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Category: First Year

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Pro Tools

Pro Tools – Lesson 3

1.) What icon is used for the Zoomer tool in the Edit window? How can you use this tool to quickly zoom out, filling the Edit window with the longest track in the session? 

  • Magnifying glass. Double click to see ALL (fn+f5 to use Zoomer)

2.) Which Edit tool is represented by a hand icon? What is this tool used for?

  • Grabber Tool. It is commonly used for arranging clips. You can use the grabber tool to select an entire clip with a single mouse click you can also use the gravity movie clip along the timeline, within its current track into movie clips between tracks

3.) Which tool is active when the Trim, Selector, and Grabber icons are all selected (highlighted in blue) in the Edit window toolbar?

– The Smart Tool  

4.) What are the four Edit modes in Pro Tools? How can you switch between them?

  • Shuffle (fn+f1). Slip (fn+f2). Spot (fn+f3). Grid (fn+f4)

5.) Why should you use caution when editing synchronized material in Shuffle mode? When is Shuffle mode useful?

  • Movements and edits made on shuffle mode will cause timing changes for the media on affected tracks. This mode should be used with caution when editing material that is synchronised to other tracks or are aligned to a timing reference or tempo. It’s useful as a way to make clips line up next to each other without overlapping or leaving silence between them. This can be convenient when you need to shorten a line of dialogue by removing a pause, cough repeated word, or similar unwanted material.

6.) How does editing a clip in Slip mode affect the timing of other clips on the track?

  • In Slip mode, you can move, trim, cut, or paste clips freely within a track without affecting the placement of other clips on the track. All selections, clip movements and edit operations at unconstrained

7.) When is it helpful to work in Spot mode? When it is helpful to work in Grid mode?

  • Spot mode lets you move and trim clips using precise locations or durations specified in a dialogue box. In Grid mode selections, clip movements, and trim operations are constrained by the grid, i.e. it is useful for quantising material.

8.) What are some ways to set the Main Time Scale in Pro Tools? 

  • VIEW > MAIN COUNTER. Main TimeScale pop-up menu

9.) What are the two types of Rulers available in Pro Tools? What is the difference between them? 

  • Timebase rulers and Conductor rulers. Timebase rulers measure time in various ways (they include Bars| Beats, Minutes: seconds, samples, timecode, timecode 2, Feet+Frames). Conductor rulers contain events that map out locations, characteristics and changes within a session (these include Markers, Tempo, Meter, Key, Chords)

10.) What are some ways to hide Rulers that you do not need displayed in a session? 

– VIEW > RULERS. Opt+click directly on a Ruler’s name in the Timeline display area.

11.) Which Pro Tools windows provide access to MIDI controls, such as Wait for Note, Metronome, and MIDI Merge?

  • The MIDI Control section in the Edit and Transport windows

12.) What is the purpose of the Metronome button in the MIDI Controls area? What kind of track must be added to a session for the Metronome button to work? 

  • The metronome button is used in conjunction with a click track and controls whether or not the click will be audible. When the Metronome button is active, a metronome click will sound during playback and recording, as specified by the settings in the Click/Countoff options dialog box (SET-UP > Click/ Countoff). Metronome playback requires a click track on the click source to be configured for your session.

13.) What are the two states or modes available for controlling the current session tempo? How can you switch between these modes? 

  • Tempo Map Mode and Manual Tempo Mode

14.) What is displayed by the Tempo field in the MIDI Controls area? What are some ways to set the session tempo using this field?

– The session’s current tempo is based on the play selection. In manual tempo mode (or when the session tempo has not yet been defined) you can enter a BPM value directly into this field. In addition, when the tempo field is selected, you can tap in a tempo from a midi controller or from the computer keyboard using the T key

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First Year Sound Artists

Halim El- Dabh

An Egyptian sound artist, who was a pioneer for electronic sound also known for his “musque concrete” and “electroacoustic” work. ‘Wire Recorded Piece’ was the earliest electronic piece of recorded tape music.

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First Year Thinking & Doing Sound

Interactive Exhibitions Within Western Germany

After reading the article based on exhibition experiences within late 20th century Germany, I came to ask myself what works better for the art: including touch or not including touch? It is well known about Germany’s history under strict dictatorship rule throughout many centuries including only years before this article was discovered. During the end of the century, Germany took a new step towards freedom and began inheriting new waves of contemporary art within their lifestyle. Music became more experimental, and life found a new sense of freedom. However with the Berlin Wall still standing until 1989 Berlin still held a strict divide within society- highlighting an everlasting presence and control from the government. The debate of whether viewers were allowed to touch the art still tells me that western Germany still held a strong control over society’s actions. During Sehen und Hören, Josef Haubrich- Kunsthalle, Cologne 1974. They presented their work in a clinically white room with sealed windows- allowing no exposure from the outside world. The article states it “allegedly allows optimal concentration on their perception”. This feels to me as if the viewers were being forced to view the art in a certain way. Art is ambiguous and can sometimes be vague. People’s perceptions are based on their positionality and life context. The art should speak thousands of languages and meanings – dependent on the viewer and what their life had entailed. By shutting out any other influence stimulates a strict and regimented environment which contrasts the idea of a new, free Germany. Its militant environment mirrors the dictatorship past; allowing no flexibility during the exhibition. On the other hand, this could be viewed in another light. By blocking out any outside life during the exhibition could allow the opportunity for the viewer to forget existing oppression and current social ills happening in the outside world. Boycotting existing life can almost create a sense of calm and focus to experience the exhibition to its full potential. To me, the contrast between the white walls and the art almost creates a sense of divide – mirroring Berlin’s current state due to the Berlin Wall and the divide between Eastern and Western Germany. The art represents a sense of freedom away from strict rule juxtaposing the other side of the wall where rigid dictatorship rule was still held in place. These restrictions within the gallery could have had a greater effect and shown to the viewer what they would have seen outside anyway. They do the work for the windows meaning they’re not needed almost making it an immersive experience. Despite the fact, they didn’t want to do that.

Thinking about my future work, I will make the decision whether or not to incorporate touch within my piece. As already discussed earlier in my blog, I can clearly see the benefits of incorporating other senses to highlight the sound. However, I do believe that what senses you include is entirely down to the theme and focus of the piece. I will go away and think about my up and coming performance and decide whether I should or shouldn’t include this.

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First Year Pro Tools

Pro Tools – Lesson 1

1. Name and describe five types of production tasks that ProTools can be used for. – 1 Audio Processing, 2 MIDI Production, 3 Notation and Scores, 4 Mixing and Automation, 5 Audio for Video and Post-production

2.What’s the frequency range of human hearing? –  20Hz – 20Khz

3. What does the frequency of a sound wave affect in terms of how we perceive the sound? How is frequency measured? –  Pitch. Cycles per second (CPS) / Hertz (Hz)

4. What does the amplitude of the sound wave affect? How is amplitude measured? – Loudness / Volume. Decibels (db)

5. How does the sample rate of a system relate to the frequency of audio it can capture? What is the name of the law that specifies the relationship between sample rate and audio frequency? – The sample rate of a system should be twice the frequency of audio it is required to capture. Nyquist theorum

6. How does the bit depth relate to the dynamic range of audio it can capture. How can you estimate the dynamic range of a system? – The more binary digits included in the bit depth, the greater the accuracy of each sample measurement. For example a 4-bit word (2 to the 4th power) can represent 16 discrete amplitude levels. A 16-bit word could represent 65, 536 levels (2 to the 16) and a 24-bit work can define more than 16 million discrete amplitude levels (2 to the 24)

You can estimate the dynamic range of a system by multiplying by 6.

e.g. an 8-bit system would produce a dynamic range of 8 x 6 = 48b. 16-bit = 96dB (16 x 6) and 24-bit = 144dB (24 x 6)

Note: 16-bit / 44.1Khz mono = 5MB per minute, 16-bit 96-Khz mono = 11MB per minute. 24-bit/44.1kHz mono 7.5MB per minute, 32-bit/44.1Khz = 10 MB per minute.

7. What are some common digital connections available on Pro Tools audio interfaces? What type of connector jack does each use? – S/ PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) which uses RCA (a.k.a. coaxial) and AES / EBU (Audio Engineering Society /European Broadcast Union) that uses XLR. The latter is preferable as it is technically more stable and filters out any copy protection encoded in the digital audio stream. Also S/PDIF is consumer grade.

8. Name some audio interfaces that are compatible with standard Pro Tools software. –  Any audio interface with Core Audio (Mac) or ASIO (Windows) drivers

9. Name some Avid audio interfaces that are compatible with Pro Tools | Ultimate software. –  Pro Tools | HD OMNI, Pro Tools | HD I/O, Pro Tools | HD MADI, Pro Tools | HD MTRX, Pro Tools | HD MTRX Studio

Categories
First Year Visiting Practitioners

Richard Pheonix – Visiting Practioner

During Richard’s talk, he mentioned his work within different variations of disability groups and music bands. He expressed his shock when he first visited a punk rock gig for people with learning difficulties. This being his first-ever interaction within this environment he talked about how incredible and unique the music and the experience was. I went away and thought about this concept in great depth. Human positionality depicts their genre and area of music- however, it does not mean it’s the only thing you will ever like or know! So don’t settle! Richard’s previous experiences in the music scene prior to this were underground rock bands. Despite this being the same genre this was still a completely unique experience due to its members and the environment in which the gig was held. Music has no barrier or class structure, yet humans decide to put one there. Why should one genre decide your life path, attitude, fashion, or personality? This brought my attention to the music scene in the ’80s where “mods” and “rockers” formed a full physical and mental divide truly based on their genre of music. Richard’s interactions and close interest in disability music prove to me that despite your positionality genres and barriers can be knocked down as it is us who create them. Music can not always be liked by everyone but opinions over the years have formed blockades within society even on things that are entirely away from the music. I learned from this to never position myself within one area of music and to continue through life with an open ear to sound and music. Not allowing music to control you as a being but only to teach you is something that many people should think about. Positionality forms you as a person and what you surround yourself with. However, barriers should not be formed because of this.

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First Year Pro Tools Uncategorised

Pro Tools – Lesson 5

1.) How much disk space is consumed per minute by a mono track at a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and a bit depth of 16-bit? What happens to disk space consumption if the sample rate is doubled to 88.2 kHz with the same bit depth? – Approx. 5 MB storage; it doubles to approx -Sample rate of 44.1kHz: Each track consumes approx. 5MB of disk space per minute for 16 bit audio (mono).

2.) How can you monitor the storage space available on your system to determine the amount of record time remaining for each mounted drive? – monitor storage space and estimate the amount of available record time remaining for your project using the Disk Usage Window.

3.) How can you create a click track for a session? What kind of track is used for a click track? – TRACK > CREATE CLICK TRACK – Auxillery Track

4.) What window(s) can you use to record-enable an Audio track? – Edit Window, and Mix Window

5.) What selector can you use to route a signal from an input on your interface to a track for recording? – Audio Input Path Selector, (I/O Section)

6.) How can you adjust the input level going to a record-enabled track? Can you use the Volume Fader to achieve a strong signal going to disk? – Can be adjusted on the audio interface or the pre-I/O signal processing – Basically use the pre-amp gains

Although a track’s Volume Fader can be used to increase or decrease playback levels, the Volume Fader does NOT affect record levels. Therefore No

7.) How can you place a session in Record Ready mode after record-enabling a track? What modifiers/shortcuts are available to initiate recording without first entering Record Ready mode? –

WINDOW > TRANSPORT – Click the button

Command+Space Bar

Fn+F12

8.) Where are recorded audio files stored for Pro Tools sessions? –

Clip List

Track Playlist

Also stored in the Audio Files Folder within the Session Folder

9.) What term is used to describe an unedited audio file in Pro Tools? What term is used to describe the smaller, edited pieces of the original sound file? –

Whole-file Clip

Subset Clip

10.) What types of clips are represented by boldface text in the Clip List? What type is represented by normal (plain) text? –

– Whole-file clip/Parent Clip

– Subset clip

11.) How do track names affect the default names of the audio files you record in Pro Tools? – Pro Tools names the resulting file (a whole-file clip) using the name of the Audio track followed by an underscore and the take number (a sequential number based on the number of times you’ve recorded on that track).

12.) Describe two ways to rename an audio file after recording into Pro Tools.-

– Double click the file or clip in the edit window (with the grabber tool) or in the clip list

– Right click on the file or clip in the Edit Window or Clip List and select RENAME from the pop-up menu.

13.) How would you go about removing unwanted audio from the Clip List without deleting the files from disk? –

– To select multiple clips, COMMAND+CLICK on clips individually

– To select a continuous range, click on the first clip in the range and SHIFT+CLICK on the last clip

2. 

– Choose CLEAR from the Clip List pop-up menu

3.

– In the resulting Clear Clips dialogue box, click REMOVE to remove the clips from the session, while leaving all parent audio files on the hard drive.

14.) How would you go about deleting unused whole-file clips to erase them from your hard drive? Can this action be undone? –

1.

– To select multiple clips, COMMAND+CLICK on clips individually

– To select a continuous range, click on the first clip in the range and SHIFT+CLICK on the last clip

2. 

– Choose CLEAR from the Clip List pop-up menu

3.

– In the resulting Clear Clips dialogue box, click MOVE TO TRASH or DELETE to remove the clips from the clip list AND remove or delete any selected parent audio files from your hard drive.

Categories
First Year Thinking & Doing Sound

Does Sight Effect Sound?

I recently visited the LUX New Wave of Contemporary Art at 180 The Strand. The exhibition focused upon how light and colour can affect the human being and their perception of reality. Every piece came along with a sound installation which got me thinking. The first room I entered (“I Can’t Breathe”) was 7 electrical screens surrounding you with visuals of a choir singing. Despite the words and the name of the piece being oppressive and negative, the sound was extremely soothing and peaceful. Its tranquillity resonated due to its surrounding speakers making you feel as though you were being embraced by the sound itself. This brought an extremely calming sensation to the room which contrasted with the juxtaposing lyrics “I can’t breathe”. However, despite the sound having such a calming effect I often wondered whether the bright warm coloured visual enhanced this effect. On the screens, they presented images taken from the choir in the church which were slowed down. Its tampered speed highlighted serenity and peace with no impression of rush. Big bursts of warm natural light hit the camera and the choir bringing a sense of unity and spirituality. Its angelic aesthetic in which the camera captured brought the same effect as the sound; calm and a fulfilled surrounded protection. When both mediums are put as one do they affect one another by heightening the mood it is trying to portray? If the sound is taken from that piece was filled with contrasting images of dark and ominous visuals; would we hear something different? 

This idea was furthered in the next room I visited. A more visual piece- here was a long blank wall with a strand of projected light. Mirrors on either side helped magnify its everlasting effect. The colours would change from Purple, Green, Yellow, Red and Blue. When colder colours such as Blue or Purple would hit the screen it would play a high frequency pitched note that would ring as if it was “everlasting”. In contrast when the screen would project warmer colours (red and yellow) the frequency would drop to a lower pitch note. The sound affected how you viewed the colours. High pitched frequency would give a strong sense of high energy and chaos. My memory played a part in this and made me refer to the atmosphere as weather and temperature (I thought about cold wind whistling). With the colder colours to add to this, it gave a taste of icy uncertainty. Whereas the lower frequency sounds would give a more sluggish, heavy sensation like being in warm heat. I once again asked myself the question what if the visuals and sound would have swapped? What effect would it then give me? The cold colours which before gave me high energy against a low frequency could have given an ominous and oppressive impression. Whereas the high-frequency sounds against the warmer colours could have given a burning intensity perception which juxtaposes the sloth-like laziness it gave when against low frequency. 

As a whole, I realised that although sight does affect how you hear something, sound also affects how you see something. No medium is stronger than the other and in fact, they work together hand in hand. These questions made me realise how I would like to present my work. Image and sound as mediums really do affect one another and the atmosphere they can create as a whole. Due to our memory and relative thinking, we put images and sound together to create a specific sense of feeling. I would like to play upon this when presenting my work to ensure I create the right mood I intend to create. Finally, to expand on this I would also like to incorporate other sensory mediums such as temperature and touch.  

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First Year Thinking & Doing Sound

Letting The Environment Be The Instrument

When listening to the field recordings I noticed a contrast between people playing the environment and people allowing the environment to play themselves. Both are equally positives however I am personally drawn to the environment playing itself. The first was a contact mic strapped to a metal tube while someone banged the material to create noise. However, the second was the recording taken from the exact same place and method however the material was left alone. As humans, we feel a constant need to dominate an environment. In regards to sound, we constantly have the urge to create sound and be the composer. This is toxic in my eyes as we block out the natural sounds and attributes of our surroundings. This is a reflection upon life and how as human beings we think that taking control and being the leader of the environment is what produces the best results. From these reflections, I will no longer constantly feel the need to be the instrument – especially when it comes to recording sound. We should accept and appreciate what is around us and not feel the need to tamper with this. Sometimes being the observer hands you a better outcome than it does to be the show. You can learn from watching and listening despite the fact humans block this out every single day. Being at one with our natural resources and environment cam and will teach you more. 

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First Year Thinking & Doing Sound

Sound In Britain – Is Art Work? Should It Be Free?

Should Art be Free?

While reading Toop’s, and Parkinson’s (2020) ’Unfinished Business: A Conversation on Sound Art in the United Kingdom’ interview it posed to me whether or not art should be work or instead, an instinct. Living in the western world of capitalism surrounded by a drive to work, our society is taught to make money. It becomes our “instinct” to create funds but for an artist should their “instinct” not be to create? I want to address the issues of being an artist within western cultures and the problems faced along the way.

To live freely within the United Kingdom we are bound down to the fact you need money to live. Toop refers to the culture of sound art as “Problematic”. His reference gives strong reflection to the economy of the art world. With Art buying being the biggest tax evasion within our western economy, many could argue this only forces the problem even further. Art’s high prices and status brings only one section of society to auction – the rich! With the rich buying art and making profit avoiding by tax, this creates an issue for many artist’s. Should their art be used for making a profit? Many could argue that this economical viewpoint takes away the focus on art and beauty its self. It’s aesthetic of the piece is shadowed by the looming force of money. This brings me back to whether or not art should even be sold at all? By selling the piece it feeds the economical morality towards the business. Only a few people gain from this and the artist themselves are not always one of them. 

However, without the auction, the artist would not make a living. With the westernised expectations to succeed we are continuously forced to make money.  Art not only costs to buy but also costs to sell. Materials and workspaces are not free; building up a budget for what we can and can’t create. This juxtaposes the idea that art shouldn’t be sold as it doesn’t count for the fact the artist may not even be able to create in the first place. With no income many artists would be left penniless meaning they’re unable to fund their creativity. Within the interview, Toop explains how sound art used to be referred to as “Sound Work”. This supports the idea that Art should be sold as it is a career rather than a vocation. Although on the other hand, the way he refers to the world as “problematic” creates many contrasting ideas to the rest of his points. By referring to his practice as “work” this westernises his artistic process giving it a new meaning but to create money. Art should be natural and a process that is free. Using the word “work” makes it seem like toil or hardship that is forced upon us to survive. Similarly to where art creates profit, his reference supports the idea that the economical world of art is hiding its beauty and purpose.

In reflection on this, I support the argument that making art can be “hard work” however in many cases it can not always be referred to as work. It is a lifelong practice. I hope to take this with me through my creative process and use this drive to focus my purpose of the art on its meaning and beauty and never on its price. 

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First Year Pro Tools

Pro Tools – Lesson 2

1.) Name some of the folders and files that ProTools creates as part of the session hierarchy. Where is the session file (. ptx) stored?

  • Audio Files
  • Clip Groups
  • Session File Backups
  • Bounce Files
  • Video Files
  • (all in session folder)

2.) What is the WaveCache.wtm file used for? What happens if the WaveCache file gets deleted or goes missing?

  • Stores all waveform displays
  • If it gets deleted it will create a new one next time you open ProTools

3.) Where are audio files stored in the session hierarchy?

  • Saved separately inside the corresponding session’s Audio Files Folder

4.) Where are Pro Tool’s is MIDI files normally stored?

  • Stored within the Pro Tools Session 

5.) Which components should you turn on first when powering up a Pro Tools system? Which component should you turn on last? 

  • External Hard Drive first
  • Computer Speakers last

6.) What type of processing does the hardware buffer size affect? What type of processing does it not affect?

  • Affects it’s host – based processing capacity
  • Does not affect the DSP processing

7.) What kinds of commands can be found under the ProTools View menu? How does the view menu differ from the window menu?

  • How windows, tracks and track data are displayed
  • View effect how windows are displayed
  • Window – Hide – Arrange the entire window

8.) What kind of commands can be found under the ProTools Options menu? How does the options menu differ from the setup menu?

  • Commands = select several editing, recording, monitoring, playback, and display options
  • Setup menu= oppositions the involve multiple settings

9.) Which main Pro Tools window displays audio waveforms and can be used to work directly with audio, MIDI, and video files on tracks?

  • The edit window

10.) Which ProTools window provides access to Pan controls and Volume faders for each track?

  • The Mix Window