Track comping

Comping Exercise Challenge

Welcome to the final video of this session! Today, we are going to tackle a comping exercise using four vocal recordings that include jumbled numbers in English, French, Klingon, and Japanese. Your task is to comp the numbers 1 to 10 in either English or Klingon, whichever you prefer.

Saving Your Session

Before we begin, I'll save our Pro Tools session under a different name:

1. Go to File and select Save As.
2. I will name this 1-806-01 Comping Challenge.

Note: I usually name my files with the date, formatting them in year, month, then day. This way, when I view them, they show up in the order they were created.

Now, if you want to try this exercise again later, you can always return to the original unedited version.

Listening to the Numbers

Here are the numbers we'll be working with. Let's give this a quick listen:

• 1 cha son
• 4 Var ja
• 7

(Okay, apologies for the pronunciation, I'm not a native Klingon speaker!)

Preparing to Comp

Let's begin by changing the view from Waveform to Playlists View. Now we can see the four different versions available. The playlist is named Numbers 1 to 4.

Creating a New Playlist

1. I will create a new playlist by selecting Create New Playlist.
2. I will name this playlist Comp.

This playlist will hold all the segments I want in the comp version, it's the target playlist, as it appears at the top. You can choose a different track or playlist as the target if you wish, but that's a more advanced comping technique we won't cover today.

Comping the Numbers

1. First, I need to find the number 1 in English. I think it's this one, so I'll solo it:

   • 1: And it is indeed!

2. After selecting this, the arrow key has highlighted. This means it will copy my selection to the target playlist. I just click, and there it goes!

3. Now, let's find the 2. Let's have a quick listen:

   • (Going through the recordings...)
   • 4, Bring that up to the main playlist.
   • 7, There's the seven.
   • Now, looking for the 2... Ah, there we go!

Note: Remember, you can change the target playlist using the button if needed. If you press copy to target, it will move the selected portion to that specific track.

Listening and Adjusting

Now, let's un-solo and listen to the main playlist again:

• 1, 2, Not too bad; my recording is clean so the dropout in signal level is minimal.

Filling Gaps and Adding Crossfades

To ensure a smooth listening experience, you want to fill any gaps.

1. Select the Trim Tool.
2. With the Smart Tool selected, drag it out to one side to cover any unintended silence.
3. Hold the Control key to restrict movement to the clip boundary.

Finally, decide if you need a crossfade between clips:

• Add a little fade between the two to ensure seamless transitions.

Final Touches

In summary, the goal is to create a clean counting of the numbers 1 to 10.

• Remove any coughs, splutters, or breaths.
• For instance, I can see a little mouth smack just before the 3 that needs to be eliminated.

If there are any plosive issues, remember how to address those from the last video.

Conclusion

From this point on, it's pretty much up to you. Give it a go, comp down the recordings, and hopefully, you'll have a nice, clean counting of 1 to 10 for whichever project you find useful.

As always, if you get stuck, please reach out, and we'll see how we can assist you.

See you later!