A Quick Pro Tools Tip: Fix your automation in seconds!

Here’s a little shortcut, I found and I don’t want to deny it from you guys. A cool trick to fix your automation if you’ve done a mistake.

Start with this little example. You’ve got an automation that looks like this:

And your goal is to get to a falling curve like this:

Now the important part: Select your automation beginning with the point you want to start to lower the level and ending with the point you want your level reach the low point (or every automated parameter else).

Now, press X and let the magic happen…

It’s no big deal, but it might come in handy once in a while.

(You have to enable Keyboard Command Focus Mode for this shortcut)

Do It Safe – Download Benztown world AIDS day shells here for free

AIDS is a certain problem all over the world, it affects people and their lives everywhere. There is still too much poeple having no idea about this desease and how it could change their lives and the live of others. Benztown wants you to take action! It needs less than 2 minutes to do so and make all the world aware of HIV. Accociate yourself with the people who suffer from this desease, open the eyes of people and make them care. Just download the pieces below (click the arrow), plug in your call letters and you are ready to roll! Let’s make the world a little better place with what we all do : Great Imaging!

Cheers

andy

Do you really need……

What do you need badly in your working environment? Which things would make the difference – for you personally, for your skillset, for your station? What would help you to be more creative? How could you be able to focus on the important things? How could you improve yourself each day? How could you develop the sound of your station?

Is it really the things you think you need so badly (the new whatever plugIn) or is it the more harder to do things to achieve the big picture? Think about it only for 5 minutes…..Make a difference! NOW!

Switching songs or my beatmix addiction

Like you know, I do the Benztown CHR library by myself and as a truly CHR Imaging guy, I am looking consequently to extend my beatmix techniques and standardize new ideas for a period of time to develop the brand of the stations I work for. What I really like these days is a kind of switching songs within one beatmixed song. “Check the word “beat”

Not a dramatic change to the song, but fun and easy to do, when you

1. have the opportunity to go through the songs you want to beatmix and…

2. work in the grid or any tempo synced mode. You can also sync the key, not just the tempo.

I am looking forward listening to your stuff to post it right here…just shoot me an email (blog@benztown.com)

Andy

THE Sidechain Prince Pt1 or how to use a compressor as enormous time saver to create a cutting VO Sound!

Typically you use a compressor right in the VO track or in a VO Sub or VO AUX to make your VO guy sound thick and powerful In an old post I showed you how my VO sub looks and compression, EQ-ing and limiting is an endless topic to me.  We @ benztown do adjustments in our settings almost ever second week and you can always find a better, tougher, punchier and more brilliant sound in comparing various compressors and presets. Today I want to show you how compressors with a sidechain function work as a volume adjuster. Save time, make your VO cut through! Enter the Sidechain Prince Pt 1:

Video:The Sweeping Society – Create an unbelievable FILTER FX on Music.

For all you electronic music lovers –  here comes one of the (what I call) back to the roots FX every DJ and House Producer was after in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. It is still a very popular Filter FX in music production and radio imaging, especially for creating beatmixes and unbelievable hook promos. My volunteer Andre and I put together a Video tutorial for you….It takes you less than 3 minutes of your time, but will change your skill set in an extraordinary way. Enjoy!

Imaging should support on-air talent, a common wisdom often told, but almost never executed!

There is a ton of great shows out there, done by great talent and with massive ratings and great economical success. So all parts of the show should be executed well, right? I don’t know if I would agree on that. The point often lacking is great or what I call matching or Perfect Imaging.

1. Perfect Imaging should support the needs and the positionings (segments the talent or show needs or want to own, like comedy, gossip….) 2. Perfect Imaging should create a difference to the opponent and 3. Perfect Imaging should make the show recognizable. That means to me not less than once heard and remembered for ever.

What you are gonna do about it? Will you think twice about the show or talent you work for? Will you support the strategic goals through your imaging? Will you support the positioning of the show/talent? AND THE MOST IMPORTANT : HOW DO YOU WANT TO DO THAT?

Stuck in old plugIn Combos? An Unbelievable Vocal FX PlugIn Combo from outta space!

Ryan our Imaging guy for Country was listening through some Rock library Bits and discovered a Sweeper Harry did Muse’s outta Space concert ages ago.

Ryan loved the sound of the amazing plugIn combo on Rick’s Voice and I really digged that Vocal FX, too. So here it is : The Preset for an unbelievable Outta Space Sound Vocal FX!

Harry, Thanks for sharing!

How Maria Aragon aged 10 got a duet done with the biggest Popstar of today : Lady Gaga! ARE you still whining you can’t do it….!

Maria Aragon is a 10 years old girl form Canada, she loves to sing and has more than 19!!!! Million clicks on youtube. Her voice is unbelievable for a girl her age and she is close to make her biggest dream true. While having an interview at Hot 103 Winnepeg, Lady Gaga called and invited the gorgeous girl to perform a duet with her live on stage at her Canda concert in Toronto.

Maria, a totally unkown girl from Canada will perform with the biggest pop star on earth: LADY GAGA! How realistic is that? Why you think you can’t get your GM to open a budget for….? Why you think you can’t ever get as good as Imaging Icon Jeff Thomas? Why you can’t make a FX library on your own (before Oli and I started benztown we never did our own FX, we bought stuff and never thought we could learn how to do it and now our own library Fame FX will be out in latest 15 days)?

What YOU can learn from Maria?

Katy Perry Ramp Loop Remix Madness Video Tutorial or Elastic Audio and the Grid a truely powerful combo!

In this Video Oli shows you how to remix a Katy Perry Ramp Loop or better said how to mix two loops with different tempos and beatmatch them with ProTools 8. You will also learn how to identify the beat proper and why we use the GRID Mode almost in every session. So, it was never as easy as today to create great beatmixes, remixes and other beatmatched stuff using elastic Audio and the GRID mode. Have fun while watching the video and send along your best beatmixes and I am gonna post them next week. blog@benztown.com