Pro Tools Questions Flashcards
What is ProTools?
Professional DAW for recording, mixing, mastering and editing sounds
How do I create a new session?
Press the Session Template located in the dock or COMMAND +N
What are session parameters?
Audio File Type: BWF (.wav)
Sample Rate: 48 or 44.1kHz
Bit Depth: 24-bit
I/O Settings: Venue D-Show
How do I create new audio tracks?
COMMAND-SHIFT+N
or menu item
What are track parameters?
Enter number of tracks
Select Mono or Stereo
Select Audio Track from drop down list
Select Samples
What are some common keyboard shortcuts?
SPACEBAR - start/stop playback
COMMAND+= - Cycle between Mix and Edit windows
COMMAND+SHIFT+W - close session
What are the main windows of PT?
Edit and mix window
What is the Edit Window?
Displays audio for session in a timeline
Regions, Groups, Tracks List
Toolbar
What is the tracks list?
Has all instrument tracks
How do I hide tracks?
Click on the dot in the Tracks Window
What is the Groups List?
Can group tracks within a session
What is Regions List?
Displays audio Regions
PT manages audio as regions
Regions can be complete audio files, edited section of an audio file
Editing in PT is non-destructive - regions can be trimmed without changing original data
What main Edit Tools are available?
Trimmer, Grabber, Selector
What does the Trimmer do?
Trim head or tail of audio selection
What does Selector do?
Click and drag to select portion of a track
What does Grabber do?
Move clips - use shift to move more than one
What are the three Grabber Tools?
Time, Separation and Object
What are the four Edit Modes?
Slip, Shuffle, Spot, Grid
Determine how regions can be moved
What does Slip Mode do?
Drag audio anywhere on timeline
What does Shuffle Mode do?
Allow users to shuffle regions on timeline
What does Spot Mode do?
Precisely place regions in time
What is Grid Mode?
Snap regions to a grid - time or music based
What are Zoom controls?
Zoom in and out of amplitude or time
How do I change Track Height?
Click on a track
Drag the bottom ofd the window
OR
Click to right of level meters and select height
Is there a built in reference guide or help in PT?
Yes - Help > Pro Tools Help
What is the Mix Window
Mixer view of tracks
Traditional console features - inserts, sends, I/O settings
How do I enter a track name?
Click on Track Name
Each name must be unique
How do I record in PT?
Click Track Record enable
Arm all tracks by holding OPTION
Arm the transport
Press play
What is the transport?
Box that has Play, Record, Stop, Fast Forward, Skip
What is Commands Keyboard Focus?
Activates hot-keys
What is non-linear hard disk recording and editing?
Random access for audio portion
Means: cut, copy, paste and re-arrange in any order
What is the DAE?
Digital Audio Engine
Processes audio and sends to outputs
What does the Playback Engine screen do?
Adjust performance of the system by changing system settings that affect playback, processing and recording
SETUP > PLAYBACK ENGINE
Set HW Buffer Size, CPU limit, Sample Range, Delay, Cache Size
What are ‘voices’ in?
Describes unique, discrete audio streams that can be routed to and from PT audio tracks and physical audio I/O on PT interface
What is an audio clip?
Segment of audio, MIDI or video data
Clips are useful for arranging audio and MIDI
What is a Playlist?
Sequence of clips arranged on an audio, MIDI or video track
Have edit and automation playlists
Audio tracks - edit playlist tells the hard disk which audio clips to play in what order
What signal routing options are there?
Located in Mix window
Track Input, Output, Aux Input and Master Fader Tracks
MIDI Tracks, Instrument Tracks, Sends
What does the term “sends’ mean?
Sends signal from tracks to hardware outputs or internal busses that are routed to other tracks
MIDI, Master Fader, VCA Master Tracks do not have sends
What do AUX Input and Master Fader Track ?
Returns, submixers and bus masters
Master Fader used as bus and output level master
AUX Input and Master Fader tracks can have plugin inserts
What track timebase options do I have?
Sample-based (default) or Tick-based
What does ‘Elastic Audio’ refer to?
Real-time and non-real-time Time Compression and Expansion (TCE) of audio
What are AAF, OMF, MXF basics?
AAF, OMF files are for storing and retrieving media files and metadata to allow exchange of data between DAW’s
MXF is a media file format can be used with AAF
How do I create a fade out?
Select area Chose Edit-Fades-Create Select fade-out curve and do other settings Click audition button and adjust Click ok