protools|blog by scott church

Modifying Mixer Assignments

2009-06-05T17:30:00Z

Just as we have modifiers for changing track views in the Edit window, we’ve got ‘em for making assignments in the Mix window.In this tutorial, I show-off some tricks that will help you to more quickly assign plug-ins, sends, inputs and outputs across multiple tracks. [view high-resolution video]

Pro Tools 8.x: Mix Window Assignment Modifiers from Scott Church on Vimeo.

Modifying the Track View

2009-05-30T00:00:00Z

As you’re able to edit your audio and MIDI tracks within the context of the entire session (a great thing, but requires a bit of management), quickly switching between tracks views is essential. In this tutorial, I show-off a few little-known tricks for flipping the track view in a jiffy. [view high-resolution video]

Pro Tools 8.x: Track View Modifiers from Scott Church on Vimeo.

featured protooler: Nancy McGinnis and Ed Goldfarb

2009-05-29T17:00:00Z

Nancy McGinnis has a gorgeous voice, and an amazing spirit which makes “The Keeper” so splendid. I first heard her music in a class that Bruce Tambling was teaching, where I completely fell in love with her writing. With the help of Bruce and Ed Goldfrab, Nancy has released a stunning CD, Seek to Follow, that is sincere and deeply moving. Ed Goldfrab is the most musically gifted and approachable creative professional I have ever met. He is one of those enlightened individuals who can cultivate an idea you have, and turn it into song with a life of its own. There is no one else with whom I would rathercollaborate (okay…maybe Tom Petty, but that’s it).

More Focus Groups at NAB

2009-04-02T20:30:53Z

Just as we did with South by Southwest (which was a blast!). Avid is organizing a series of focus groups at this year’s NAB Show on Monday, April 20 through Wednesday, April 22 in Las Vegas.

We’re looking for aspiring and established independent filmmakers/editors to share with us what really matters in your film making/content creation experience: from major business and industry challenges you face, to specific demands placed on you. Whether you’re using an Avid product or not, your input is critical for us to establish strategies that align with your realities. I hope you will gain something from this as well: not only is this an opportunity for you to influence our strategy and direction, but to hear input from your peers, as well as share your knowledge and experience in this unique forum.

Dates & Times

Monday, April 20
12:30PM-2PM

Tuesday, April 21
2:30PM-3:30PM
4:00PM-5:30PM

Wednesday, April 22
12:30PM-2:00PM

If you are an aspiring or independent filmmaker/editor and would like to participate, please contact me for more information.

South by Southwest Video Focus

2009-03-06T16:30:35Z

We (Avid) are organizing a series of one hour focus groups on Saturday and Sunday (March 14th and 15th) during South by Southwest in Austin Texas, and are looking for independent and aspiring filmmakers to participate. Each session will include free refreshments and a prize drawing for Avid products!

We need your help to ensure we understand the full picture of the challenges and problems you face by gaining a full appreciation of the influences and demands placed on you. Your input is critical to making sure our future plans, strategies and directions align with customer realities. We hope you will gain something from this too: Not only is this an opportunity for you to influence our strategy and direction, but hear input from your peers, as well as share your knowledge and experience in this unique forum.

Please contact me for more information if you are an independent or aspiring filmmaker (editing, fx, finishing, etc) that would like to join me.

Back from Anaheim

2009-01-22T00:30:00Z

I returned from Anaheim, and just now wrapping up all my NAMM follow-ups. I had a great week between customer visits in LA and the show itself. I especially want to thank those of you who met up with me to geek-out over Pro Tools and all the new gear. I actually had about an hour all to myself before I had to fly out on Saturday, and got to check out a few things first-hand (sadly the Gibson booth didn’t open until 1PM so I didn’t get the opportunity to play a Dark Fire, which I am dying to do) and thought I would share a few of my favorites:

I love the new M-Audio Axiom Pro MIDI Controllers (they look like cute white tuxedoes to me), and how well they integrate with Pro Tools. I had the good fortune of having a prototype unit in my office during development and loved moving faders from my keyboard.
I really dig the idea behind how the Waves Tony Maserati Collection plug-ins were designed - the plug-in name tells you exactly what kind of track to use it on (e.g. drums, bass, vocals, etc.), click the button for the type of material (e.g. bass drum, snare drum, male vocal, female vocal, etc.) and then adjust the few knobs that each plug-in features, simple.
I think Ableton did a great job with their online collaboration in Live 8, called LiveSets. Also, the tweaky-nerd in me really loves the Max for Live integration.

There’s of course a bunch more, and hope those of you that were able to made it had as much fun as I did.

The 2009 Winter NAMM Show: Another Opportunity to Meet

2009-01-05T22:30:00Z

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday (I got a much needed couple of weeks off myself and feel fully recharged and reinvigorated). It’s my first day back in the office (lot’s of catch-up), and with The 2009 Winter NAMM Show already upon us (well, next week anyhow) it’s time to offer those of you who are going to be at the show some time to get together and talk shop. If you’re interested in setting aside about 30 minutes to meet and talk about what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong and what it all means for Pro Tools, please contact me with what you would like to talk about and 2-3 times that would work for you on either the Thursday the 15th, or Friday the 16th during the show hours (we can meet at Digidesign booth) and I’ll book it.

I look forward to getting to meet as many of you as I can, and I encourage any of you looking to speak directly to us to reach out. To those of you that can make it – see-ya’ at the show!

Pro Tools 8: Now Shipping!

2008-12-17T20:00:00Z

Pro Tools 8 is now shipping. Upgrades can be purchased online from the DigiStore, or from your favorite dealer.

Seasonal Savings on Sibelius

2008-12-09T22:30:00Z

Through Friday, December 12th registered Sibelius-users can upgrade to Sibelius 5 for $85 for the Professional version and $65 for the Education version. That’s 50% off regular price! Visit the Sibelius website for more information. Just as an FYI, Pro Tools 8 will allow you to export a .Sib file so that the transcription you see in Pro Tools will be the same you send to Sibelius, but version 5 of Sibelius is required so the timing of this promotion is especially great for those upgrading to Pro Tools 8.

A Sneaky Video

2008-12-05T19:30:00Z

For those of you that were able to make the Pro Tools 8 Sneak Peek event at Cutting Edge Wednesday night, thanks for coming and introducing yourself. For those that couldn’t make it, Sean Halley and Kerry Rose did an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G job showing everyone the ins- and the outs- of the new version. I also had a great time hanging out afterward and chatting it up. As luck would have it, I had my Flip Video MinoHD with me, and was able to capture their bit on the new Playlist view for track comping. [view high-resolution hd video]

Pro Tools 8.x: Sneak Peek at Cutting Edge (Track Comping) from Scott Church on Vimeo.