Файл: DMC_Manual.pdf

Overview of Automation Modes

The automation modes determine whether a control will:

•Have moves recorded

•Have moves played back

•Use a combination of record and playback

•Be ignored by the automation system

Automation modes are controlled locally on the fader strips and globally by the master automation controls.

The basic automation modes are:

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Faders have two additional modes:

The fader moves to the centre of its travel (centre trim position) and plays back by staying there. When it is touched it starts to record

Trim moves as offsets from the Play Pass using the +/-20dB scale to the right of the fader. The fader stays in record until the mode is changed manually, glide is initiated or timecode stops.

Auto Trim

This is the same as Trim, except that when it is released the fader matches back to the Play Pass position using the Auto Glide Time.

Table 7: Fader Automation modes

Automation control

There are two sets of Automation Controls on the lower AFU:

•Master Automation Controls

•AFU Automation Controls

Automation Scope

Scope is used to determine whether or not a control can have its automation mode changed by the Master Automation controls.

Also, controls in the AFU must be in scope for their automation modes to be changed by the AFU Automation controls.

The current Automation Scope is part of the Mix/Pass. Changes to Automation Scope are not saved unless the Record Pass is saved.

Fader, Cut and Desk Scope

Any control that is not in Isolate is in Scope unless the

DESK AUTO, CUT AUTO or FADER AUTO keys have been toggled off.

To toggle Faders in and out of control Scope, Press the FADER AUTO key.

Faders (not in Isolate) are in Scope if the led above the key is illuminated.

To toggle CUT keys in and out of control Scope, Press the CUT AUTO key.

CUT keys (not in Isolate) are in Scope if the led above the CUT AUTO key is illuminated.

To toggle all other controls in and out of control Scope, Press the DESK AUTO key. Controls not in Isolate will be in Scope when the led above the DESK AUTO key is illuminated.

To place all controls in Scope (including those in Isolate), Press and hold the ALL/SCOPE key.

Press the Master Automation key(s) for the required Automation Mode. All controls will be put into the selected Automation Mode.

If any of the DESK AUTO, CUT AUTO or FADER AUTO keys have been toggled off then the appropriate set of controls will be unaffected.

Release the ALL/SCOPE key.

If a Trim mode is selected, only the Faders will have their Automation Mode changed.

Now use the Master REC, PLAY, TRIM and GLIDE keys to change the Mode of controls in Scope (i.e. without using the ALL/SCOPE key as well).

If the Master ISOL key is pressed then all controls in scope will be Isolated and taken out of scope.

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To place controls in a path in Scope without changing the Automation Mode

Toggle the state of the DESK AUTO, CUT AUTO and FADER AUTO keys as required. Press and hold the ALL/SCOPE key, then press the required Access key.

All controls in the path will be put in Automation Scope, except those excluded by the DESK AUTO, CUT AUTO and FADER AUTO keys.

The current Automation Modes of controls will remain unaffected. Release the ALL/SCOPE key.

The Access keys for as many paths as necessary can be pressed while the ALL/SCOPE key is held down.

This can also be useful for putting the AFU controls back in scope on a single path, i.e. turn off CUT AUTO and FADER AUTO, hold down ALL/SCOPE then press the Access key on the required path.

To remove a control in the AFU from Scope

Press the Access key for the required path. The processing in the path will be shown on the AFU.

Press and hold the ALL/SCOPE key. The touch leds for controls in Scope in the AFU will illuminate.

Touch the controls to be removed from Scope.

The touch leds will toggle off and on each time the control is touched. Release the

ALL/SCOPE key.

This can be used to leave controls in the current automation mode and then select a different automation mode for the remainder. For instance, press the Master REC key (to select Lock Record) with only DESK AUTO active, take the EQ Band 1 Gain control out of scope, then press the Master PLAY key. The EQ Band 1 Gain control will still be in Lock Record.

To remove all controls from Scope and Isolate them, press and hold the ALL/SCOPE key and press the ISOL key.

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The Mix/Pass Tree

A Mix/Pass Tree always starts with Mix/Pass 1.1.

A Mix/Pass Tree is displayed graphically for selecting a Mix/Pass revision as the Play Pass or editing the Tree.

Mix/Passes

Each Mix/Pass contains:

•An Event List containing an Initial Snapshot (ISS) followed by Automation Events

•Automation Modes and Automation Scope as they were when timecode stopped at the end of the pass *

•A Label List *

•A Safety Snapshot *

•A list of Gangs and Links *

*When you load a Mix/Pass, you are given the option to selectively load these parts.

Initial Snapshot

The Initial Snapshot (ISS) is at the beginning of the Event List.

The ISS contains the settings of all controls that can be automated when a New Mix/Pass Tree is created.

The ISS settings are saved in special Automation Events which all have a Timecode of zero. Only ISS events can have a Timecode of zero.

The ISS is updated when a control is taken out of Isolate for the first time, depending if this preference has been set in Preferences / Automation.

The ISS takes the control setting either when the system goes into Play (for controls that are taken out of Isolate before Play) or when a control is taken out of Isolate if the system is already in Play.

Updating the ISS creates a Record Pass (when the system goes into Play or if it is already in Play).

The new ISS settings are not saved unless the Record Pass is saved.

The primary function of the ISS is to provide an initial setting for any control.

This is so that the control has a value to return to, such as when using Glide or when the system comes out of Play.

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A Safety Snapshot is taken when Play is pressed to start timecode running. It is a Snapshot of the whole console (i.e. it is not affected by either Automation Scope or Snapshot Scope). Otherwise, it is the same as a standard Snapshot.

The Safety Snapshot is not affected by and does not affect the automation system. However, it is stored with a Mix/Pass (when a Record Pass is kept).

A Safety Snapshot is only used when loading a Mix/Pass revision from the Mix/Pass Tree. It can optionally be loaded or ignored at this point.

One way in which this can be used is to have an empty Mix/Pass Tree that has a Safety Snapshot with favourite control settings.

This could be loaded so that, for instance, the Safety Snapshot is applied before a New Mix/Pass Tree is created.

Label List

The Label List is a set of grabbed timecode values with short text descriptions (i.e. Labels).

These can be used to mark significant points in timecode (e.g. scene changes, choruses).

The main use of the Label List is as a source of useful timecode values for functions such as Locate, Cycle, Safety nets, offline editing, etc.

Fig 91: Label List

Play Pass

The Play Pass is used to play back control moves.

As timecode runs at play speed, the automation system uses the times stored against the Automation Events to determine when the control value in each event should be played back.

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Record Pass

A new Record Pass is made when changes are made to the Play Pass. When a Record Pass is kept then it becomes the new Play Pass.

Timecode Considerations for Mix/Passes

The timecode at which an event is recorded is stored in a format that is independent of timecode.

However, each event time that is stored will depend on the current frame rate. This means that the frame rate is significant for a particular Mix/Pass. For instance, a Mix/Pass that is recorded at 25 frames per second (fps) should be played back at 25fps.

This does not prevent a Mix/Pass from being played back at a different frame rate, although AMS Neve strongly advise against this as it will cause frame slippage and will have other unpredictable effects.

Encore will warn the user if there is a mismatch between the currently selected framerate and automation previously recorded at a different framerate.

For this reason, it is not possible to change the framerate in the middle of automating.

Timecode Display

A consequence of the method of storing time values is that the display format can be changed at will (although this would probably not be done in practice).

Timecode can be displayed in standard HH:MM:SS:FF format or as Foot-Frames, as long as the same frame rate is used.

In all places where the timecode value is displayed (Main Encore screen, Offline Editing, Label List etc), Foot/Frame will be displayed instead of Timecode.

Offline Automation

Mix/Passes are also created when using Encore's offline automation functions (Copy Path Data, Mix Conforming, Fader Moves List, etc.). When an offline automation function is used to make changes, a new Mix/Pass is created so that the existing Mix/Pass (i.e. source Mix/Pass) is preserved.

Mix/Pass Trees and individual Mix/Passes can also be transferred to a separate computer that has Offline Encore installed on it. This allows offline automation functions to be performed without interrupting work on the the console.

Setting Automation Modes

The current Automation Modes are part of the Mix/Pass.

If no other actions have or would cause a Record Pass to be created then any changes to Automation Modes will create a Record Pass (when the system goes into Play or if it is already in Play).

Changes to Automation Modes are not saved unless the Record Pass is saved.

A transition from armed to recording (e.g. in Lock Record) does not count as a change to the Automation Mode.

Record Modes & Stop

When the system comes out of Play (i.e. timecode is no longer running at Play speed, usually because of a Stop command), any controls that are Recording will return to their armed state. No glide rates are used, so the control will snap back in one frame.

This will also happen to controls that are part way through a glide (i.e. they will snap back from whatever value they have when the system comes out of Play).

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Automation Modes

Isolate

A control in Isolate will not play back or record moves.

The action of Isolating a control takes it out of Automation Scope. However, a control in Isolate can be in Automation Scope - this is the state of the whole console when a New Mix/Pass Tree is started.

If a control in Isolate is moved then the audio will be affected but no automation data will be recorded. This can be useful for testing a move without recording a new Mix/Pass.

To Isolate a control, turn off the current automation mode for the control.

For instance, for a fader that is in Lock Record, press the REC key and the fader will be Isolated. This also applies if the fader is Recording (flashing REC led).

To Isolate all controls in Automation Scope, press the Master ISOL key.

To Isolate all controls

Press and hold the ALL/SCOPE key.

Press the Master ISOL key.

Release the ALL/SCOPE key.

This can be useful if only a few controls need to be automated, and particularly if subsets of controls in the AFU need different automation modes.

For instance, all controls are removed from scope, a path is called to the AFU, EQ Band 1 is added to scope and put into Lock Record. EQ Band 1 is then removed from scope, EQ Band 2 is added to scope and put into Play, and so on according to the current need.

Play

A control in Play will replay previously recorded moves.

If a control is moved then the audio will not be affected and no automation data will be recorded. Also, the control will snap back to the Play Pass position as soon as it is released.

The Play Pass position (control value) will be displayed in the appropriate alpha display while the control is touched (e.g. if a fader is touched, the Play Pass values will be displayed in the fader strip alpha display until the fader is released, assuming that Fader Level Indication On Touch is enabled).

Lock Record

A control in Lock Record will play back moves until it is touched, at which point it will start to Record.

When a control is released it will stay at the current position until it is moved again, the system drops out of play (e.g. timecode stops), a different automation mode is selected or the control is glided back to the Play Pass.

Press and hold the FDR MODE key on the required fader strip, and press REC. The integral led will illuminate red.

The fader is now armed for Record and will play back any moves in the Play Pass. This will also happen if the Master REC key is pressed and the fader is in scope.

To Record fader moves, move the fader as required. The led in the REC key will flash red when fader touch is detected. Any moves in the underlying Play Pass will be overwritten. When the fader is released, it will stay in the same position, the led in the REC key will continue to flash red and moves in the Play Pass will continue to be overwritten.

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To Glide faders back to the Play Pass

Press the GLIDE key.

The fader will match back to the Play Pass, using the Manual Glide Time.

The led in the REC key will stop flashing and return to steady red. This will also happen if the Master GLIDE key is pressed and the FADER AUTO key is on (i.e. faders are in scope).

To Manually match faders back to the Play Pass

Hold the fader and press the GLIDE key.

The alpha display above the fader will display arrows to show which way the fader should be moved to match back to the Play Pass. Move the fader in the direction indicated.

When the fader passes through the Play Pass, the fader will drop out of Record, the alpha display will stop displaying arrows and the led in the REC key will stop flashing. Release the fader.

The fader will move to the Play Pass position and continue replaying the Play Pass.

To Select a different automation mode

The simplest way to do this is to press the PLAY key. If the fader still needs to be armed then press the REC key immediately afterwards. If the Master REC key is pressed then all faders in scope will return to or be set to Lock Record armed.

If REC is pressed while the fader is Recording then the fader will stop Recording and be Isolated.

Lock Record with CUT Keys

To put a CUT key into Lock Record.

Press the CUT MODE key and press the REC button. The integral led will illuminate red. The CUT key is now armed for Record and will play back any switch changes in the Play Pass.

This will also happen if the Master REC key is pressed and the CUT key is in scope.

To Record CUT key switching, the led in the CUT REC key will flash red when the state of the cut is switched. Any switch changes in the Play Pass will be overwritten by the current setting.

When the key is released, the led in the CUT REC key will continue to flash red and switch changes in the Play Pass will continue to be overwritten.

To overwrite previously written Cuts without changing the current state of the Cut, whilst timecode is running, press and hold the CUT MODE key then press the CUT key.

The CUT led will flash to indicate that the previous automation is being over-written, but the state of the Cut will not be changed.

To return to the Play Pass, select a different automation mode.

•If the Master REC key is pressed then all CUT keys in scope will return to or be set to Lock Record armed.

•If the Master GLIDE key is pressed then all Recording CUT keys will return to Lock Record armed in one frame.

•If CUT REC is pressed while the CUT key is Recording then the CUT key will stop Recording and be Isolated.

Lock Record with AFU Controls

To put AFU controls into Lock Record, press the Access key for the required path. Press the REC key on the AFU fader strip.

The led above the key will illuminate red. The red AUTO leds next to the AFU fader, the strip fader and the PAN/BAL Logicator will illuminate.

The AFU controls are now armed for Record and will play back any moves in the Play Pass.

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