Industry standard software for recording, editing and mixing audio

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101 PRO TOOLS FIRST 101 WHAT IS PRO TOOLS ▸ Multi-Track DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) ▸ Industry standard software for recording...
Author: Vernon Moody
5 downloads 2 Views 5MB Size
PRO TOOLS FIRST

101

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

WHAT IS PRO TOOLS ▸ Multi-Track DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) ▸ Industry standard software for recording, editing and mixing audio. ▸ Offers similar experience from First to HD ▸ Ability to record using a variety of inputs - 4 at same time with a total of 16 audio tracks available (Pro Tools First) ▸ Ability to shape audio using industry standard plugins in realtime or offline ▸ PT First stores sessions in cloud - 3 are available to start with

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

WHY PRO TOOLS ▸ Industry standard with long history in audio ▸ Works with professional workflows (music, post and vo) ▸ Ability to interface with hardware and tape machines ▸ Session interchange between systems (Pro Tools and Pro Tools HD only) ▸ Large sessions and track count ▸ Works with video ▸ Mac and PC

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

WHY PRO TOOLS FIRST ▸ It’s free ▸ Great entrance to the full software system ▸ Same shortcuts and interface/layout ▸ Enough features to be worth learning ▸ Punch and roll for audiobook narrators ▸ Mixing capabilities for those needing a multi-track system

PRO TOOLS FIRST

INSTALLATION PROCESS ▸ Go to avid.com ▸ Create an Avid account ▸ Verify email address ▸ Tell Avid about yourself and what you intend to do with app ▸ Create iLok account (best to use your Avid credentials) ▸ Download and install Pro Tools First

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

THE INTERFACE

USE YOUR AVID CREDENTIALS

SIGN IN

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

SESSION CREATION ▸ 3 sessions included with First ▸ You can purchase more ▸ Create blank ▸ Create from template ▸ Open a previous session ▸ Let’s call our session ‘Auditions’

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

DOWNLOAD AND IMPORT FILE ▸ Download a zip with files used in class ▸ http://nuancetone.com/download/1339/ ▸ In Pro Tools… File > Import > Browse to File > Open > scratch.wav ▸ Choose ‘NEW TRACK’ option with ‘SESSION START’ selected

INTERFACE - EDIT WINDOW

CURSOR MODES ▸ Shuffle ▸ Rippled editing like a stereo track editor. Cutting audio ‘shuffles’ it left in the timeline. ▸ Spot ▸ Send clips to specific min/sec on timeline ▸ Slip ▸ Cursor is free to move and cut anywhere. Cutting leaves holes where deletion occurred. ▸ Grid ▸ Cursor and edits ‘SNAP’ to grid boundaries

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

SHORTCUTS ▸ R - zoom out / T - zoom in ▸ A - cut audio left of cursor / S - cut audio right of cursor ▸ D - fade in to cursor / F - crossfade selected audio / G - fade out from cursor ▸ CMD + T - Trim audio to selection ▸ B - break audio at cursor or on sides of selection

INTERFACE - EDIT WINDOW

CURSOR TOOLS ▸ Zoom Tool ▸ Zoom audio by selection ▸ Trim Tool ▸ Trim off beginning or end of clip ▸ Selector Tool ▸ Place cursor for playback ▸ Grabber Tool ▸ Move whole clips ▸ Pencil Tool ▸ Redraw waveforms

When the middle 3 are selected (Blue) you are using the SUPER TOOL - a combination of all 3 editing functions

INTERFACE - EDIT WINDOW

CURSOR TOOLS (CONTINUED) ▸ Tab to Transient ▸ Tab cursor to next audio transient ▸ Mirrored Midi Editing ▸ Not used ▸ Insertion Follows Playback ▸ Leave cursor where you stop play/record head

INTERFACE - EDIT WINDOW

TIME WINDOW ▸ Time meter selection ▸ Min/Sec or Bars/Beats ▸ Grid / Nudge values ▸ Used to set the grid level in grid mode ▸ Start / End / Length readouts (changeable) ▸ Use this for selecting by value or checking length of selection ▸ Realtime cursor position

INTERFACE - EDIT WINDOW

MIDI PROPERTIES (MOSTLY NOT USED) ▸ Count off ▸ Delayed start ▸ Midi Pause ▸ Metronome ▸ Midi Merge ▸ Conductor ▸ Always on. Guides session BPM

INTERFACE - EDIT WINDOW

TRANSPORT ▸ Basic transport functionality ▸ Control-click play button for… ▸ Straight play ▸ Loop play ▸ Control-click record button for… ▸ Regular record ▸ Loop record ▸ Quick Punch record (best option)

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

METERS ▸ Markers ▸ used to denote time events ▸ drop by + , or use numeric enter key ▸ Meter ▸ Time Signature ▸ Tempo ▸ Beats Per Minute (BPM) ▸ Min:Secs ▸ Time ▸ NOTE: Control click to hide what you don’t want to see

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

TRACKS

TRACKS

TYPES OF TRACKS ▸ Audio ▸ Most common, used for all audio ▸ Aux Input ▸ Common for bussing ▸ Master Fader ▸ Used for global mix processing and level control ▸ Midi ▸ Instrument

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

TRACK ▸ Track Name (Scribble Strip) ▸ Record / Input Monitor / Solo / Mute ▸ Track display options ▸ Elastic Time Algorithm ▸ Ticks vs. Samples ▸ Automation Mode ▸ Inserts ▸ I/O (input & Output) ▸ Volume Indicator (changeable) ▸ Pan Indicator (changeable) ▸ Channel fader access ▸ Color Strip

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

AUTOMATION ▸ Automation allows you to ‘write’ moves metadata over your audio. It’s nondestructive and used often in mixing ▸ Automation modes ▸ Off / Read / Touch / Latch / Write ▸ Automation can be written for… ▸ Volume / Mute / Pan / Plugins

TRACKS

INPUT / OUTPUT (I/O) ▸ Input is designated by your attached hardware ▸ This is governed by SETUP > PLAYBACK ENGINE or HARDWARE ▸ Output is also designated by playback engine ▸ This is how you’ll hear audio ▸ Busses ▸ These are internal routes to Pro Tools for routing audio around the app

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

RECORDING

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

RECORDING ORDER OF OPERATIONS ▸ Create track (usually mono audio track in samples format) ▸ Check and assign input and output ▸ Record arm the track you want to record on ▸ Record by pushing transport record button / then play button ▸ or by using shortcut… ▸ CMD (CNTRL windows) + Spacebar ▸ Numeric Keypad 3

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

RECORDING - PUNCH & ROLL ▸ Punch & Roll allows a user to punch record over a mistake, shortening the editing time in post. ▸ Record mode must be in ‘Quick Punch’ (p) ▸ Edit Window Scrolling should be set to ‘Continuous’ ▸ Pre-roll must be set (4 seconds is good starting point) ▸ Place cursor at end of last piece of audio (sentence), hit record

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

EXPORTING

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

2 WAYS TO EXPORT ▸ Clip Export ▸ Directly export a clip from timeline ▸ Must be continuous, consolidated file ▸ Fast and efficient, used most of the time for VO ▸ Shift + CMD + K / Shift + CTRL + K ▸ Bounce ▸ Realtime (or offline) recording of complete session to a new file ▸ Used to apply plugins and automation to mix ▸ Used for mixing audio together into a mono or stereo file ▸ File > Export > Audio Mix / Choose parameters and location

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

PLUGINS

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

PLUGINS ▸ Plugins are added software apps inside Pro Tools that enable you to process your audio using processors like EQ, Compression, Reverb etc… ▸ Two types are available, AAX and Audiosuite ▸ AAX are realtime plugins used during mix. They effect audio playback and bouncing but not the source tracks. ▸ Audiosuite plugins process your audio destructively, changing the source recording. These are often used when you want to export your processed audio without bouncing.

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

AAX AND AUDIOSUITE LOCATIONS ▸ These are same plugins, different way to apply the effect to audio. One is track based (AAX) and the other is clip based (AUDIOSUITE) ▸ Inserts (on left) is for track based AAX plugins. These are run in serial fashion, 1 into the next. ▸ Audiosuite you apply to the clip itself.

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

MP3 CONVERSION

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

PRO TOOLS AND MP3 ▸ Unfortunately, Pro Tools First does not convert WAV or AIFF to MP3. To handle this task, you have to do the conversion in a separate application. ▸ Head to www.mediahuman.com/audio-converter and download the software ▸ Install ▸ Change format to MP3 / Custom / Leave channels, sample rate to original, make sure bitrate mode is CBR and bitrate is 192 ▸ Drag file in and process

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

EXERCISES

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

EXERCISE 1 - CLEAN UP A TAKE ▸ Use Example 01 from the downloaded zip file ▸ Trim the audio to the second take, both sides ▸ Fade in and out at the ends of the new take ▸ Reconsolidate the take ▸ Rename the take ▸ Export the clip

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

EXERCISE 2 - COMP A TAKE ▸ Use Example 02 from the downloaded zip file ▸ Take the slate from take 1, cut and paste to new track ▸ Take the take from take 3 and paste next to slate ▸ Take the tag from take 2 and paste at end of new take ▸ Fade new take ▸ Consolidate take and rename ▸ Export clip

PRO TOOLS FIRST 101

EXERCISE 3 - COMP, PROCESS AND EXPORT A TAKE. THEN CONVERT TO MP3 ▸ Use Example 03 from the downloaded zip file ▸ Comp together the beginning of take 2 and end from 3 ▸ Grab slate and prepend to new comp ▸ Process using audio suite EQ1 using a high-pass filter at 80 Hz ▸ Normalize peak to -1dbfs ▸ Fade, reconsolidate and rename ▸ Export clip ▸ Convert to MP3