PT 110: Lesson 5: Using Elastic Audio: Review and Discussion Questions

  1. How would you go about enabling Elastic Audio on a track? EDIT window – Elastic Audio Plug-in Selector
  2. Which real-time Elastic Audio processor typically works best for drums? Which typically works best for vocals? Rhythmic. Monophonic.
  3. Which Elastic Audio plug-in provides only rendered processing? When/why would you want to use rendered processing? X-form. When you want higher quality results, or to reduce processing power, for example in a larger complex session when you’re using lots of plug-ins.
  4. What can Elastic Audio tempo detection determine about an audio file? What are some conditions that will cause no tempo to be detected? It tries to identify rhythmic patterns. Using detected transients Elastic Audio attempts to identify tempo for a file. If tempo detection is successful ProTools will also calculate the file duration in Bars and Beats. Files with only a single transient (such as a one-shot) will have no tempo detected, nor also will files that contain tempo changes or rubato (rushing/slowing tempo), or files lacking a regular periodic rhythm.
  5. Where are Warp Indicators displayed? What are they used for? 5
  6. What views are available for working with Elastic Audio-enabled tracks? What is each view used for? ANALYSIS VIEW: Edit the detected Event Markers on a track. WARP VIEW: create and edit Warp Markers
  7. Name the three types of Elastic Audio markers. What are the differences between them? EVENT MARKERS indicate audio events ( solid black lines in Analysis view and as grey lines in Warp View – they do not fully extend to the top and bottom of the track) WARP MARKERS anchor audio to the timeline (thick black lines with a triangle at the base) and TEMPO-EVENT generated WARP MARKERS indicate where Elastic audio processing has been applied due to tempo events (grey lines with a diamond at the top)
  8. What are some ways to add Warp markers to a clip? List at least three. WARP VIEW: Grabber Tool double-click, Pencil Tool or make a Selection, right-click, ADD WARP MARKER
  9. What is a Telescoping Warp? How does it differ from an Accordion Warp? From a Range Warp? Telescoping Warp lets you stretch/ compress the entire waveform of the clip relative to a start or end point. GRABBER drag any Event Marker to telescope relative to start, opt-GRABBER telescope to end location. Telescoping Warps can be applied to any audio waveform that does not contain Warp markers. Accordion Warp applies Elastic Audio to both sides of a single Warp Marker in a clip. This lets you expand / compress audio equally on both sides of a fixed point. Add a single Warp Marker at the point you want anchored to the timeline, then with the GRABBER drag any Event Marker on either side. Range Warp applies Elastic Audio between two fixed points in a clip. In Warp View create a Warp Marker at the start point, and a second marker at the end point. Create a third marker between the first two and drag to warp the underlying audio while the audio outside the boundary markers remains unaffected.
  10. What is the effect of quantising a selection on an Elastic Audio-enabled track? What happens to the Event markers within the selection? Quantising allows you to align audio events to tick-based information (Bars | beats, sub beats) based on the session tempo. Event markers are used as control points. Those that are closest to the specified quantise grid are promoted to Warp Markings and are moved to the grid.
  11. Why is it important to have accurate Event markers in your clips when applying Quantise operations on Elastic Audio-enabled tracks? Because it is they that become aligned to the grid and hence form the basis of the quantise operation.
  12. After enabling a track for Elastic Audio, how would you enable the track to update dynamically to match any subsequent tempo changes you make in the session? First Enable Elastic Audio, and then change the timebase of all desired audio tracks from samples to ticks.
  13. What are some ways to improve the quality of audio that has been warped with Elastic Audio processing? 1. Having accurate event markers (Analysis View), 2. Adjusting Event sensitivity or 3. Using rendered Elastic Audio processing (X-form)note that X-form processing can take some time!
  14. What is meant by Event Confidence? How can Event Confidence be used to eliminate false transients when applying TCE processing on Elastic Audio-enabled tracks? Each Event Marker is assigned a confidence level based on the relative clarity of the associated transient. CLIP > ELASTIC PROPERTIES window, or right-click the clip and select ELASTIC PROPERTIES or opt- 5 alphanumeric keypad.
  15. What are two ways to apply Elastic Audio pitch transposition? What are some applications for using each option? 1. ELASTIC PROPERTIES WINDOW. Apply a pitch shift across selected audio clips. 2. EVENT OPERATIONS > TRANSPOSE WINDOW To create a transposition across multiple tracks including pitched MIDI data. (Pitch transposition is not supported for Monophonic or Varispeed Elastic Audio algorithms)