#12 in the Series
Pro Tools Pointers
by Dave Whittaker
Quick NavigationUnless you're working with digital picture Pro Tools acts as a slave to incoming timecode. So what's the quickest way to send the session to wherever your videotape is parked?
Type the Down arrow key and your insertion point will drop at incoming time code; its location will now appear in the Current Location Counter at the top. If the insertion point is out of the Edit Window (as is most likely), just hit the Left or Right arrow and the session will shift to place this new location in the middle of the Edit Window.
Know where you need to go? Just type this location directly into the Current Location Counter and hit Return. This will take you right there, no Left or Right arrows needed.
Easy Vari-Speed Playback
Version 4.x software has a new feature for playing files at a variety of speeds, which can be handy for a quick preview of the speed change's effect on the sound prior to spending more serious time with AudioSuite or third-party software. Simply hold down the Control key and type a number, "1" being the slowest speed, "5" being normal, and "9" being fastest. The results, especially sped up, can be a bit rough but as a quick audition tool this feature has its value.
Power Cutting With VITC and Exported Regions
Have you got a VITC reader in your system? If so, you can take advantage of it when spotting pre-edited effects (example: gunshots, door closes, car bys) to a specific frame. Go to the "Options" menu and choose "Auto-Spot Regions." Switch to Spot mode. Park your video on the desired frame. Import the "pre-edited" effect and drop it in the desired track - it will drop right at your parked frame location.
If I lost you with the phrase "pre-edited" allow me to explain. By pre-edited I mean an audio file (or region within a file) that has been trimmed so it starts right off with the desired sound, all slates, garbage and fade-ups removed. You can identify any number of regions within a parent audio file and have them appear in the middle column of the "Import Audio" window so that you can pick and choose just the regions you want to use. Here's how:
Within a recording of say, car bys, identify each car by you like and name each region the way you wish to see it appear later (keep it short). Drop a Sync Point at the peak of each car by. Then select just the regions you named and go to "Export Region Definitions" from the "Audio" menu (version 4.x) or "Export Region" from the "Region List" menu (version 3.x) and click on the "Export" button. Each of those regions will now appear in that middle column of the Audio Import window when the parent audio file is selected; import a desired region by double clicking on it. As a bonus the sync points will travel with each region! Do this prior to archiving library material for future retrieval and you can save a lot of editing time in the long run.
