Pro Tools HD Field Recorder Workflow

[@zachmcnees]

I've been a post mixer for 12 years, and a pro tools user for over 20. Just this year I'm starting to work with editors that utilize guide tracks and expect the dialogue editor to re-link to the field recorder audio. This was an incredibly thorough and helpful video, thank you so much!

[@CoversByNate]

When your professors in film school teach you that you need all the files, then you make people do it for years exporting and finally someone calls you out and you find out that this is available and sound stupid for the last 8 years... anyways THANK YOU :) What a great way to work and edit.

[@duuuhhh]

Finally there's someone making tutorials on the post production side of Pro Tools, and good ones. Thanks you so much! Already watched your Automation Capture and Punch video, but I'm hoping some day you make an in-depth tutorial on that Automation Window, I still don't understand a few things in it.

[@paulmaunder3007]

+Tiago Lorena Thanks Tiago. There's more to come!

Great vid. Very thorough and helpful. Video editors: PLEASE retain the field recorder metadata

[@ahmtTyln]

I think you are one of the greatest instructors in youtube. Simple but effective. I appreciate your work.

[@TrackItRight]

does this work for group audio from Avid?

[@johnmellor932]

I follow these steps, but it keeps expanding the whole track rather than the selected clip. I make sure that link edit selection and timeline is enabled. Also when I point toward the original audio folder it doesn't see any audio files. still, I click save index and it seems to find them. I can't be sure it's finding alternate clips from the audio folder in the omf file provided by the editor or if its searching the session audio folder, as it seems to be finding alternate clips I've used in the session before. I'm on Windows 7 running HD 12.7.1 I'm not actually looking for multi mic channels like here, I'm trying to use this method to find alternate takes.

[@rico879]

Man you rock. I'm shocked that Avid put this Highly useful tool kind of hidden, it should be a one more accessible button or plugin I think. Cheers mate!

[@Carrythe2]

That was amazingly neat. It never works this well when I do it. It only finds about half the audio I want, and sometimes it doesn't find any. Plus it always creates tons of tracks, usually two or more tracks with just an exact copy of what came from the AAF, and quite often it includes a lot of files which were not in the folder I specified - random bits of music and FX from the audio folder etc. Maybe I'm using the wrong match criteria...?

[@jorrdy]

I'd like to hear more on this as well, same issues.

[@vincetennant2197]

The main problem is no matter what parameter settings you use, the system ALWAYS searches in the clips bin as well as your assigned location. And so you ALWAYS get shit matches from the bin, including your AAF material over again as well as other stuff that might have same TC (like shot at same time on a different day). This is a bug I've complained to Avid about for YEARS, but for whatever reason they refuse to add a click box in the match parameters to ignore the clip bin and only search in the 'area to search' you define. If you could keep the system ONLY searching in the areas you point it to you'd get a lot less false matches. I encourage you to file a bug report and/or add to ideascale.

[@r0bbage123]

Thank you for your service! Real helpful as always.

[@harrij.9542]

Could this be done with timecode ? Maybe they could not sync the cameras for some reason but i would think they use timecode in such a production.

[@paulmaunder3007]

This particular workflow is reliant on the audio being timecoded. Usually that timecode is on both the camera footage and the audio rushes.

[@allanox]

excellent video

[@soundpostproductionfilm2802]

Can't this function be used with OMF? only AAF?

[@pedrogneves]

Hi Paul, do you know if Logic Pro X has this feature? Thank you for the video!

[@cecilioromo7587]

The Field recorder guide track option doesn't show up for me, any ideas why?

[@jotaudio1]

Same here. I can't find it.

[@esmilges7]

It's a Pro Tools Ultimate exclusive function. If you're using Studio, or previous equivalents, you won't have access to this great function.

[@FLAMENCO961]

You are excelent!! Thanks a lot sir

[@12345sid11]

Hi Paul, is there any settings in ProTools preferences that should be changed before we designate a track as field recorder guide track? Because i followed the exact same steps mentioned in your video and when I clicked expand channels to new tracks by match criteria, all it did was duplicate the guide track into another track. It doesn't expand the poly .wav files onto new tracks despite me saving the location for original audio as the linking index. The editor edited the video and the mix-L track on avid media composer audio was given to me as an AAF. Could you please tell me what I could possibly be doing wrong?

[@johnmellor932]

Every time I try this, it expands beyond the selected area. I select a clip, go through the process, but when I click 'expand to tracks' it finds clips across the whole session instead of the selected area. It makes no difference if I match by criteria or by timecode. Really annoying.

[@joaquinpesce9286]

great. thanks paul!

[@pedrocosta949]

Thank you so much Paul. I appreciate your tutorial. Very useful. 👍

[@paulmaunder3007]

Thanks Pedro.

[@commercialand]

do you know if I can record straight into pro tools with the sound devices mix pre 6? I want to be able to use it so I can see waveforms and process while recording as well.

[@NelsonGast]

Do you know what things editors should do/not do to ensure that you keep all the metadata?

[@paulmaunder3007]

If they don't convert the file format at any point and keep the audio as Broadcast WAV, the metadata should be maintained. Converting to AIFF is something to definitely avoid.

[@NicholsonStudios]

I have been very unsuccessful in finding out how to do this on the editing side. @@paulmaunder3007 I work in Premiere but don't know how to pair down the audio to 1 or 2 track while still making what you do in this video work. Any resources you can offer up?

[@zachmcnees]

@@NicholsonStudios I know you made this comment four years ago - but if you found an answer, let me know, My guess is, it's as simple as the editor simply working off the mix track, or any pieces of audio they choose, and then the dialogue editor can combine those into a single "guide track" and then re-link to all the proper audio.

[@NicholsonStudios]

Yeah I actually took a seminar and they use the .EDL to load all the audio files, so the edit can just use the mix and the program EDiLoad will sync them all up! Hope that helps!@@zachmcnees

[@MirellaBellidoC]

Thanks for your tutorial! I have a question: If they edited only with the reference sound that was sent to the camera and picture is locked, is there a way to sync without losing so much time? The metadata of that audio clips are the ones that the camera generates and they didnt have timecode.

[@klasdykhoff8422]

Great video! Thanx!

[@louberdasco601]

Anyone know what specific Shotgun Mic that is at around the 3 minute mark? I've been seeing that mic on higher budget productions and can't seem to find it on market.

[@paulmaunder3007]

I seem to remember that it was a Neumann although I don't know which model

[@johnmellor932]

So does this feature of pro tools HD negate the need for such software as ediload, Virtual Katy or Titan which use EDL files to do the same job? They are insanly expensive too.

[@paulmaunder3007]

This doesn't negate the need for them, as this is mainly a workflow for the initial conform. If changes are made to an edit part way into a project, you'll still need one of the conforming software options you mentioned unless you want to either do it manually or start the mix again. It would be nice if a re-conforming option was built into Pro Tools though!

[@saxmusic87]

Hi, thanks for this video, is realy useful. But i have a question, if is posible do this, even if the audio metadata is lost?

[@paulmaunder3007]

If all of the metadata is lost then this workflow would not be possible. However, if at least the timecode is retained, there's an option to expand the matching channels by timecode only.

[@widoization]

thank you a lot!

[@paulmaunder3007]

My pleasure

[@jorrdy]

If I keep running into an issue where it's generating way too many tracks, what are the best ways to avoid that? 8 channels or production were recorded, but the sync is netting 50 tracks of audio. Pro tools 10.3.10.

[@vincetennant2197]

It's matching multiple things with the same timecode from different shoot days most likely. If you can't limit it using metadata (like scene and take number), you can try dividing your production audio onto tracks by day and then only pointing that material to the folder with that day's audio-- so your less likley to get matches from other days with the same TC stamp.

[@Se1LaEu]

Nice video!

[@JackGreenAudio]

Does this work in none hd versions of protools ?? Thanks for the videos !!

[@paulmaunder3007]

+JackGreenAudio Unfortunately, the field recorder functions are currently HD only. However, more and more HD features seem to be finding their way into the standard Pro Tools software so it wouldn't surprise me if this becomes available to everyone in the near future.

[@johnmellor932]

Agreed, in version 12 they've given us VCA's and input monitoring, previously HD only. Sadly It seems Avid want to keep almost all post production features to HD only. Especially the most useful ones, the biggest one being surround channels, but other useful ones such as snapshot automation and field tracks remain HD. Its a real pain for post production workers who can't afford HD. The biggest kick in the teeth was the removal of CPTK.

[@car_ventures]

Good video! (But skip to 3:40 to save time)

[@thxstudio]

This is for Protools HD 12?

[@paulmaunder3007]

+THX Studio This video features Pro Tools 11 but the same features apply in Pro Tools 12.

[@sebastianagredoalegria]

I LOVE YOU

[@Qsrar]

How much do you get paid for a job like this?

[@paulmaunder3007]

An audio post production job for a single video?