chapter 6

Aligning a Clip's Sync Point (Snap to Sync Point)

Aligning a clip's sync point is useful when you want to place a marked impact point within the clip at the cursor location. For any clip containing a sync point, you can align the sync point to the cursor location using the Control+Shift modifiers (Mac) or Start+Shift modifiers (Windows).

Aligning a Clip's End (Snap to Tail)

Aligning the rear of a clip is useful for reverse snares, cymbals, or whooshes where you want the impact point to end on a downbeat or at a specific location. This can be done using the Control+Command modifiers (Mac) or Ctrl+Start modifiers (Windows).

To enable real-time Auto Fades:

1.Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Operation tab. In the Misc section of the Operation page is a Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length option. 2.In the Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length box, enter your desired fade length (from 1 to 10 milliseconds) or enter 0 to disable Auto Fades. 3.Click OK when finished to close the Preferences page. Once the Auto Fades preference is enabled, Pro Tools automatically uses the specified fade in/‌fade out length on every existing and new clip boundary in your session during playback.

To change to different Time Compression/Expansion settings:

1.Choose Setup > Preferences. 2.Click the Processing tab. 3.In the TC/E section, select the desired plug-in from the available choices in the TC/E Plug-In pop-up menu. You can choose any TC/E plug-in that you have installed on your system. 4.If desired, choose a preset from the Default Settings pop-up menu. This menu will include all presets installed with your selected TC/E plug-in. ***When used on an Elastic Audio-enabled track, the TCE Trim tool will use the Elastic Audio processor on the track to apply the compression/expansion. In this case, successive re-trims will not further degrade the audio quality.

To apply Batch Fades:

1.Select one or more clips on one or more tracks.

To allow Pro Tools to automatically adjust fade bounds:

1.Choose Setup > Preferences and click on the Editing tab. 2.Enable the checkbox for Auto Accept Adjust Bounds under the Fades section. (See Figure 6.23.)

Adjusting Fade Boundaries

As discussed in the Pro Tools 101 course book, when attempting to apply crossfades to clips that lack sufficient underlying audio in their parent files to accommodate the crossfade length, a warning dialog box will appear. This dialog box allows you to skip invalid fades or adjust the crossfade duration to utilize the available underlying audio.

The Batch Fades Dialog Box

The Batch Fades dialog box lets you apply fade ins, fade outs, and/or crossfades to multiple selected clips simultaneously. The Batch Fades dialog box is accessed the same way as the standard Fades dialog box (using the Edit > Fades > Create command) whenever one or more clips are selected.

Fade Settings Menu

The Fade Settings menu can be used to recall existing presets that have been saved as named fade settings files. This menu also includes commands for saving the current settings as a new fade settings file and for importing and deleting fade settings files. Like the Librarian menu in a plug-in window, the Fade Settings menu will display <factory default> until you select an existing fade settings file or save a new fade settings file.

Alternate Grabber Tool Functions

The Grabber tool has three operational modes: Time Grabber, Separation Grabber, and Object Grabber. The Time Grabber is the standard mode, typically referred to simply as the Grabber tool. The Separation Grabber also works with Time-based selections and is used to cut and paste an Edit selection from one location to another. The Object Grabber, by contrast, makes Object-based selections, as indicated by a yellow border surrounding each clip selected with the tool.

Loop Trim Tool

The Loop Trim tool allows you to create or trim looped clips. The behavior of the Loop Trim tool changes based on where you position the pointer before trimming (positioning in the top part of a clip provides loop trim functionality; positioning in the bottom part provides standard trim functionality).

Scrub Trim Tool (Pro Tools HD software only)

The Scrub Trim tool combines the Scrubber tool with the standard Trim tool. This convenient tool enables you to audition material (on up to two neighboring tracks) to find a trim point and execute the trim in the same operation. You simply drag on a track to hear the audio playback; then release the mouse button to trim to a specific location.

Separation Grabber

The Separation Grabber is typically used on an existing Edit selection to automatically separate the selected area from the parent clip and move it to a new location

Alternate Trim Tool Functions

The Trim tool offers four modes: Standard, TCE, Scrub, and Loop Trim. As you have learned in earlier courses, the standard Trim tool can be used to dynamically adjust the length of a clip by trimming the clip's head or tail to eliminate unwanted audio. The alternate Trim tools offer related functions, each of which lengthens or shortens a clip in a unique way.

Configuring Auto Fades (Pro Tools HD Software Only)

To help smooth out audio clip boundaries or transitions between audio clips, Auto Fades automatically place a short fade in or fade out (up to 10 milliseconds in length) on every clip boundary (except where other fades already exist). These nondestructive fades are performed in real time during playback, making all of your edits sound cleaner and smoother.

To store a numbered Fade Preset:

1.Configure the Fades or Batch Fades dialog box as desired. 2.Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) on the Fade Preset button where you want to store the current settings. The button will flash to indicate that the setting has been stored.

To spot a clip using a sync point:

1.Do one of the following: •Click on a clip containing a sync point in Spot mode, or •Right-click on a clip containing a sync point and choose Spot from the pop-up menu. 2.In the resulting Spot dialog box, specify the desired location in the Sync Point field.

Nudging with Commands Keyboard Focus

In Commands Keyboard Focus mode, the keys on the bottom right of the keyboard activate the available nudge functions. Standard nudging is done using the comma (,) and period (.) keys. Nudging by the next higher value is done using the M and / keys. For example, if the Nudge value is set to 1 frame, the M and / keys let you nudge by the next larger Nudge value (10 frames).

Zoom Modes

In Normal Zoom mode, the Zoomer tool remains selected after use. In Single Zoom mode, however, Pro Tools returns to the previously selected edit tool after a zoom has been performed. For example, suppose you are using the Selector tool and need to zoom in for greater precision in your selection. You can select the Single Zoomer tool, click to zoom in, and automatically return to the Selector tool to continue working.

Using Function Keys for Edit Tools and Modes

In Pro Tools, Function keys F5 through F10 correspond with the six Edit tools, from left to right in the Edit window toolbar. These keys allow you to quickly switch between Edit tools and their corresponding alternate modes. Function key F5 corresponds to the Zoomer tool; F6 to the Trim tool; F7 to the Selector; F8 to the Grabber; F9 to the Scrubber, and F10 to the Pencil tool. Repeat presses cycle through the alternate modes for a given tool.

Aligning a Clip's Start (Snap to Head)

It is often useful to align a clip's start point to another clip's start or to the current cursor location. This can be done using the Control modifier (Mac) or Start modifier (Windows). To align a clip's start to another clip or to the cursor location:

Alternate Tools and Tool Functions

The toolbar area of the Pro Tools Edit window displays six editing tools: the Zoomer, Trim, Selector, Grabber, Scrubber, and Pencil tools. Many of these tools have alternate modes available via pop-up menus, as indicated by a small down-pointing triangle in the tool button. The alternate tool modes can be selected by clicking and holding on the parent tool button and selecting from the resulting pop-up menu or by repeatedly pressing the corresponding Function keys, F5 through F10.

Continuous Zooming

ontinuous zooming zooms the entire Edit window in or out horizontally and zooms the track waveform or MIDI display in or out vertically. To activate continuous zooming, Control-click and drag (Mac) or Start-click and drag (Windows) on a track with the Zoomer tool. Dragging to the right or left zooms the Edit window in or out, respectively; dragging up or down zooms the waveform or MIDI display in or out vertically on the track.

To snap a clip to the next clip on a track:

■Right-click a clip and choose Snap To Next from the pop-up menu.

Batch Fade Options

Create New Fade In/Crossfades/Fade Out—When enabled, these checkboxes apply new fade ins, crossfades, or fade outs to the selected clips. Fade ins and fade outs are applied to clip boundaries that are not immediately adjacent to another clip; crossfades are applied on clip boundaries where two clips are immediately adjacent to one another. When disabled (unchecked), the corresponding fade type is not created, and any existing fades are maintained. ■Adjust Existing Fade In/Crossfades/Fade Out Shape & Slope—When enabled, these checkboxes adjust the shape and slope of existing fade ins, crossfades, or fade outs within the selection. When disabled, the original shape and slope of any existing fades are maintained. If no existing fades are included in the selection, these checkboxes have no effect. ■Adjust Existing Fade In/Crossfades/Fade Out Length—When enabled, these checkboxes adjust the lengths of existing fade ins, crossfades, or fade outs within selection. When disabled, the original lengths of any existing fades are maintained. If no existing fades are included in the selection, these checkboxes have no effect. ■Length—Each section of the Batch Fades dialog box includes a field for specifying the length of the fade to be applied. Fade lengths are specified in milliseconds.

To scrub trim a track:

1.Click and hold on the Trim tool button and select Scrub from the pop-up menu. Alternatively, press F6 as needed to toggle to the Scrub Trim tool. The cursor icon will change to a speaker with a bracket when positioned over an audio clip. 2.Drag within a clip to the left or right. Audio from the track will play back as you scrub. 3.When you locate the desired trim point, release the mouse button. The clip will be trimmed to the scrub boundary.

To reposition an existing sync point:

1.Click on the sync point icon (triangle) at the bottom of the clip with the Grabber or Scrubber tool. (The cursor will change to the Finger Grabber when positioned over the sync point.) 2.Drag the sync point to the desired position. (When using the Scrubber tool, you will be able to move the sync point while scrubbing to audition the placement point.)

To create looped clips:

1.Click and hold on the Trim tool button and select Loop from the pop-up menu. Or press F6 as needed to toggle to the Loop Trim tool. 2.Position the cursor over the top half of an unlooped audio or MIDI clip or clip group. The cursor icon will display a trim bracket with a loop arrow. 3.Do one of the following: •Click and drag at the end of the clip to the point where you want the loop to stop. Loops will extend from the original clip end boundary to the right. •Click and drag at the beginning of the clip to the point where you want the loop to start. Loops will extend from the original clip start boundary to the left.

To nudge forward or back using Commands Keyboard Focus keys

1.Enable Commands Keyboard Focus mode, if not already active. 2.With the Selector or Grabber tool, select the clips or notes you want to nudge. 3.Press . (period) or , (comma) to nudge the selected material forward or back by the current Nudge value. 4.Press / (forward slash) or M to nudge the selected material forward or back by the next larger Nudge value. image-111.png You can also access Commands Focus key functionality without Commands Keyboard Focus mode engaged by holding Control (Mac) or Start (Windows) and pressing the desired Commands Focus keys.

o separate and move a selection:

1.Make an Edit selection using any appropriate method. The selection can reside within a single clip, across multiple clips on a track, and/or across multiple tracks. 2.Click and hold on the Grabber tool button and select Separation from the pop-up menu. Alternatively, press F8 as needed to toggle to the Separation Grabber tool. 3.Drag the selection to a new location. The selection will be separated from the original clip or clips and placed as a new clip in the new location.

To identify a sync point in a clip:

1.Place the cursor inside the clip where you want the sync point to occur. If needed, you can use the Scrubber tool to find the exact location. 2.With the cursor in position, choose Clip > Identify Sync Point or press Command+, (comma) (Mac) or Ctrl+, (comma) (Windows). The sync point in the clip will appear as a small inverted triangle at the bottom of the clip.

To align the end of a clip to the current cursor location:

1.Place the session in Slip or Grid mode, if not already active. 2.Do one of the following: •Navigate to the end of a clip by using the tab key (with tab to transient turned off) or by selecting the clip and pressing the Up Arrow key, or •Place the Edit cursor at the location that you want to align to, so that the Selection Start Indicator precisely matches the point where you wish to align the target clip's end. 3.Press Control+Command (Mac) or Ctrl+Start (Windows) and click on the clip you wish to move with the Grabber tool. The clip's end will snap to the current cursor location. If your cursor was at the end of another clip, the end of both clips will now be aligned.

To align a clip's sync point to another clip boundary or current cursor location:

1.Place the session in Slip or Grid mode, if not already active. 2.Do one of the following: •Using the Grabber tool, select a clip that you want to align to by clicking it, or •Place the Edit cursor at the location that you want to align to, so that the Selection Start Indicator matches the point where you wish to align the clip's sync point. For example, you can use Tab to Transients to place the cursor right at the downbeat on a kick drum track.

To trim a clip loop or resize the loop iterations within a clip loop:

1.Select the Loop Trim tool. 2.Do one of the following: •To change the number of loop iterations, click and drag with the Loop Trim cursor in the top part of the clip loop. Loop iterations will be added or removed to fit the trim length. •To change the length of the loop iterations, click and drag along the bottom of the clip loop. (The cursor icon will change to the standard Trim bracket). The loop iterations will be cropped by the trim amount, and the number of loop iterations will increase or decrease to maintain the original length of the clip loop.

Creating Sync Points

A sync point is a precise location within a clip that can be used as a positional reference when spotting or aligning the clip. Sync points are used when a specific point within a clip must be aligned to the Grid or to a particular time location. This capability is especially important when placing music and sound effects for film and video work. For example, suppose you are working with a clip containing the sound of a door creaking, followed by the door slamming shut and the reverb of the slam. By placing a sync point at the location where the door slams, you can spot that precise event to a specific time in the session. Adding a sync point to a clip is done using the Identify Sync Point command. This is a non-destructive process, and the sync point can be changed or removed at any time. Once you identify a sync point in a clip, any other instance of that clip will have the same sync point.

Like the standard Trim tool, the Scrub Trim tool changes between a "right trim" and a "left trim" icon as you mouse over a clip (prior to initiating a trim), depending which half of the clip you are over.

As with the standard Trim tool, you can manually reverse the direction of the Scrub Trim icon by pressing Option (Mac) Alt (Windows) before clicking on a clip. As with the Scrubber tool, scrub playback speed and direction vary with controller or mouse movement. Scrubbed audio is routed through the track signal path, so you hear any effects applied in the signal path.

Snapping Clips to Previous and Next Clips

At times you may wish to snap one clip to another. This is especially useful when working with musical loops or clips of room tone. To snap a clip to a previous clip on a track: ■Right-click a clip and choose Snap To Previous from the pop-up menu. (See Figure 6.30.)

Applying Batch Fades

If you need to apply fades across multiple successive clips, another option is to use the Batch Fades dialog box. The Batch Fades functionality was enhanced substantially in Pro Tools 12.3 to include separate settings for fade ins, crossfades, and fade outs.

Marquee Zooming

Marquee Zooming works for both Audio and MIDI clips. Marquee zooming allows you to zoom in horizontally and vertically at the same time by dragging to select the portion of a track that you wish to enlarge. tip With the Zoomer tool selected in either Normal or Single Zoom mode, Command-click (Mac) or Ctrl-click (Windows) and drag to make a marquee zoom selection on a single track. The display will zoom in, filling the available space in the Edit window with the area selected in the zoom marquee and resizing the waveform accordingly.

To use this tool, drag a clip's start or end point to expand (stretch) or compress (shrink) the clip. When you trim with this tool, no audio is trimmed from the clip head or tail. Instead, the clip is resampled and resized to fit within the trim boundaries.

Note that repeatedly resampling a clip will cause the audio quality to degrade. Because clips are resampled each time you stretch or compress them, it is best to undo the trim and retry it if you are not satisfied with the result; try to avoid making incremental adjustments to get the final length you desire. image-109.png When using the TCE Trim tool, changing the length by large amounts can cause undesirable audio artifacts

Edit Commands:

Separate: To separate a clip at the insertion point or Edit selection, press the B key. The clip will be separated at the Edit cursor or at the selection boundaries. ■Trim Start: To trim the start of a clip to the insertion point, press the A key. The start of the clip will be trimmed up to the Edit cursor. ■Trim End: To trim the end of a clip from the insertion point, press the S key. The clip will be trimmed to end at the Edit cursor. image-111.png The trim keys are located adjacent to one another on the keyboard. The left key (A) trims the start, while the right key (S) trims the end.

Alternate Selector Tool Functions

The Selector tool button provides only one operating mode. However, while using the Selector tool you can temporarily switch to the Scrubber tool by holding Control (Mac) or Start (Windows). With the temporary Scrubber active, you can click and drag as usual to scrub. For finer resolution, Command+Control-click (Mac) or Ctrl+Start-click (Windows) and drag. As when using the standard Scrubber tool, you can activate Shuttle mode from the temporary Scrubber. To activate Shuttle mode (via the temporary Scrubber) while using the Selector tool, hold Control+Option (Mac) or Alt+Start (Windows) before clicking and dragging.

Strip Silence Controls

The Strip Silence window contains four slider controls that allow you to set the parameters by which silence is defined for a given clip. Adjusting these sliders will cau ectangles to appear, indicating the protected areas of the selection. The portions outside the rectangles represent the areas of silence that will be removed, if using Strip, or the areas that will remain, if using Extract.

Using Strip Silence

The Strip Silence window lets you analyze audio selections—across multiple clips or multiple tracks—and automatically identify audio events above a specified threshold level. The commands in the Strip Silence window also allow you to easily remove all audio that drops below the threshold level (the Strip operation) or remove all audio that exceeds the threshold level (the Extract operation). To access the Strip Silence window, choose Edit > Strip Silence or press Command+U (Mac) or Ctrl+U (Windows). Description: CH06_StripSilence_Window

To scrub trim two tracks, click with the Scrub Trim tool between two adjacent tracks and drag. Both tracks will play back simultaneously, and both will be trimmed when you release the mouse.

To scrub with finer resolution (without having to zoom in), press Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) while scrubbing.

Object Grabber

You can use the Object Grabber tool to select non-contiguous clips on one or more tracks. Non-contiguous selections must encompass entire clips. To select noncontiguous clips: 1.Make sure the Edit mode is set to either Slip or Grid. image-109.png The Object Grabber is not available when the Edit mode is set to Shuffle or Spot. 2.Click and hold on the Grabber tool button and select Object from the pop-up menu. Or press F8 as needed to toggle to the Object Grabber tool. 3.Shift-Click on each clip you want to include in the selection. The clips can be noncontiguous (not adjacent to one another) and can even reside on different tracks. Each clicked clip becomes surrounded by a yellow border, indicating that it is selected. (See Figure 6.11.)

Fade Preset Buttons

he Fades and Batch Fades dialog boxes include five Fade Preset buttons for quickly storing and recalling commonly used fade settings. The Fade Preset buttons are preconfigured with common fade options, which you can easily replace with your own preferred options.

Time Compression/Expansion Trim Tool

he Time Compression/Expansion (TCE) Trim tool is a convenient tool for matching an audio clip to the length of another clip, a tempo grid, a video scene, or practically any other reference point you want.

Alternate Zoomer Tool Functions

he Zoomer tool has two modes: Normal Zoom and Single Zoom. The tool functions the same in both modes; the difference lies in how Pro Tools behaves after the tool has been used. Both modes also support marquee zooming.

The Object Grabber tool ignores Edit groups when making selections, enabling you to select a clip within an Edit group without selecting other clips in the group. You can move your Object selection by dragging it to a new location or track.

image-108.png You can duplicate the object selection in a new location by holding Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) and dragging.

Strip Silence Functions

trip: Use the Strip function to automatically divide an entire track or section into clips, quickly removing the spaces separating musical events. This function can also be used to remove unwanted ambient noise such as microphone bleed or background noise between dialog lines.

To use Single Zoom mode, do one of the following:

■Click and hold the Zoomer tool button and select Single Zoom mode from the pop-up menu. ■Press the F5 key as needed to toggle to Single Zoom mode.

To recall a numbered Fade Preset, do one of the following:

■Click the Fade Preset button that contains the settings you want to recall. ■Press [1] through [5] on the numeric keypad to recall the corresponding numbered preset.

To create a fade using the Smart Tool:

■Fade In: Place the cursor at the top of a clip near the start boundary and drag right. ■Fade Out: Place the cursor at the top of a clip near the end boundary and drag left. ■Crossfade: Place the cursor at the bottom of a clip near a boundary between two adjacent clips and drag left or right.

Fade Commands:

■Fade In: To create a fade from the start of a clip to the insertion point (or selection start), press the D key. ■Crossfade: To create a crossfade from an Edit selection that extends across the boundary of adjacent clips, press the F key. ■Fade Out: To create a fade from the insertion point (or selection end) to the end of a clip, press the G key.

The following four parameters can be adjusted:

■Strip Threshold—Sets the amplitude threshold (adjustable from -96 dB to 0 dB) for the Strip Silence operation. Audio below this threshold is considered silence and will be removed. Audio above the threshold will be retained. ■Minimum Strip Duration—Sets the minimum duration (from 0 to 4,000 ms) for the material below the threshold that will be removed. Use this parameter to avoid creating countless small clips within a selection. ■Clip Start Pad—Specifies a time value to be added to the beginning of each new clip created with Strip Silence. This is useful for preserving desirable audio that falls below the threshold at the beginning of an audio passage, such as the breath before a vocal phrase, or the finger slide before a guitar chord. The start pad also helps Strip Silence avoid cutting off the beginning of a slow attack, preventing sudden jumps in audio levels. ■Clip End Pad—Specifies a time value to be appended to the end of each new clip created with Strip Silence, preserving the nuances in the decay of the material.