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Pro Tools Pointers #20 |
Productivity and Ergonomics -
They CAN Coexist
by
Dave Whittaker
A Cool New Toy!
There’s a new USB user interface device that anybody working all day on a computer might love to have. The Mac version is already available, and a PC version may be released by the time you read this
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It’s called the ShuttlePRO MultiMedia Controller and it is made by Contour Design, a company devoted to ergonomically sensible keyboards, mice and associated accessories. In a single device, it combines the function and feel of an analog video edit controller. It is not a replacement for a mouse or trackball; you will still need an input device to navigate around your workspace. However, you can eliminate a lot of keystrokes and menu pulls for things you do frequently.
The ShuttlePRO is extremely flat and very comfortable, sitting even lower than a Kensington Orbit trackball, and with its rubber feet, it stays firmly in place on the desktop. It combines a jog/shuttle wheel with thirteen application-specific programmable buttons. The buttons can be user-assigned to a program’s hot keys (such as the function keys in Pro Tools version 5.x) or any combination of user-defined keystrokes. The jog/shuttle wheel can be configured to operate scrollbars, not just in Pro Tools, but in any open window in any Mac application.
To set up ShuttlePro for use with an application, you assign keystrokes or keystroke combinations to each of the programmable keys via pull-down menus. You can even assign keystrokes to the jog and shuttle wheels in interesting combinations. For instance, you can assign a different keystroke to each of the many fractions of a turn available on the shuttle wheel. Used in combination with a mouse, you can now control the blisteringly fast "overshoots" that can easily occur when scrolling up and down a window with a G4.
Once you have used all the available keys, you can save this preset with a unique name and load it whenever you need it. You can even create several presets to be used within a single application.
Contour Design is currently shipping the device with presets for Final Cut Pro, Macromedia Director and Adobe Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere. In the works are presets for Pro Tools, Media 100, and even Quake 3 Arena and UNREAL Tournament (for you serious gamers out there). Software drivers can be downloaded from the Contour Design web site. The device runs on the Mac as if it were a game controller (you’ll need to install Apple’s Game Sprockets version 1.7.5, which is also available through the Contour Design site). You’ll also need to be running Mac OS 8.5.1 or newer (OS 9.0 users will need to upgrade to 9.04 or newer). Unfortunately, this means that the ShuttlePRO will only be compatible with the latest Avids.
A Truly Ergonomic Mouse
Another Contour product, the "Perfit Mouse", is worth your attention, too. It is available for USB, ADB, PS-2 and serial ports, as well as Linux and SGI workstations. The Perfit Mouse is the only input device I’ve come across that actually seems designed to fit your hand (and I’ve tried a lot of them).
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Available in five right-handed sizes and three for lefties, it was voted the "Best Ergonomic Product" of 1997 at the 13th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association.
Because the sculpted buttons are elevated, the hand remains open with the fingers extended, preventing excessive load on the fingertips. The thumb support on the side allows the user to move the mouse with less "pinching" force, which is known to increase the risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Pressure on the wrist is reduced compared to conventional mice and trackballs because the wrist itself is on the mouse, not the desktop; the hand can rock freely, avoiding the "lock-up" of a static grip.
When you shop for shoes or gloves, you try them on and buy the size that is the most comfortable. Why should a mouse be different?
A Feature Dubbing Tip (Not Limited to Pro Tools)
When dubbing features, it is very common for the dialogue re-recording mixer to go back to units from a stage workstation – when an ADR line needs to be edited differently, for example, or an off-camera line needs to be completely reworked, or something was simply missed while predubbing. Reverting to units means that the mixer must match this fresh material to the predub, which can be quite arduous.
If you make your predubs on hard drives, there is an easy solution to this time-consuming annoyance. Simply clone the dialogue, ADR and Group predubs to a single drive, combine them into a single session/project, and carry them on a stage workstation for the final mix. Ideally, you should include these predubs in a session containing the original dialogue and ADR units; this makes it easy to compare the predubs to the units, which can make it quick and easy to answer questions about a predub during the mix. Have the outputs for the predub tracks patched to the "B" side inputs of the faders carrying the predubs from the machine room. Now, when you need to move or re-cut a line during the final, you can "do it in the predub," taking advantage of any processing and reverb that’s already been laboriously built into the predub.
Melissa Hofmann, the head re-recording mixer on 'Tomcats', asked me to do this for the final mix. It was so helpful and saved us so much time, I’ll never final another show again without this wonderful technique.
Thanks to Jim Christopher for bringing his new ShuttlePRO controller to my attention.
Tips and reader feedback are most welcome.
Contact Dave Whittaker at (818) 980-1506 or via email
The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine
Vol. 22, No. 2 - May/June 2001
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Copyright © 2001, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700