Lesson 10 - Basic Automation and Mixdown

Question 1

What’s the most obvious way to view written automation?

Answer 1

Track view selector in the edit window

Question 2

How can you view automation while also editing your clips?

Answer 2

Automation Lanes in the edit window

Question 3

Where is the show/hide automation lanes button?

Answer 3

Very bottom left of the track controls in the Edit Window

Question 4

On MIDI tracks, you can use automation lanes to view -

Answer 4

all types of MIDI data, including continuous controller (CC) data

Question 5

On Instrument tracks, you can use automation lanes to view -

Answer 5

all types of MIDI data
AND
the same automation data you’d see on an audio or aux track

Question 6

Can you show multiple automation lanes at once?

Answer 6

Yes

Question 7

What are the 5 Automation modes?

Answer 7

Off
Read
Touch
Latch
Write

Question 8

How many automation breakpoints are in a track when the track is created?

Answer 8

One
at the very start

Question 9

What is the Composite Playlist?

Answer 9

The Composite Playlist is the blue line you see when your automation mode is set to “Off”, indicating the current level of the parameter

Question 10

When you’re applying a change to Automation with the Trim tool, what does the value with the Greek Letter Delta indicate?

Answer 10

How much you’ve changed the value

Question 11

Where is the Automation Enable button on a plugin?

Answer 11

In the Auto section at the top, the two windows

Question 12

How can you view plugin automation on your track?

Answer 12

Every enabled parameter on the plugin will appear in the Track View Selector, organized by it’s insert slot

Question 13

What’s the first step in bouncing your mix?

Answer 13

Selecting the area you want to bounce in the timeline ruler

Question 14

2 ways to accomplish the Bounce Mix command -

Answer 14

1. From the File Menu, choose Bounce
2. Command+Option+B

Question 15

Fields in the Bounce Mix dialogue box -

Answer 15

File Name
File Type
Mix Source (Output 1-2 or other)
Compression Type
Add mp3
File Format
Mono (summed)
Multiple Mono
Interleaved
Bit Depth
Sample Rate
Pad to Frame Boundary
(generally used with audio for video)
Location
Import After Bounce
File Destination
Session Folder
Prompt for Location
Directory
Offline

Question 16

what are the specs of “Red Book Audio”?

Answer 16

16 bit 44.1 kHz, interleaved

Question 17

What are standard Audio specs for Post Production?

Answer 17

16 bit 48 kHz

Question 18

Should you reduce the bit depth and/or sample rate of a mix that’s going to be professionally mastered?

Answer 18

No. Bounce at the Sample Rate and Bit Depth of the Session

Question 19

If you’re using hardware inserts or external MIDI devices, can you bounce offline?

Answer 19

No

Question 20

What can you do with “Save Copy In”?

Answer 20

Create a self-contained session copy with all the media used by that session

Question 21

What’s a main difference between “Save” and “Save As”, and “Save Copy In”?

Answer 21

When you use Save or Save As, you are then working in the saved session.

With Save Copy In, you’ll still be working in the original session, with a copy saved elsewhere on your system

Question 22

What are some “other” uses for Save Copy In?

Answer 22

1. Create full “snapshot” backups of a work in progress without closing your session
2. Save a session at a different sample rate or bit depth
3. Save a session in a different version of Pro Tools
4. Create a cloud-based project version of a local session
5. Create a local session version of a cloud-based project

Question 23

Before working to minimize the storage of your final session (clearing unused clips, compacting your session), what should you do?

Answer 23

Save copy in and perform the un-doable deleting on the copy. When you’re finished, save and close the copy. Re-open the copy and make sure everything plays back properly.

Question 24

What are the 2 stages of clearing unused clips?

Answer 24

1. Selecting the unused clips
2. Clearing the selected clips

Question 25

In the Clips List "Select" menu, what are your options?

Answer 25

All Unused Unused Audio Except Whole Files Offline

Question 26

After you select "Unused" in the Clips List pop up menu (under "select"), what are the two pop up windows you might see next?

Answer 26

1. If your selected clips are all Subset clips, the window will only give you the option of removing them from your session 2. If your selected clips include Whole-file clips, your options will be Delete - Selected Whole File clips and their corresponding audio files will be permanently removed. Selected Subset clips will be removed from the session, but their files won't be deleted (unless their corresponding whole file clip is also selected) Move to Trash - Selected Whole File clips will be removed from your session with their associated audio files being moved to your computer's trash bin. Selected Subset clips will be removed from the session, but their files won't be moved to the trash (unless their parent whole file clips is also selected). Remove - Selected clips will be removed from your session but no audio files will be deleted or moved to the trash bin

Question 27

For archiving workflows, which two options in the Clearing Unused Clips Dialog box are appropriate?

Answer 27

Move to Trash or Delete

Question 28

"Compacting Files" means -

Answer 28

Removing all unused audio from the Audio Files

Question 29

What are the steps involved in Compacting your session?

Answer 29

1. Clips List pop up menu --> Select --> All (all will be selected) 2. Clips List pop up menu --> Compact (the Compact Selected dialog box will appear) 3. Choose a "padding" value in ms (similar to handles in Audiosuite, gives extra room on the ends of the audio you're actually using) 4. Click "Compact"