Basic Processing in ProTools

This tutorial provides an introduction to the processing features available in ProTools. Process in this context can be thought of as a synonym for "transform". The specific method used to transform the audio is known as an effect. It is not intended to provide detailed explainations of each effect, just the methods for applying effects using this software. The tutorial assumes that you are already familiar with ProTools, have a session with audio already recorded and that you have been doing some editing. Let's get started by opening up the session.

Depending on how extensive your editing was, you probably have a few spots where regions but up against one another on a given track. Before processing, it is often desirable to group these regions together so that you can affect them all in a single pass. The other advantage is that the grouped region will be added to your region list, enabling you to drag and drop it into your tracks just like any other region.

Start by selecting the grabber tool, then click to select one region of the regions in your group. Once you have selected one, hold down the shift key and continue to click on other regions thereby adding them to your selection. You can select as many as you would like to join together.

Next go to the Region menu and choose the Group option. ProTools will automatically give the group a name based on the track name.

Afterward you will see the new group added to your region list. It will behave just like any of the other region in the list. This can be very handy if you have assembled a group of regions that you wish to use multiple times. If you double click on the namein the region list, a dialog window will appear allowing you to rename the group with something more descriptive.

And the grouping can be reversed at any time. Simply highlight the group in a track and go to Region menu and choose Ungroup. This will restore the orginal regions, enabling you to work with them individually again.

Now let's look at a few ways to apply processing to this audio. One of the simplest methods is with the Trim tool. This tool actually has two modes. The first standard mode will only remove audio, but the second TCE mode will use a simple algorithm to actually "stretch" or "shrink" the duration of a sound (TCE stands for Time Compression and Expansion). To select this mode click and hold the mouse button on the Trim tool icon at the top of the edit window. This will reveal a menu to let you choose between these options. Select the TCE mode.

You can now use the mouse to click and drag the ends of your region. This will automatically affect the duration of the sound. Grab the end and drag it to the right to make your sound longer. Grab it again and drag it the left to make your sound shorter. Altering the duration in this manner can be a powerful tool for manipulating your sound material.

Each time you adjust the duration, ProTools will process the region and automatically replace the original. As a byproduct of this you will notice that a new region is added to your list each time you change the duration. Also note that the region name is in bold, which means that ProTools has create a sound file on the hard drive. Keep this in mind as you use the TCE mode, because it can quickly cause your project's disk space to balloon.

By far the most common way to apply processing to audio in ProTools is via plug-ins. Each of these small helper programs is designed to apply a some type of processing to your audio. ProTools M-Powered comes with over 25 different plug-in and the user can add to this collection by purchasing additional plug-ins from a variety of companies. After you install them, they integrate themselves right into the ProTools environment so you do not have to open other pieces of software to process your audio. There are several competing formats for plug-in design, but the one used by ProTools is called AudioSuite.

Plug-ins can usually operate in either real-time or non-real-time mode. Let's start with non-real-time. In this mode, the plug-in applies it's processing to a region as fast as the CPU allows, generates a new sound file and uses it to replace the original in its track. In fact, the TCE trim mode that we just used is an example of a non-real-time effect.

To use other non-real-time processing effects, start by choosing the grabber tool and use it to click and select a region. Next, go to the AudioSuite menu. Each item in the various sub-menus represent a unique plug-in, so take a few moments to look over your options. When your ready, choose the Pitch Shift plug-in. A small window will appear that looks like this:

These are your controls over the underlying algorithm. As you may have guessed, this plug-in can alter the perceived pitch of a sound region. Most of your adjustments will be made using the coarse slider (which makes large changes to the pitch) and the fine slider (which makes small changes). To move the slider simply click and drag its handle with the mouse.

After making some adjustments to the controls, you can listen to the results by clicking on the preview button in the lower left corner. This lets you hear what your changes will sound like without committing to them. It does not replace your existing audio in the track and enables you to make adjustments to your control settings.

Once you are happy with the settings, click on the process button. ProTools will (in most cases) breifly display a progress bar. Once this disappears a new processed region will replace the old. Just like with the TCE trim tool, you will see a new region in your list with its name in bold.

When combined with other tools in the edit window, processing can yield a large variety of results. You should explore what some of the other plug-ins are capable of producing. Using the group function will also help you manage your audio material more conveniently. The next tutorial will focus more on the features available in the mix window.