Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginridge
its2cloud,
Excellent advice, thanks! I've come to Pro tools slowly over the years starting out in analog, then using Digital tape (3 Tascam DA-38s) and mixing w/pro's in Pro Tools, then taking the plunge in 2010 w/PT 9. I've always approached recording from an "analog perspective" and still use PT as more as a digital "tape deck" than most modern users. That is to say, it's never set to a grid, I don't work on loops and I always use live instruments rather than virtual ones.
Over the years I have developed my basic recording skills fairly well in Pro tools but have had to do so largely on my own without having a mentor or someone I could ask simple questions to so while some of my skills are quite good (editing, time correction, general mix and EQ) there a some big holes in my knowledge which is one of the reasons I value the feedback I'm getting here so much!
I've been hitting the Pro Tools books fairly heavily in the past several weeks and have come a long way since I first posted. Many times it comes down to simply not knowing the right way to ask the correct question.
Your advice on the video timeline sounds excellent and I'll try to make that happen. I do have "final cut" on the video and hope to be able to schedule the video work session sometime in the next week or 2. This performance and production was all done at a small state University and they move slower than molasses in January! That being said, avoiding the very issues you are speaking of is exactly what I want to do.
I am getting fairly comfortable with the mixing process of this big project now. I've gone through the entire project multiple times tweaking the EQ, compression, de-esses etc and have made most of the time fixes, edits and corrections for the musicians and am starting get a fairly decent mix. To keep the files manageable and avoid overworking my system, I've deleted sections of tracks not in use at any given time minimizing the amount of real time processing and automation I'll need to do. This was especially important with the 7 choir mics. I was able to get very usable results with the X-Hum plug in and am very slowly starting to automate things. I am doing this manually, by choice, for greater control and to avoid stressing the system. I've managed to edit and EQ the tracks to the point where I'm primarily automating volume levels, some mutes and the occasional pan. By adjusting manually, I have significantly fewer automation points and can control the mix to fractions of a db. Frequently all I need to bring up a track enough to create clarity in the mix is 1 or 2 db. It's time consuming, but makes for a very articulate mix. That being said, I'm sure things will get more complicated as I move forward. I've pre mixed and charted out all the proposed levels per track per song and am working off that documentation as I begin to automate.
I would assume from your advice that I should have the final video edit first, then do the final mix to the video. I also see that I need to make sure that both formats match in the FPS rate. The most recent Pro tools book I have is Pro Tools 10 Ignite and I'll delve into the video section of that tonight to try to get a better handle on just what I'm getting into. I have yet to get the videographer to the table (or the phone) to goober any of these details but will make a point of doing so ASAP.
Again, thanks for the advice! Please don't hesitate to point out stupid mistakes if I'm making them.
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It sounds like you're being very careful and diligent regarding the quality of the mix. I commend you for taking on this challenge.
I work as a Re-recording mixer and 99.9% of my work is to picture. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Again, I would advise against working without picture. You don't have to make any mix adjustments to picture if you don't want to but if you don't look at picture I can guarantee there will be problems down the road. I have experienced the following in several music performance shows.
1. close up shots out of sync to actual performance
2. Visual cheats, meaning the video shot used is not the actual one in the performance.
3. Song edits that were made in the video edit, or audio edit, that don't line up to picture.
4. Camera sync issues that the video editor didn't know about when editing the show and thus created a headache for audio.
Probably others that I'm missing.
These are not meant to scare you. I'm merely informing you so you know what to look for down the road. I don't know the extent of your project or the performances so I leave that to you to make the best decisions. Like I mentioned. You Tube is a great source for education videos. Books are great but they only get you so far.
Also, Is this project for a DVD release? Web? Other? If so, you'll need to pay attention to you final delivery levels depending on the delivery format.
Good luck!