Collaboration Project Post-mortem CIM400.3

Experiencing how to use Pro Tools collaboration section of the AVID Pro Tools DAW, gave me an insight into just how powerful the modern-day DAW is becoming. The capability of creating a recording session that can be connected via a link through the internet to any part of the global village network is amazing. This project was a great experience and learning curve, (which I can use for future project to help establish my career as an audio engineer).

Once accustomed to using the collaboration section of the Pro Tools DAW, it is relatively simple. It looks very similar to the main layout, but with a couple of more features and functions to navigate through, it’s even better when you have a visual link or direct communication with the collaborator by FaceTime or Zoom. The communication aspect of the project helped to keep on track while proceeding through the session, creating a faster workflow, and made decision making easier. Any problems that we came across, could be amended immediately. This enabled the project to be completed within the milestone timetable planner of 6 weeks.

What I learnt about Pro Tools DAW collaboration section.

Storage of data.

One of the main problems, was the amount of free storage data that was allocated before having to pay for data space. Every recording, deleted part, and track adjustments would quickly start eating into the free storage space. So, doing multiple tracking or heaps of rerecording of parts to get the perfect feel, or sound, would eat up storage space. Once the data storage space in the cloud is full, you can no longer save anymore data parts into the session. If needed, you would have to purchase more online data storage space through AVID.

A solution to storage space.

One solution to keeping the data storage space low, was to save the session as a ‘new session’ on the computer, delete the original session from the cloud and then reinstall the project session as a new version. Once the session was reinstalled into the cloud, a fresh start was established to continue working.

At the beginning, I did lose some recorded parts as I didn’t store the session properly before deleting it, I then had to revert back to a previous session. (which was a little annoying). After the loss of recorded data, my recording colleague and I, started saving copies on our individual computers.

Computer crashers.

Another problem we came across during the tracking part of the sessions, was the cloud would crash easily. That happened when we tried to do too much at one time. The cloud didn’t like 2 people on the session at the same time. So, we also lost recorded data a couple of times due to inexperience of how to use the cloud DAW.

Keeping the session cloud up to scratch and communicating about who was in the cloud DAW, helped elevate the cloud crashing to a minimum.

Midi in the cloud.

We used midi on instruments we didn’t play.

· Midi drums gave us the ability to make changes at any time with the drum grooves and feels.

· Midi keyboards helped us create instrument parts.

I created a Jaw Harp sound by using Structure Free (an AVID synth sound designing keyboard plug-in), which allowed me to access free samples I found online, along with midi sounds in the DAW to design my own Jaw Harp sound.

The best part about using midi for this project, was it helped increase the workflow through the cloud DAW, and gave the ability to quickly make any adjustments whenever needed.

Midi helped to quickly map out the composition by getting the general feel for the song.

Recording into the cloud.

Recording parts into the cloud DAW furthermore helped with workflow. Any parts I was tracking into the cloud DAW, was as if I was recording into my own Pro Tools DAW. The only differences were a collaboration section on each track. When it came to viewing and listening to my colleague’s parts, I could view and hear his work at the click of a mouse button and wait momentarily for it to upload. This is where one person in the session at a time comes into play. Sometimes it would take the Task Manager (cloud data management for uploading changes) a little bit longer to upload the new or adjusted part to come through. (Maybe it depends on cloud activity by other users, but it is still a quicker alternative to me than email).

Recording off the cloud.

We also recorded some parts offline and imported them onto the session. By importing some parts, it helped keep the cloud storage down to a reasonable level. When I was working and recording in the session cloud, my colleague could record his parts on a previous session he had saved on his computer, then upload the new parts into a joint session cloud DAW while I was having a break. This worked really well and I will be using this approach in the future.

Plug-in availability.

Plug-ins can be an issue when working in collaboration sessions. If you both don’t have the identical plug-ins in both DAWs then it can create a problem. I used a BIAS amplifier simulator which sounded great on my DAW, but since my colleague didn’t have it installed onto his DAW, the plug-in sound wasn’t applied.

To get around this, I would play my track with the guitar parts and plug-in sound together and record it onto another track. Which isn’t a big deal, but it does eat into the workflow scenario. We ended up using standard plug-ins that are supplied with Pro Tools whenever possible.

Mixing Down.

Once we had finalised laying down all the tracks and were satisfied with what we had done for this project, I saved a copy, and transferred it into my DAW. Since we had problems with the cloud DAW crashing, I decided to mix it on my own DAW just ‘in case’. I wanted to keep this project on track without any more mishap or glitches.

Conclusion.

What a great experiment, to not only explore Pro Tools collaboration session for this project with my colleague and brother, Tim. We were able to discuss changes on the fly, without having to wait for wav files to arrive through a third party or email. Locking in studio time to work on the song together was the same as the being in a real studio.

There are real advantages to using virtual collaboration DAW studios.

For an example:

• Tim originally recorded his bass guitar straight into the interface onto the DAW. The bass guitar sound was a little bit muddy and the sound quality and level was weak. Normally the process would be to plug the bass guitar into a DI Box then into the interface. Since Tim didn’t have a DI Box, I directed him to plug his bass guitar into his bass amplifier then route it from the lineout of the amp into his interface. We got the right sound, and I heard the rerecorded parts of the bass guitar with a click of a mouse. Brilliant!

• Using midi to map out the drum patterns was an excellent way to ramp up our workflow and helped us to quickly set up a drum groove that we could both work on. I’ve been using midi on and off for a year now and I love its versatility. Midi is a great way to create high quality demos, but I still have a lot to learn on how to use it properly. I love midi for its sound designing capability too.

• The collaboration section of Pro Tools does take a little bit to get use too, as it’s still a waiting game. But having the ability to connect my little project studio to a professional studio could really be a huge advantage. I Imagine being able to talk to a professional producer and audio engineer and getting guidance for a project. They could be checking the progress of a song every step of the way, from the other side of the world. It’s amazing how technology has redefined the recording studio. (Friggin awesome)

Future thoughts.

Listening to the reference songs and the project I just completed. I found that the sounds were miles apart from what I was after. For instant, the midi drum sounds need more work and research. Some tutorials on YouTube suggest using samples for drums rather than midi drums. This will be the next area I want to learn about. Different ways of creating drums with samples.

I’ve started researching on what gear I need to purchase, to get the classic sounds I’m after for this genre. I know this song will have to be rerecorded at some point to bring it up to world standard. But for Tim and myself it ended up as a reasonable demo and a good starting point for future demos.

I have learnt heaps from this experience and look forward to doing new and improved projects. My aim is to improve my audio engineering skills to the best I can be.

I will be using the collaboration section of Pro Tools whenever I can and I’m now looking into how to include different DAWs into my sessions.