Pro Tips for Pro Tools LE

Apr 1, 2005 12:00 PM, By Gino Robair

           

You can also drag the tracks and session data from another project into the Edit window of your open session. That will automatically open the Import Session Data dialog box, which will allow you to choose specific parts of the session that you want to import.

You can reorganize the columns in the Workspace and save View Presets of five layouts. The presets are selected using the numbered circles in the upper-left corner of the toolbar. I used this feature to place the waveform display and Abs Duration columns immediately after the Name and file-type columns, so I could shrink the Workspace window and still see the file names and waveforms. To move a column, drag its name tile to the position that you want, then Command/Ctrl-click on a View Preset number.

You can search all folders and drives by metadata within the Workspace. Put a check mark in the box next to each media element — hard disks, CDs, and DVDs — that you want to search. The metadata criteria available for search in Pro Tools LE is Name and Date Modified (more options are available to Pro Tools TDM users).

The Workspace can also be used to unmount drives and eject CDs and DVDs from within Pro Tools LE. Just highlight the drive and select Unmount from the Toolbox (which appears in the upper-left corner of the Workspace window).

Draw Your Own Tempo

Another feature added to version 6.7 is the Graphic Tempo Editor, which allows you to draw automation-style tempo-change curves. (Before you begin, make sure you are not in Auto-Tempo mode. Go to the Transport window and click on the Conductor icon.) To open the Tempo Editor in the Edit window, click on the arrow to the left of the word Tempo (above the track names). The plus sign to the right of the word Tempo opens a dialog box for manually typing in a tempo between markers. You can resize the window by pulling down on the lower portion of the window and using the up/down slider and zoom (+/-) buttons. As you edit the tempo, you can set the resolution and density of the points in the left pane.

Using the pencil tool, you can draw freehand shapes or select Parabolic, S-Curve, or Line. You can even modify the tempo curve while the session plays, if you don't mind a bit of stuttering during playback.

FIG. 3: Using the Grabber tool, I embedded a gradual tempo increase within another linear increase. Just after the 25-second mark, the tempo jumps to a higher number, slowly increases to the 47-second point, then suddenly decreases and finishes the initial accelerando.

Once you have the desired shape you can adjust it, depending on the selected resolution setting. For example, if you used a straight line to draw a gradual increase in tempo, you can grab the middle or end markers with the Grabber tool and adjust the start- and end tempos after you have drawn the line (see Fig. 3). You can also move the markers to extend or decrease the tempo shape to cover a greater or fewer number of bars.

Use Tempo Operations in the MIDI menu to make an overall tempo change for a selection. The shapes at your disposal include Constant, to even out a selection to one tempo; Linear, for a gradual tempo increase or decrease; Parabolic and S-Curve, for adding gradual nonlinear shapes; Scale, to change a selection proportionally; and Stretch, to apply a tempo shape over a larger or smaller area. In the Tempo Operations pop-up window, you can pick from a menu of simplified options (such as the start/end times of a selection) or check the Advanced box for additional shape-specific features. After you've applied the tempo shape, you can subtly tweak it further using the pencil tool or move portions of it en masse.

Time Bandits

The red diamond in the upper tempo bar is now the start-time marker. Drag it to the right on the time line to put time before the original start point. When you do that, notice the negative numbers to the left of the diamond in the Timing window.

Under the MIDI menu, select any of the top four selections, and the Time Operations dialog box will appear. Time Operations are a suite of functions that are used to modify the length of a session. That is especially useful when accommodating a change in the session length, such as when you're cutting to picture, and a new video edit — with a different length — arrives.

The Change Meter operation lets you specify a new meter, how long it will last, and where it will go. Insert Time and Cut Time let you add and remove length in the session. Move Song Start lets you precisely place the start time. Once you're done, you can use the Renumber Bars option, under the MIDI menu, to clean up everything.

FIG. 4: Use the a…z button to enable Commands Focus mode and take advantage of numerous one-key commands.

One useful feature that few people take advantage of was added when version 6 was released. The Commands Focus mode maps dozens of routine commands to letters on your QWERTY keyboard. The a…z button, which sits below the View Presets buttons, enables Commands Focus (see Fig. 4). Although there are dozens of commands to choose from — a few of which work only in TDM systems — a handful of them are easy to remember.

Start with the letters E, R, T (as in QWERTY). You can toggle the horizontal zoom of a highlighted selection in and out using E, going from the smallest view you were in to a larger view. (Use Zoom Toggle Track Height in the Display section of Preferences to set the size of the larger view.) Use R to gradually zoom out horizontally, and T to gradually zoom in.