 |
|
|
My name is Tim Rumbaugh and audioMIDI.com has given me the opportunity to write about all things Digital Performer. As a spin-off from the consummate PT Corner, we worked months on a name for this new series dedicated to DP and we're sure you'll love it...DP Corner. WOOOOO!! The intent of DP Corner is to be interactive with all of you. Each column will be posted on the audioMIDI.community forums where I welcome you to ask questions, elaborate further on the topic, tell me I'm full of it, and request topics for future coverage. DP Corner will also feature podcasts that will demonstrate the features and techniques covered in this column, as well as interviews with all levels of DP users, music made in DP, and other nuggets of interest.
As for me, I'm one of you. I've been using DP ever since it was just P and only had MIDI functionality. I'm a musician, programmer, and composer for Sunset Room, a band in Orange County, CA, and the founder of Deep Play Music Designers, a music and sound design firm that provides custom music to clients of any size.
The range of DP Corner topics will cover project efficiency, new features and options, deep dives into specific features, and anything else that will help you take control of your DP working environment. I am therefore open to topics that you think would be helpful to most DP users. So let’s get on with it.
DP Corner - Project Templates, Part 1 of 2
On this maiden voyage of DP Corner, I found it appropriate to start with one of the most important elements of a project, the set-up. I am a firm believer that ones ability to work efficiently depends on how the project is set-up before ever pressing record. Probably the easiest way to ensure you always have an efficient set-up is with the use of project templates. DP5 includes a handful of preset templates that are good starting points, but we all have our preferences and should consider making our own. Custom templates are easy to make so this edition is dedicated to demonstrating the extent of DP’s customization that you can set ONE TIME, UP FRONT, to reduce redundancy in your project work and allow you to concentrate on the creative side.
Due to the extensive nature of this topic I am dividing it up into two installments so that you don’t get too punch drunk from the get go.
Where to Start
While you’re opening DP, jot down a list of the types of projects you typically work on, with the assumption that you’ll make a template for each. When prompted to open a file, select New and save it using a name that corresponds to one of the project types you just listed (e.g., All Virtual, Rock Band, Acoustic Trio, Jazz Ensemble, etc.). A template is the same as any other project except in the additional way that you will save it at the end. Once saved as a template it is available for use in beginning any project. It's therefore standard not to record or program anything into a project that you intend to use as a template. I created a "Templates" folder that I only use to save the initial temporary project before I save it as a template just to keep them segregated from my other projects.
In this installment I discuss the options available under the menus at the top and in the next installment I will cover all of the windows, which also include some mini-menu items. It’s important to note that the settings that I describe below are only a small portion of available DP settings. These are simply those that can be saved with a template. All others are either global, which means they apply to all projects, or they simply don’t apply until you begin working in a project. Especially under "Preferences & Options", the "Studio Menu", and many of the window mini-menus, it is advisable to also establish your global settings up front so that your working environment suits your working style every time you open a new project.
Because project set-up is all about personal taste, this is just a list of what’s possible to be saved in a template. You can determine the settings that are best for you and your working style.
Save Save Save
While you can wait to save your new project as a template at the end of all of this, be sure to periodically save your project so you don’t lose any of your changes.
Digital Performer Menu > Preferences
Other than those below, the options under the Preferences list are global.
- By default, all DP templates are stored at /Users/username/Library/Preferences/Digital Performer/Document Templates. You can quickly access this folder in the Preferences window > General > Startup Options > Open Document Templates Folder.
- You can set the options for the following:
- Automatic Conversions
- Click
- Countoff
- Film Scoring Events
- MIDI Solo & Patch Thru
- Receive Sync
- Transmit Sync
Project Menu
The majority of the Project menu is the selection of most of the windows I describe below. So I will only touch on those items that are not associated with those windows.
- Create Consoles. Consoles are an extremely powerful feature of DP and will probably be the subject of a future DP Corner. For this edition, just note that you can set-up any number of customized consoles and save them as part of your template. If you have created consoles in prior projects, you can load them into your template project and then include them in your template.
- Set-up V-Racks. Under Project > Sequences > New V-Rack you can set-up V-Racks to be made available to all sequences and songs within your project. If you use a lot of the same effects and instruments over multiple sequences this can really reduce your CPU load.
Studio Menu
- View the Counter window: While the Control Panel already contains your counters, if you have the need to work at a distance from your monitor just select Studio > Counter and a large version of the counters will appear in their own window. Using it's mini-menu this window can display all four types of available counters and you can select which one should be on top. Oddly enough, the display of this window can not be saved in a project but it can be saved as part of a template.
- Set-up Bundles. Bundles are perfect for setting up all of your routing into, within, and out of the computer. DP provides the ability to create multiple bundles, each of which is saved as it’s own file and can be loaded into any project. However, whatever bundle you have active in your project at the time you save it as a template will be recalled each time you use that template.
- Choose whether to display the Tools bar (and then where to place it in your window) Use shift-option-` (tilde) to toggle the orientation of the tool palette. between horizontal and vertical.
- Check MIDI Patch Thru
- Select your method for Audio Patch Thru
Setup Menu
- At Setup > Colors select a color palette to be made applicable to your track layout.
- If you're so inclined, by going to Setup > Colors > Edit Color Scheme, you can modify the vertical order of the colors in any of the provided palettes as well as the horizontal progression from left to right (light to dark or dark to light). You can even modify the colors within each row by double clicking the far left or far right of each row and select your color. Create your own palette by duplicating an existing palette and then go to town on changing all of the colors.
- Note that your selection of a palette stays with your project (and therefore your template), but the Colors Preferences under the Digital Performer menu are global to all projects.
- Select to slave to external sync
Control Panel
The control panel is the main section of the window located at the top of your project window.
- The following can be set:
- Overdub on/off
- Click on/off
- Pre-roll bars on/off
- Meter
- Tempo
- Auto-Rewind: When using the memory buttons, this button makes the playback wiper automatically return to the memory start point when you hit stop.
- Time format: Using the button to the right of both the main and secondary time windows, select your desired time display. You can also go to Setup > Time Formats, click the Details arrow to reveal the customization section, and establish custom time formats for display in other windows. By default these selections are global, but using the mini-menu you can save your customized settings to the open project file which allows you to create different time formats for each template and also allow for global time format settings when a template isn't used.
- Displaying drawers: To arrange the four retractable drawers available to the right of the control panel, use the drag handle in the lower right corner of each drawer. If you don’t want one displayed, drag it to the far left position and then click on the hide button. As for the options that you can select in each drawer, only your changes in the "Selection" drawer can be saved in a template.
Window Sets
- First determine whether you want independent windows or the consolidated window view (selectable under Preferences). You can pop into and out of consolidated windows view under the Windows menu or hitting ^1.
- If using Consolidated Windows, use the buttons with the dual sideways-facing arrows on the top far right and left to determine whether you want the window sidebars (which contain the sub-windows) to appear on the left, the right, or not at all. You can then select which sub-windows you want displayed in the sidebars and close those you don’t need.
- Remember that if you have two monitors, you can drag the window all the way across both windows. I will often display the main portion of the window on my left monitor and then let the window sidebars hang over onto my right monitor.
- A second monitor also allows you to display your plug-ins on one with the main windows on the other.
- In case you’re curious, you can create your own Window Sets but they are a global setting and cannot be saved as part of a template.
Saving Your Templates
The next DP Corner will cover template settings for all of the windows, so be sure to check back. Until then, be sure to save your new template, and continue to do so each time you make even the smallest change.
First do a final save of your project. Now, go to the File menu, select “Save As Template” and type in the name of your template. If you would like this template to be the template that is used each time you select “New” when opening a project, check the box that says “Use as default New Template”.
If you have a Digital Performer related question that you would like me to take a shot at answering or have any feedback, please send it to timr@audioMIDI.com. I will do my best to select the questions that seem to stump the most people.
As always, stay tuned to the audioMIDI.com eNews for the latest reviews and new product info.
|
|
