, but also it is used to place the cursor in the track to designate where you wish the track to be played from
( 4. Grabber: used to move or rearrange tracks I regions. This tool works in conjunction with the mode selector section of the tool bar. (I would recommend that, in the beginning at least, you stick to the shuffle mode to avoid some potential problems with region location within a track. As you get more familiar with how the program operates, feel free to switch to slip mode, to 'free up' the regions within a track) 5. Scrubber: used in the track to identify a piece of audio by 'scrubbing' the track at the position you want to hear it (similar to the analog tape equivalent of putting the ATR in the edit mode and rocking the reels back and forth to identify a specific tape location) 6. Pencil: used in a track to redraw a waveform. Usually this would be to eliminate some undesirable artifact such as a click or pop in a track Along with these primary tools, you will use the Display Scale arrows (located just to the left of the Zoomer tool) to tailor the track waveform display to the optimum appropriate size for editing ease. You will also be able to make use of the scroll bars at the bottom of the display to quickly move to the section of the track you want to work on (also useful in this capacity is the current time display window - lets you know exactly where you are timewise in a track). There is also a vertical scroll bar for moving the display up or down to find a specific track in a session that has more tracks than the display can show all at once At this point, it is important to understand the nature of the Audio Regions List section (located at the right side of the edit display window) Whenever you record I import audio into a track, that track name is listed in the regions section, along with the numerical designation 00-00 Every time you make any changes in a track (e.g. capturing a region, trimming a track, etc.), this last pair of numbers increments sequentially - 01, 02, 03, etc. Alternately, you can (and should) name your captured regions, so as to more easily locate these regions later. Remember that all regions are listed in alphabetical order In any case, as you work on your tracks, this region list will grow with each edit, and it is critical that you understand the non-destructive nature of the editing process. Each edit is merely an instruction to the computer to somehow affect the audio in relation to what you want to occur; however, nothing happens to the original audio file unless you actively seek to delete the original audio This fact frees you up to try all sorts of different things, without worrying about destroying your original file. It is wise, however, to save your work frequently, as there may not always be the ability to undo
With this knowledge, you can also go back to the region list and drag the original file ( back into a cleared track to start fresh With the above fundamental knowledge, the basic starting point in a session is to define several regions by capturing them, dragging them into a track(s), adding signal processing, creating crossfades, etc. to come up with something unique This will be accomplished by using the tools listed above in combination with the pulldown menus, especially the FILE and EDIT menus To capture a region, you will need to choose the selector tool, place the cursor within a track, and then click and drag the cursor to highlight a specific section of a track. When Loop Selection is activated under the OPERATIONS menu, this highlighted section will playas a continuous forward loop. (You can modify the length of the selected region by shift-clicking the cursor and dragging it to a better looping position) Some basic selection points: 1. Double clicking your cursor in a track will select that track 2. Double clicking your cursor in a region will select that region 3. A continuous track is considered a region 4. If you have a track which is made up of several regions strung together, you can select a specific region by choosing your Selector tool, positioning your cursor in that region, and then double clicking to select that region. Additional regions can be selected by moving cursor into the region and shiftclicking to select 5. Triple clicking anywhere within a track selects the entire track 6. Anything that is currently selected will be highlighted by a reversed colour scheme (i.e. background is black) To de-select a region or track, click again within the selected area, or click the RTZ switch on the transport window 7. Once a region has been identified by highlighting, pulling down the EDIT menu will give you a range of options that you can choose from, such as Gut, copy, paste, etc. 8. Remember that clearing a region from a track, still leaves that region in the audio regions list
Some other basic points: Remember that clearing a track is different from deleting a track; to delete a track you first need to click on its name (shift click if selecting more than one track at a time), then pull down the FILE menu and choose the Delete Selected Tracks command You may also want to use the Show / Hide Tracks command under the SHOW / HIDE section of the edit window (right hand side of display screen) to clean up the edit window for focusing in on specific tracks (remember that you may run out of voices in a large session, so you may want to select Voice Off on those tracks you've hidden. Alternately, if the Mute Frees Voice command is selected under the OPERATIONS menu, any muted track's voice becomes available) You will also find that the mute switch on the tracks is highly useful during editing, especially when you have created some new tracks to drag your regions into. You will want to mute the original tracks to ensure that their audio does not conflict with the edited sections you are working on You can make effective use of time by crossfading regions together; this will usually mask any loop 'gliches' that may be giving you difficulty in resolving. To access this useful procedure, highlight whatever portion of two adjacent regions that you wish to fade together by the standard click and drag procedure, and choose Fades from the EDIT menu. When the fades dialog box opens, you can select both a fade in and a fade out curve independently; this generally helps smooth out the transition from region to region If you wish to import audio from an external source, such as the Marantz Flash Recorder, choose the import audio command from the menu found in the audio region area (at the right of the edit screen) and select the removable drive as the source (usually the G drive). Select the file from your audio folder and click the add button, then done. Select use current folderfrom the pop-up dialog screen, and your audio file will be extracted into your audio regions list. From there, you can drag it into a track and commence editing, etc. Refer to the ProTools Reference Manual (under HELP menu) for further information
Adding Effects Procedure INSERTS & SENDS Each track that you create in ProTools has the capability of having up to 5 internal plugins inserted directly into the track. These are available on the inserts section, right next to the track name & record status section (far left side of track). Normally you would insert an effect such as an equalizer or compressor directly into the signal path. This would be an in-line effect, and therefore, the only sound you would hear would be the effected sound. This is the correct condition for frequency & amplitude domain signal processing. In the case of time domain signal processing, such as reverb & echo, while you could insert them directly into the track (as described above with EO & compression), you would more likely want to create a side-chain effect, where you would be hearing a combination of the direct sound and the effect sound. This is accomplished in a hardware studio environment via the effect sends on the input channel (to send the signal to the processor), and then you would return the effected signal into the effect return channels, creating your mix of dry & effected sound with separate faders. This is called an effects loop. To accomplish this in ProTools, you would use your sends section (rather than the inserts section). This is found just to the right of the inserts section. You would click on the first slot, choose the internal bus send, then from the bus menu, choose (for example) Buss 1 & 2. The bus send window opens, and you would then eli-click on the fader to bring it up to the nominal output level. This would be the same as turning up the effect send on a standard mixing console. Next, you need to create an auxiliary return. You do this by choosing file, then new track, and selecting a stereo auxiliary track. When this shows up at the bottom of your session track(s), you now have a stereo auxiliary return. Within this track you now insert a reverb plug-in (same as you would an EO, etc.). Finally, also in this aux return track, you need to select your input source - this will be from the internal bus - Buss 1 & 2 in this case, as that's what you selected as a send path. Now, when you play your original track, you can control the amount of desired reverb by adjusting the fader in your aux return track Oust as you would control the amount of effect in a normal (hardware) studio by adjusting the effect return faders on that studio's mixing board). BTW, the level of this auxiliary return track can be programmed (either manually or automated) just as any other audio track in your ProTools session.
Mixdown Procedure The procedure for mixing down your edited audio tracks will vary, depending on the nature of the session and the desired final format First, remember that the output of the ProTools signal is being monitored from the mixing console through input 12 B, and is therefore always available for recording on any connected recording device (reel-to-reel, cassette, MiniDisc, etc.) If your intention is to eventually record your final mix onto CD, this is accomplished through several internal steps that will be covered in detail shortly These then are the general guidelines for the basic mixdown procedure: 1. Make sure that you understand that our current version of ProTools is a 32 channel system. This means that you have a maximum of 32 voices available to you on mixdown, regardless of how many tracks you have recorded (there are ways to maximize this, if required, by judicious premixing, pop-through tracks, etc.) 2. This system is configured to output a stereo signal through Outputs 1 & 2; this is the default output selection in all tracks contributing to the mix 3. Assign any in-line effects that you want on the track through the Inserts module (any stereo pairs will, of course, require equal effects settings, which is easy to accomplish via the copy / paste fx settings within the effect window) 4. Use the Sends module to configure side chain effects, by assigning the output to the internal bus (e.g. bus 1-2 for a reverb send path). Then create a stereo auxilliary return track through the FILE menu, and insert the effect(s) you want on this track, controlling the effect level with the auxilliary track's fader. Also remember that you will have to change the auxiliary track's input to Bus 1-2 5. Remember that you can add fade ins / outs to your tracks as well as adjusting stereo position with the pan controls. These can be done manually by using the tracks' faders & pan controls, or you can program the changes by switching track's waveform display to either volume or pan graph function, and then using the Grabber, click and drag line to desired location. You can automate this function as well, by clicking the track's Auto Write feature, then clicking Play on the Transport window, & recording your fader / pan / mute moves 6. Use the standard mixdown practices you know from the analog realm, such as stereo balance, appropriate application of EO, compression & reverb, channels muted if not contributing to mix, etc.
CD Burning Procedure Although the ProTools program has no cd burning capabilities itself, you must prepare your session for burning within ProTools by converting your session to a burnable file format. Here is the procedure: 1. First, make sure that your tracks are all mixed properly, with all fades, signal processing effects added, overall length correct, etc. 2. Make sure that you trim any audio track that extends beyond the end of your final fade; otherwise, your bounce will continue to the end of the longest track in the session, adding unnecessary silence to the end of your file 3. Select bounce to disc from the file menu 4. Make sure that the following file attributes are selected: i) WAV file format ii) stereo interleaved iii) 16 bit resolution iv) 44,100 Hz sampling rate All of the above are absolute requirements for a standard cd file format 5. Next, select a location for the bounced file (usually within your audio files folder; for sure within your session folder at least, so that you can find it easily later) and give it a name 6. Click OK and wait while session bounces in real time 7. When bounce finishes, you can close ProTools (saving session first, at least until you have had a chance to verify the quality of your CD) 8. Open NERO burning software, and proceed through the normal steps for burning a CD 9. Test disc in one of the available cd players