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Getting up close and personal (zooming techniques
in Pro Tools)
Many would agree that one of the most useful features found
in today’s DAWs is the graphical representation of
a sound’s waveform. You can tell a lot just by looking
at a waveform, and while it is always important to listen
to what you’re doing, using our eyes to speed up the
editing process just seems natural. But if we are to use
these visuals aids while editing, we need to see things clearly
enough to be accurate. That being said, I would like to dedicate
this week’s column to all things “zoom,” and
hopefully we can shave some time off your editing workflow,
while adding a few tricks to your bag.
Out of all the editing commands I use on a daily basis,
zooming in and out definitely comes in first place. As simple
as it may be, I can usually tell how experienced a Pro Tools
user is just by watching how they zoom. As a matter of fact,
I find that the number one thing that slows my students down
when editing is the lack of key command use when zooming,
or simply not zooming in or out at all when they are trying
to perform edits. I see users trying to make selections of
tiny little regions, spending 30-40 seconds just to get something
that is semi-accurate, when a quick zoom could have had the
same selection in 3-4 seconds. I also see users time after
time, switching to the zoom tool (magnifying glass) and then
back again, wasting 10-20 seconds each instance. The first
step to being an expert editor is getting down your zoom
options and like most things in Pro Tools, there are a few
different ways you can go about this.
Avoiding the zoom or “zoomer” tool
When it comes to cutting down your edit time, I can’t
stress enough how important it is to break that zoom tool
habit. Don’t get me wrong, it is a great tool, easy
to find and easy to use. Just click to zoom in, option-click
(alt-click on PC) to zoom out, simple right? Well that is
just it; the tool is designed as a simple way to zoom in
and out, not necessarily the most efficient way. You see,
by selecting the zoom tool you waste time and lose focus.
A few seconds here, a few more there, your time adds up,
just ask any pro and they will tell you the same thing. So
do yourself a favor and give some of these alternate zooming
techniques a try.
Single Key Zoom:
A while back, Scott briefly mentioned using the single key
shortcuts and command key focus in Pro Tools (review the
article here).
Remember, when the single key shortcuts are enabled your
keyboard becomes a rapid fire editing machine gun, just press
your R and T keys to zoom out and in on a selection or insertion
point. I personally use this method a lot for zooming in
and out in a hurry, remember R to zoom out and T to zoom
in.
To enable command key focus for single key shortcuts, click
on the a…z button in the upper left hand corner of
the edit window or press CMD+OPT+1 (MAC) or CNTRL+ALT+1 (PC).
I generally leave my command key focus set to the single
key shortcuts but be careful, you can make edits with just
a single keystroke (sometimes not even realizing them until
later).
Zoom Toggle
The zoom toggle command allows you to quickly toggle a selection
(or insertion point) between regular and expanded, or zoom
toggled view. Not only does this instantly zoom in on a selection,
but the command will also change your track height to a larger
size, making quick edits a breeze.
With your single key shortcuts enabled, the key command
for zoom toggle is the letter E. Just remember E for “explode” or “expand.” There
is a zoom toggle button just below the zoom tool, this button
will light up in blue when zoom toggle has been activated.
Remember to toggle back when you complete your edit, otherwise
it can get confusing.
It may take awhile to get used to zoom toggle, but it really
is instant gratification zooming and saves tons of time.
Not to mention, anyone watching you edit will think you are
super cool and want to be your friend :-)
Hint: Zoom toggle will remember track height when activated.
For example, if you always want the track size to change
to ”large” when you toggle, first activate zoom
toggle (make sure the symbol is lit up in blue under the
zoom tool) and set your track height to the desired level.
Pro Tools will remember the track height you set while zoom
toggle is active, now every time you toggle the track height
will change to large. If command key focus isn’t your
thing you can still access zoom toggle with the key command
CNTRL+E (MAC) or START+E (PC)
Home Base:
Zooming around is great, but what happens when you go to
far, get lost, or just want to quickly get back to a standard,
entire session view. You could spend forever zooming back
out or you could use this quick key command. Option+A (MAC)
or Alt+A (PC) will take you back to a whole session view
(remember “A” for “All”). Doubling
clicking on the zoom tool will also activate this shortcut
and take you back out.
Hint: Using OPT+A or double clicking the zoom tool also
returns the vertical zoom back to default.
Track Height:
While technically not related to zoom, changing your track
height does make editing a whole lot easier. To change a
tracks height, click on the track height selector (see graphic)
and choose a new track height.
two places to change track height
Zoom Shortcut Table:
Zoom Tool Extras
Although you should work on some of these key commands as
alternatives to the zoom tool, here are a few tricks that
you can do with it.
Lasso Zoom:
Click and hold to draw a box around the target area you
wish to zoom in on.
Fluid or “Axis” Zoom:
While using the zoom tool, hold down CNTRL (Mac) or START
(PC). Dragging left or right will zoom fluidly in or out
horizontally (I like to call this “accordion zoom”).
Dragging up and down will zoom vertically on the regions
waveform.
Single Zoom:
Click and hold on the zoom tool to access single zoom mode
(or hit F5 twice). After using the zoom tool once, the previously
selected tool will become re-selected. For example, if you
were using the grabber (hand) tool and select the single
zoom tool, after one zoom-click the selected tool would revert
back to the grabber. This is a great tool to use in combination
with the F5 key command.
Pro Tips #4: Zoom Presets
Since we are already on the topic, for this weeks pro tip
I thought we would discuss a cool little feature in Pro Tools
that allows you to save and recall preset levels of zoom.
You may have already discovered this from playing around
the edit windows interface, but if you haven’t notice
the 5 little “lottery balls” at the top of your
screen, here’s how they work.
Each of the balls represents a specific level of zoom, based
on your cursor’s current position. For example, if
you have made a selection, clicking on one of the zoom presets
would magnify that selection to a preset zoom level. Cool
right? Well it gets even better. The 5 presets come setup
with standard levels of zoom, but each one can be edited
to store a user-definable, custom level of zoom.
To store a custom level of zoom:
1. Zoom in to the desired level of magnification. (It doesn’t
matter which track you use, remember this is saving a magnification
level, not a specific track or location, so think of it like
1x, 5x, 10x, etc).
2. Once you reach your desired level of magnification, CMD-Click
(Mac) or CNTRL-Click (PC) on one of the zoom preset balls.
3. The ball will blink letting you know the location has
been successfully stored.
4. Now you can click the location or use the shortcut: CNTL+[preset
#] (MAC) or Start+[preset #] (PC) where [preset #] is on
your alpha (QWERTY) section of your keyboard, not the numeric
keypad.
Hint: If your single key shortcuts are turned on, you can
just press 1-5 on the alpha section of your keyboard to recall
the preset. Set up your zoom presets so 1 represents the
least amount of zoom and 5 represents the most, then with
your fingers on the 1-5 keys you can roll in and out of your
5 presets.
Some editors only use zoom presets to quickly jump in and
out of insertion points and selections, one key stroke in
and one out, very smooth. Give it a try!
Pro Tools Tidbits:
- Digidesign won 3 TEC (Technical Excellence and
Creativity) awards this year for Pro Tools 7, ICON D-Command,
and the M-BOX 2.
If you have a Pro Tools related question that you would
like me to take a shot at answering or have any feedback,
please send it to brian@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.
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