Problem with Automation

[bobrdld]

Hey guys,

After I do volume automation (not clip gain automation), when I'm in my mix screen trying to adjust my faders, they return back to their original position. What can I do to bypass this so I can adjust the faders?

Also (since I'm here), in Audiosuite, most of my plugs show up but not all. Is there a fix? I read something about copying my plugs that don't show up to another folder but don't know which one.

thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out! I'm on an iMac, PT 10.3



Bob

[C]

Check in the Manual (Help->Pro Tools Reference Guide) for Automation modes. The are a number of them, you'll need to figure out which is the best mode for what you normally want to happen.

e.g. Touch will write automation then go back to previous level once released, Latch will write automation once touched and stay at the last value etc. Over simplified but I said to read the manual so…)

Audiosuite: not all plugins have Audiosuite counterparts, it's decided by the plugin developer whether or not to 'tag' the plugin as Audiosuite or not. Most will, some won't.

[bobrdld]

Hey Ceri,


Thanks for your response. I am aware of all the automation modes and their different functionalities. I have referred to the manual and have not found a solution.

My problem is after I automate volume in ANY mode on a particular track, when I got to my mixer and try to modify the overall level of the track with the track's fader, as soon as I release my click from the fader, it bounces back to unity gain (or wherever the volume automation was at the time).

Is this a glitch in my PT or does everyone know how to work around this but me?

Thanks for reading!

[Wizzoboy]

Just by moving the tracks fader you are not writing any automation, so when you release the fader it goes back to the level that has already been set. You must be in automation write mode to make changes. If you write automation in "write" mode using the "touch" selection, it will only write when you are actually controlling the fader with your mouse or control surface. When you let go it will return to the automation that has been previously written.

[DonaldM]

Originally Posted by bobrdld

Hey Ceri,


Thanks for your response. I am aware of all the automation modes and their different functionalities. I have referred to the manual and have not found a solution.

My problem is after I automate volume in ANY mode on a particular track, when I got to my mixer and try to modify the overall level of the track with the track's fader, as soon as I release my click from the fader, it bounces back to unity gain (or wherever the volume automation was at the time).

Is this a glitch in my PT or does everyone know how to work around this but me?

Thanks for reading!

Its not clear what you want to do. If you want to make an adjustment on a track that already has automation and you only want to make an adjustment on one part of the track, then just write new automation in that section. If you mean you want to raise or lower the entire track, but keep the automation changes intact, then open the automation lane, use the selector tool to highlight the entire lane (or whatever section of it you want to increase or decrease) and then use the trimmer tool to raise or lower that section to taste. That will keep everything intact relative to all the automation, but make the entire section or track louder or softer depending on what you want to do. Hope that answers your question.

[TweedyBird]

Wizzoboy pretty much answered your question, but I thought I'd chip in with a couple of things that I've found. I tried using the faders in the mixer window to write automation but I wasn't fond of the method as it creates a whole bunch of automation points in so doing. Instead, I use the edit window with the volume showing. Then, for example if I want to fade out at the end of a track. I use the hand tool to click on the volume line at the point I want to start to fade (which creates an automation point), and click again at the point I want the fade to end. I then click and hold the 2nd point and drag it to the bottom (or infinity). This way you'll have 2 automation points and when you watch it in the mixer window (with "auto read" mode on) it will show a nice smooth fade, and it looks better in your edit window.

[shtik]

when I got to my mixer and try to modify the overall level of the track with the track's fader

For this you have 2 options:

1 - inserting a trim plugin after all used inserts, and adjust from there.

2 - dragging the automation line at the end of the track up or down to where you want it.

[bobrdld]

I want to thank everyone who responded, I appreciate it. DonaldM, you were correct when you said "If you mean you want to raise or lower the entire track, but keep the automation changes intact, then open the automation lane, use the selector tool to highlight the entire lane (or whatever section of it you want to increase or decrease) and then use the trimmer tool to raise or lower that section to taste. That will keep everything intact relative to all the automation, but make the entire section or track louder or softer depending on what you want to do."

that's really what I was trying to do. I thought there might be a way to do this by using faders in the mix window instead of going into the automation lane in the edit window but it doesn't look like that's a possibility.

thanks again everyone!

[mesaone]

Originally Posted by bobrdld

as soon as I release my click from the fader, it bounces back to unity gain (or wherever the volume automation was at the time).

That's because you're using Touch mode, which has AutoMatch (setup> preferences> mixing> automation section> automatch time). You might want to switch to Latch mode for this.

Originally Posted by bobrdld

I thought there might be a way to do this by using faders in the mix window instead of going into the automation lane in the edit window but it doesn't look like that's a possibility.

thanks again everyone!

VCA Faders and Trim mode, but those are HD-only features. The trimmer tool method is quick and easy, though.

[DC-Choppah]

Originally Posted by bobrdld

My problem is after I automate volume in ANY mode on a particular track, when I got to my mixer and try to modify the overall level of the track with the track's fader, as soon as I release my click from the fader, it bounces back to unity gain (or wherever the volume automation was at the time).

Automation is working correctly. Sounds like you just have not wrapped your brain around it yet.