Logic X Key Commands: ProTools Preset

Holy pants, folks! I don't know if this was always in Logic X, or if it has just recently reappeared, but this will save me so many ⌘-Z undo actions.

My brain's memory banks thanks you, Logic developers!

Especially, the difference between the default Logic X and ProTools zoom shortcuts: ⌘+← or → for Logic, ⌘+[ or ] for ProTools. I can tell you how many times I've mashed the ProTools shortcut 5 times while using Logic, thinking I was going to zoom out or in, only to trim a region or wreak some other untold havoc on my session.

This is embarrassing...

Hey folks! Long time no see!

Gosh, where do I start...?

Inspiration to put up a new post today actually came from something I discovered in ProTools 11 that I wasn't aware I could do previously - having multiple video files in a single session!  Now, it has always been a limitation of non-HD ProTools (previously known as ProTools LE) that you could only have a single video track in a session, and attempting to import another video file into your session would bring up a dialog box saying that the existing video had to be removed before importing a new video.

But, today, I was using the Import Session Data function to create a "super session" of tracks from a film I'm working on, and I selected the Match Tracks option in the import dialog, which attempts to map the tracks of the incoming session data to the existing tracks of the session to which you are importing. Lo and behold, it brought in the video track of the imported session, and laid the video down after the existing video, right where it should be! It's a ProTools miracle!

Does this work for you, too? If so, or if not (especially if not, I guess), let me know! File this under Pro Tip!

I'll catch you up on all the comings and goings of the last few months later, but for now, enjoy this little tidbit.

ProTools Tip

Hey folks! Back with another ProTools tip for  you - this one I found through the Avid "Knowledge Base".  I was getting an assertion error -

Could not create a new document because Assertion in "/Volumes/Development/123191/ProTools/DFW/MacBuild/../Views/UMenu.MacOS.mm", line 1547.

- when trying to create a new session. Seems like a pretty major error to be getting, right? I thought so, too.  Anyway, a quick Google search for the text of the error yielded nothing, which is normally a bad sign. But, lo and behold, Digi- sorry, old habit - AVID's Knowledge Base to the rescue!  Holding down the N key while launching ProTools will bring up the Playback Engine dialog before ProTools finishes it's startup sequence. Who knew ProTools even had startup keys?!?

Playback Engine dialog, right in front of the ProTools splash screen!

For whatever reason, this solves the assertion error that happens when ProTools tries to create a new session when it's not in a familiar audio habitat.  This makes sense to me, because I just fired up away from my home studio and my trusty old Presonus interface.  This startup key will come in handy. Ever startup a ProTools session while connected to a network that has an AppleTV connected, and had ProTools freak out on you about sample rates? Well, here's a quick way around that.

Brilliant dialog fill method →

This is great! The bane of dialog editors everywhere, and a great technique for patching those impossible-to-fill spots:

Unlimited Dialog "AIRFILL" to Fill your Every Need

Such a brilliant way to take advantage of convolution reverb processing, which was already an amazing tool.  I think I'm also going to dig out my copy of SoundHack and see if it's spectral shaping can be used to do the same type of thing, since I don't currently own a copy of TLSpace or Altiverb for ProTools. Though I do like to use Logic Pro's convolution reverb, Space Designer, perhaps I can create a bussing system in Logic to do the same thing, as this article suggests is possible. 

Thanks to Douglas Murray's guest post on designingsound.com!