Learning

1
Tutorial 1

• Learning Using Pro Tools

2
Pro Tools Tutorial

• Design to orient new user.
• Beginning stage.
• Before you start.
• A big payoff for spending your time and energy to
  learn as much as you can.

3
The Exercises

• Key pats of the interface and some basic workflow
  procedures.
• Intended to immerse you in common processes and
  illustrate a few key concepts in order to provide
  a foundation from which you can go forward.

4
Macintosh versus PC

• Mac PC
• Command key equals the control key.
• Control Start
• Option alt
• return enter

5
Setting Up a Session

• Basic level.
• Audio sources connected to Pro Tools inputs.
• A monitoring system connected to your Pro Tools
  outputs.
• Your should also be able to monitor your systems
  output on headphones with the speaker volume turn
  down or off.

6
Setting Up a Session

• If you are going to be using musical instrument
  digital interface (MIDI), you should have your
  MIDI interface and subsystems set up and
  connected to your computer.

7
New Session Dialog

• Use the following steps
• 1. Go to the pull-down menu, FilegtNew Session or
• use the keyboard equivalent, which is command
  N.
• In the dialog box, name the project.

8
New Session dialog box

• 2. Type the name of your session in the Save As
  field.
• Name this session tutorial_session_1.
• Next you have to indicate where you want the
  project stored.
• The project should be stored on a drive other
  than your main system drive. Either internal or
  external drives.

9
New Session dialog box

• 3. Using the New Folder button, create a new
  folder. Name the new folder
• Pro Tools Sessions.

10
Session Parameters

• In the area marked Session Parameters, you are
  offered several audio file types, sample rates,
  and bit depths.
• For this session, we will stick with the default
  bwf(.wav) file type.

11
Sample Rates

• All Pro Tools systems have he option of the 44.1
  kHz sampling rate.
• Pro Tools LE and TDM systems will include the
  option of a 48 kHz sampling rate.
• Pro Tools LE with DIGI 002 will include the 96
  kHz option.

12
Sample Rates

• By choosing the right sampling rate, you avoid
  sampling rate conversions later on, which tend to
  have a detrimental effect on the sound.

13
Bit Depth

• You have a choice of 16 bits or 24 bits.
• If you are creating a music project that will
  likely end up on an audio CD, the 44.1 kHz sample
  rate is probably the right choice, as that is the
  sample rate for standard audio CDs.

14
Bit Depth

• In audio postproduction for video and film, 48
  kHz is generally the standard used.
• Its the standard for AES audio on Digital
  Betacam and also is the recording sample rate
  used by many digital video camcorders.

15
Bit Depth

• For the Bit Depth column, you can choose 16 bits
  or 24 bits.
• A depth of 24 bits requires 50 percent more disk
  space than a depth of 16 bits, but there is a
  significant advantage sound wise.

16
Bit Depth

• When you are at the end of a 24-bit music project
  and want to create an audio CD, part of the
  mastering process will involve dithering, which
  is the process of converting your 24-bit file to
  the CD standard of 16 bits at 44.1 kHz.

17
Bit Depth

• You will generally be better off working at 24
  bits and dithering down to 16 bits for mastering
  than if you work at 16 bits all the way through.
• Many engineers feel that this actually improves
  the sound significantly.
• So, if your system has a 24-bit interface, select
  24 bits. If not, select 16 bits.

18
New Session dialog box

• 4. Click save at the bottom of the dialog box.
• Once you click the save button, two things will
  happen.
• First, Pro Tools will automatically create a new
  session folder with the same name as your
  session.

19
After clicking save

• It will place your session file inside the
  folder.
• Two new folders, the Audio Files folder and the
  Fade Files folder, will also be automatically
  created and placed inside the session folder.

20
After clicking save

• Second, the Pro Tools session will open,
  revealing the three main Pro Tools windows he
  Edit window, the Mix window, and the Transport
  window.
• The Edit window and the Mix window are
  interactive and show much of the same information
  in different ways and have different controls.

21
The Setup Menus

• Once you have created your session, you may want
  to jump right in and start recording.
• But you are actually better off if you do a
  little more housekeeping first.

22
The Setup Menus

• 1. Go to the pull-down menu, SetupsgtHardware
  Setup.
• The Hardware Setup dialog box opens.
• The contents of the Hardware Setup dialog box
  will vary depending on the hardware in your
  system.
• There are fields to control the parameters of
  your hardware interfaces, most of which are
  self-explanatory.

23
The Setup Menus

• 2. Check make sure that your interfaces are set
  up and recognized by the system.
• 3. Close the hardware Setup dialog box.
• 4. Go to the pull-down menu, SetupsgtI/O Setup.
  The I/O Setup dialog box will open and give you a
  graphical picture of the inputs outputs of your
  system.

24
The Setup Menus

• Click on the input tab and you will see how your
  inputs are presently configured.