PT110 Module 5 (2023) - Pro Tools Track and Clip Processing Workflows

A Pro Tools feature that renders a track's audio and plugins, freeing up processing power for other tracks. This allows for smoother performance when working with many tracks, especially virtual instruments, by temporarily "freezing" the audio of non-active tracks.

Tracks can be frozen by selecting the desired track(s) and choosing "Freeze" from the Track menu or right-clicking the track name and selecting "Freeze". Alternatively, you can quickly freeze a single track by clicking the Track Freeze icon above the track's Timebase selector.

The process of rendering the audio of a frozen track into a permanent audio file, effectively removing the original tracks and plugins from the session. This makes the project lighter and faster to play back, but you can no longer edit the original track.

The process of creating a separate audio file for a track or a group of tracks. This is useful for exporting mixes, creating stems, or preparing audio for other projects. It is a key feature for sharing your work.

A feature that controls the volume of a clip in Pro Tools, independent of the track volume. It allows for fine-tuning the volume of individual clips to create a more nuanced and balanced mix.

A powerful feature that allows you to change the timing (tempo) of audio clips in Pro Tools without affecting the pitch. This is useful for fixing timing errors, changing the tempo of a track, or creating creative effects.

A workflow in Pro Tools that allows you to change the tempo and timing of audio clips using a variety of methods, such as beat detection and marker placement. It's like a toolbox for creating unique rhythms and tempos.

A general term describing various methods, tools, and techniques used in Pro Tools for processing audio, such as track freeze, track commit, bouncing tracks, clip gain, Elastic Audio, and warp workflow. These processes help create a more effective and efficient workflow.

The folder where bounced tracks are saved.

A file format that combines the left and right channels into a single file.

A file format commonly used for distributing music.

A naming convention for audio files that includes the session name, track name, and channel information.

A component in the audio signal chain that controls the overall gain of a track. It is the main volume control for the track.

A process that copies the audio signal after the inserts before the track's fader to other tracks or outputs. It's used for sending signals to effects or other destinations.

A process that copies the audio signal after the track's fader to other tracks or outputs. It's used for sending signals to headphones or for creating cue mixes.

The control that determines the left-right balance of the sound on a track.

The combination of processes and components that a signal goes through before it reaches the final output.

A process that compresses the dynamic range of an audio signal (reducing the difference between loud and soft sounds).

Using the Clip Gain feature to make the level of multiple clips more consistent.

An example of a situation where using Clip Gain can help correct volume inconsistencies between clips.

Changing the level of the signal before it reaches any inserts, which allows for more control over the effects.

Vertical lines that mark significant transients in audio, like drum hits or word starts.

Markers that define points of reference for stretching and manipulating audio within Elastic Audio.

A Warp Marker that is not fixed and can be dragged to manipulate the surrounding audio.

A Warp Marker that remains stationary, providing a boundary for the audio manipulation.

A view in Pro Tools that displays Event Markers and allows you to manipulate them.

A view in Pro Tools that displays Warp Markers and allows you to manipulate them.

A tool that allows you to grab and move items in the Pro Tools timeline.

A tool that allows you to draw and edit objects in the Pro Tools timeline, including markers.

The process of changing the timing of audio without altering its pitch.

A feature in Pro Tools that allows you to align audio to a specific beat or tempo.

A feature in Pro Tools that allows you to adjust the tempo of a track.

A feature in Pro Tools that allows you to add an Event Marker at a chosen point in the audio.

A feature in Pro Tools that allows you to remove an Event Marker from the audio.

A feature in Pro Tools that allows you to add a Warp Marker at a chosen point in the audio.

A file format for audio that compresses data using lossy compression. This means that some of the original audio information is removed during the compression process. The benefits of this are smaller file sizes and faster transfer times. The downsides are that some quality is sacrificed during the compression process.

This audio format uses uncompressed audio data, meaning that there is no loss of audio quality during compression. It is often used in professional settings where audio quality is paramount.

The option to choose how the channels of the bounce will be rendered. This will impact the number of files produced.

An option to render a multichannel track as a single mono file, using both left and right channels. For example, a stereo track will become a single mono file.

An option to bounce a multichannel track as separate mono files, one for each output channel. For example, a stereo track will become two separate mono files, one for left and one for right.

An option to bounce all tracks as single files, preserving the separate channels of the source track. For example, a stereo track will be rendered as a single file, but the left and right channels will remain separate.

Refers to the number of bits used to represent the amplitude of the audio signal. Higher bit depth means more information is captured, resulting in higher audio quality.

The rate at which the audio signal is sampled, measured in Hz. Higher sample rates mean that the audio signal is sampled more frequently, resulting in greater audio fidelity.

An option to create a file that extends the length of the audio file to align with the nearest frame boundary. This is useful for preparing files for video editing workflows.

To import the bounced track (either into an Audio track or the Clips List) after it is created. This can be done by checking the Import After Bounce checkbox.

To create smaller and less complex files for sharing with collaborators before final files are ready. This is beneficial for quick feedback.

An option to store the bounced files within the session folder. This can be further refined with the use of subfolders.

An option to prompt the user to manually choose a location where the bounced files will be saved. This allows for flexible file management.

Option that allows the user to set a default location for all bounced files. This ensures consistency in file management across projects.

A feature that utilizes your computer's processing power to accelerate the bouncing process. When unchecked, the bouncing takes place in real time.

Bouncing tracks in real-time. The bouncing process occurs as the audio is being played back.

A feature in Pro Tools that allows you to adjust the volume of a clip at the beginning of the signal chain, making it easier to manage the overall level of your audio without affecting the track's volume fader.

The range of adjustment for Clip Gain is from -144 dB (represented as -∞) to +36.0 dB, offering a wide range of options for fine-tuning.

A visual representation of Clip Gain within a Pro Tools session, showing the specific gain applied throughout a clip. You can use it to edit and adjust gain levels within that clip.

A key combination to quickly show or hide the Clip Gain Line - Shift+Control+- on Macs or Shift+Start+- on Windows.

The Trim tool's cursor changes to a downward-facing bracket with a small fader icon within when working with Clip Gain. This indicates that you're trimming the gain of the clip.

When adjusting Clip Gain with the Trim tool, you'll see two values: the absolute Clip Gain and the amount by which you're changing it. The amount of change is in parentheses with a triangular icon.

A feature that allows you to make precise adjustments to the Clip Gain in small increments. You can nudge levels up or down in 0.5 dB increments by default.

You can change the default nudge amount in the Pro Tools Preferences under the Editing tab in the Clips section.

This shortcut allows you to nudge the Clip Gain of a selected area upwards: Shift+Control+Up Arrow (Mac) or Shift+Start+Up Arrow (Windows).

This shortcut allows you to nudge the Clip Gain of a selected area downwards: Shift+Control+Down Arrow (Mac) or Shift+Start+Down Arrow (Windows).

Another way to nudge Clip Gain is to hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows) and scroll your mouse wheel up or down.

When you nudge Clip Gain, Pro Tools automatically creates breakpoints at the beginning and end of the selected area, preserving any existing breakpoints within that area.

Clip Gain helps to make your audio more consistent, which in turn allows your dynamic processors (like compressors) to work more effectively on your signal, resulting in a cleaner and more controlled sound.

To show or hide the Clip Gain information, use the shortcut Shift+Control+= on Mac or Shift+Start+= on Windows.

Use the Selector tool to mark the section of the clip where you want to adjust the gain, then use the Trim tool to lower the Clip Gain for that area.

A plug-in that analyzes pitch and transients to provide high-quality results for single-note instruments, such as vocals and instruments producing one pitch at a time.

A plug-in that alters both pitch and speed simultaneously, mimicking the behavior of tape or record players. Increasing speed raises pitch, and vice versa.

A robust algorithm introduced in Pro Tools 2023.3 that excels at stretching long audio segments or even whole songs.

A simplified version of an AudioSuite plug-in that is very popular for post-production. It often yields the best results for audio stretching but only operates in a rendered mode, requiring the audio to be processed before being heard.

A software that allows users to perform rhythmic and pitch corrections, providing advanced audio editing capabilities.

A mode where Elastic Audio plug-ins process audio in real time, providing immediate feedback and allowing adjustments to be heard instantly. However, it can consume CPU resources, potentially impacting session performance, depending on the number of enabled tracks.

A mode where Elastic Audio processes audio offline, generating audio files in the Rendered Files subfolder. This approach eliminates real-time processing, ensuring smooth playback, but requires rendering every change, slowing down the workflow.

The process of creating a temporary, processed version of audio, allowing users to hear the effects of changes before committing to them.

The ability to switch between real-time and rendered processing modes for Elastic Audio plug-ins, providing flexibility in workflows depending on needs and available resources.

A small visual indicator that displays the current Elastic Audio plug-in being used. It also signifies whether the plug-in is operating in real-time or rendered mode.

A visual indicator in the Current Elastic Audio Plug-in Indicator that represents the operating mode of the Elastic Audio plug-in. A green square indicates real-time processing, while a grey square indicates rendered processing.

Processing that takes place during playback, allowing users to hear changes immediately. It utilizes computer resources but ensures a responsive workflow.

Processing that occurs before playback, creating a temporary, processed copy of the audio. It minimizes real-time processing demands but may slow down the workflow due to the rendering process.

Warp Markers mark the start and end points for warping audio, allowing you to stretch or compress selected areas. They are essential for creating smooth and natural edits.

To add Warp Markers to a selected area, right-click and choose "Add Warp Marker." Two Warp Markers will be created at the beginning and end of the selection.

Double-click on a Warp Marker using the Grabber Tool, select a range and press Delete, or right-click and choose "Remove Warp" from the pop-up menu.

Quantizing in Elastic Audio involves adjusting the timing of audio clips to align with a specific grid, similar to quantizing MIDI notes.

Event Markers act like placeholders for quantizing audio. Too many Event Markers can lead to unwanted stretching during quantization.

To remove unnecessary Event Markers, right-click on the clip and lower the "Event Sensitivity" in the Elastic Properties dialog box.

1. Select the clip or area to quantize. 2. Go to "Event" > "Event Operations" > "Quantize". 3. Choose "Elastic Audio Events" and the desired grid resolution. 4. Click "OK".

Warp Markers, once created, are moved to the chosen grid position when quantizing, aligning the audio to the specified beat.

Similar to MIDI quantization, understanding the initial positions and choosing the right grid is crucial for achieving desired results in quantizing Elastic Audio.

Pro Tools can quantize both tick-based and sample-based tracks, meaning you aren't limited to a specific track type.

Unnecessary Event Markers can cause warbling artifacts in long sustained notes. Remove them before or after quantization to fix this.

Warped clips have a Warp Marker-style icon in the upper right corner of the clip, indicating they've been altered with Elastic Audio.

A similar Warp Marker-style icon appears in the Clips List, indicating that a clip has been altered with Elastic Audio.

Elastic Audio goes beyond the basics of warping, offering many customization options and workflows. These can be explored further through additional resources.

A QR code or URL link can be used to find additional information on advanced Elastic Audio workflows. This is a useful resource.

A committed track is a regular audio track that has been rendered and is visually and functionally identical to other audio tracks. It can be further edited just like any other audio track, unlike frozen tracks which have different visuals and functionality.

Committed tracks have a special tag added to their name and clips. This lets you quickly identify them in your session.

Committed tracks can be created from various track types, including audio, instrument, MIDI (if routed to a virtual instrument), routing folders, and auxiliary inputs.

When you commit a track, you can choose to render specific aspects like volume automation, clip gain, or effects. This lets you customize how the track is processed.

The Volume and Mute check box in the Commit Tracks dialog determines whether to apply volume automation or mute settings to the committed audio file. You can choose to keep or discard automation.

The 'Copy Sends and Group Assignments' option in the Commit Tracks dialog lets you decide whether to keep the original track's sends and group assignments. This allows you to preserve or change how the track interacts with other tracks.

By default, committed audio tracks are stored in the Audio Files subfolder of your session. This helps organize and manage your audio files.

Track Freeze stores audio in the Rendered Files subfolder, while Track Commit stores audio in the Audio Files subfolder. Each has different purposes and storage locations.

Bouncing a track is similar to committing and freezing, but its primary purpose is to create final deliverables or share audio for collaboration.

Bouncing tracks allows you to selectively create audio files from specific tracks or sections within your session, giving you control over the final output.

The Track Bounce dialog box lets you determine the file prefix, file type, and bounce settings for your selected tracks.

You can choose different file types, like WAV, MP3, or AIFF, when bouncing tracks, allowing you to create compatible audio files for various purposes.

You can add a text prefix to the bounced track's name to make it easier to identify and organize your audio files. This can be helpful for collaboration or archiving purposes.

When bouncing multiple tracks, you can select them by holding the Shift key for continuous selection or the Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) key for non-continuous selection.

You can make a timeline selection before bouncing to define the start and end points of the audio you want to include in the bounced file.

Bouncing a track offers an alternative method to “Bounce Mix” workflow, providing track-specific bouncing capabilities within your session.

An icon representing the Track Freeze feature, typically depicting a snowflake. When clicked, it toggles the freeze state of the selected track.

A track in Pro Tools that has been frozen, meaning its processing has been rendered to audio files, reducing system load. The track will be rendered as a waveform, representing the output of the track with all plug-in processing applied.

To apply the effects of a track's plug-ins permanently to the audio, replacing the original track with a new audio track containing the applied effects.

A dialog box in Pro Tools that appears when you commit a track. It lets you specify the commitment scope, whether to consolidate clips, and how to handle automation and track duplication.

Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) key.

A type of track in Pro Tools where you can't freeze the processing. This includes tracks that handle MIDI, VCA, and the master fader.

A track type in Pro Tools that's used to control the volume and panning of other tracks simultaneously.

When a track is frozen, the track's audio data is stored in a subfolder within the session directory, containing rendered audio files.

A method used in the Commit Track dialog box to combine various clips within a selection into one continuous clip.

A method to apply automation data to the committed track, allowing you to retain or overwrite existing automation.

A feature in Pro Tools that allows you to replicate specific aspects of a track, such as sends or group assignments, when committing it.

A method used in Pro Tools to speed up rendering by skipping real-time processing when committing a track.

A track in Pro Tools that's used to route audio signals to other tracks, allowing for flexible audio routing.

A track type in Pro Tools that's designed for creating and manipulating MIDI data.

Nudging Clip Gain breakpoints allows you to adjust the gain level of a clip in small increments. This is helpful for fine-tuning the volume of specific sections within a clip.

You can hold Shift+Control (Mac) or Shift+Start (Windows) to enable Nudge Clip Gain and then use the numeric keypad or comma/period keys to move the breakpoint.

Edit Playlists in Pro Tools are like independent tracks within a track, allowing for separate Clip Gain adjustments without affecting the original audio.

Instead of altering the original audio, you can create a duplicate playlist and modify the Gain of specific clips on the duplicate, preserving the original settings.

Clip Groups are like containers for clips that maintain their individual Clip Gain values, but also offer a new, default Gain Line for the entire group.

Clip Groups let you add additional Gain lines without affecting the original Gain settings of the individual clips within the group.

Elastic Audio can be activated on Audio tracks, and it offers different algorithms (plug-ins) designed for specific types of audio, such as Polyphonic for complex audio and Rhythmic for drums.

The Polyphonic plug-in is a versatile option designed for complex audio, while the Rhythmic plug-in is specifically suited for drums and other percussive instruments.

Elastic Audio can be used to create accelerandos or ritardandos, gradually speeding up or slowing down audio clips.

Elastic Audio can be employed to stretch audio clips to match the length of a video scene, allowing you to synchronize sound and visuals precisely.

Elastic Audio can be utilized to change the tempo of recorded audio, enabling subtle variations or more drastic transformations for remixing purposes.

Elastic Audio can be applied to change the timing of specific notes or words within a clip, leaving other elements untouched.

Elastic Audio allows for the quantization of audio events, aligning them to a grid in a similar way to how MIDI data can be quantized.

Elastic Audio was originally designed for music production but has found applications in various areas, such as post-production and sound design.

Pro Tools' Clip Gain and Edit Playlist features offer alternative mix options on a single track, providing workflow flexibility.