Automation workflow question

[Simon2065]

Hi

I am not sure if I am missing something here but say I "Write" some volume automation on 5 tracks at the beginning of a song or section and set to "Read". Then go on to work on parts later in song and want the faders to be freely adjustable and not set to the level of the last breakpoint. Is the only option to Suspend Automation? This obviously allows the volume to be adjusted freely in the next parts of the song but when you play the beginning section the automation will not play without Re-enabling Automation.

Am I think about this in the wrong way? Should I just always be in Touch/Latch mode, writing automation data all the time and make sure I do not inadvertently Touch the faders in the first section.

I would have thought having a breakpoint for volume automation at the end of the beginning section and allowing some sections to have no automation data might be a good feature. So the fader is left at the level of the last breakpoint but is freely adjustable after the breakpoint because there is no automation data. I suppose another possibility would be for an special automation lane to suspend automation which would work in this case but be a bit ironic. Or if you could mute sections of the automation like muting a clip.

But these are obviously not features so does just leaving in Touch/Latch mode work best? Is that the intended workflow with Pro Tools in this scenario?


Cheers Simon

[Sonopolis]

Hi Simon,

you're right about your assumption. However you could combine Trim Automation Mode with Read. In Trim/Read you can still adjust the fader around the 0 position.

[BScout]

Like Sonopolis, since you are on Ultimate, use Trim.

I always write my first pass using touch (not touch/latch) on volume (using also write to end, selection, or beginning.) After that I do all writing in trim (touch again) and coalesce the trim automation when I like it to the main volume automation. By using trim and coalesce together, you can always have a unity fader line (0 change) to work from while maintaining prior work.

You can also use preview automation mode. Since you are on Ultimate, you have a lot more options in automation.

[Simon2065]

Thanks Sonopolis and BScout.

I will try out those methods. I was not aware you could use Trim in Read as well. I suppose I need to get used to always automating start to finish and then adjusting with Touch or Trim.

[Rich Breen]

All depends on what type of mixing you're doing, and how you like to work. As Bscout suggests; Preview mode is a good way to handle this - put the system in Preview, make adjustments as necessary, then when you're happy with the section, punch the changes in - be careful of "write to all". As you get more comfortable with automation you'll get a feel for when you'd rather just be in touch/latch or preview for a given task. After getting initial balances I personally spend most of my time in Touch / Trim, and the "Write To End" command gets a lot of use here.

[midnightrambler]

Personally I don't bother with "Write" mode at all and I honestly can't remember the last time I used it. You don't really need to "write" an initial value if you use "latch" or "trim" as you've already set the initial value when you start to change the fader, if you see what I mean. (You may need "write" for e.g. overwriting bogus "mutes", but again personally I rarely automate mutes, other than for some shared bus returns.)

Also apologies if this is teaching granny to suck eggs but if you're not aware of the "yellow" mode (trim) of the faders then I highly recommend you start utilising them in your workflow. After I've got a half decent basic balance I switch over to the yellow faders ASAP - the idea being it doesn't matter where the faders are in "absolute" terms, but they do matter "relative to everything else in the balance." And as other people have said, "preview" is definitely worth utilising if you're e.g. setting balances section-by-section.

Just my 2p :)

[Simon2065]

Thanks a lot for all the input it will definitely help me move forward. I read the manual but could not find much "real world" info on workflow.