DigiDesign Digidesign Pro Tools 8.0, Reference Manual

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Pro Tools Reference Guide 990
When to Use Sub-Paths
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To help simplify large sessions, use sub-paths
to route static (or, stationary) elements directly
to the output channel or channels.
For example, film dialog is often mixed to the
center channel to anchor this essential sound el-
ement to the picture. Instead of assigning a six-
channel panner to dialog tracks and panning
the tracks to the center speaker only, you can
route the dialog track’s main output to a mono
(Center) sub-path.
Extending Stereo Mixing Conventions to
Surround Mixing
Stereo mixing sets the precedent for active and
static panning, and surround mixing can bene-
fit from the same basic principles.
Panning a sound back-and-forth between the
left and right speakers is best used as a special ef-
fect. In a typical music mix, the basic tracks are
placed in the stereo sound field and remain
there.
Surround mixes can become incoherent if too
many elements are continuously moving, For
special effects, some tracks can be panned
dy-
namically, bouncing between speakers or sweep-
ing from one side to the other.
Example Paths and Signal
Routing for a Surround Mix
The examples that follow show how Auxiliary
Inputs, Master Faders, and other Pro Tools sig-
nal routing features can be used for stem mixes,
submixes, and similar project needs.
In these examples, music and effects are being
mixed for a trailer, in 5.1 surround. Separate
stem mixes (for music and for effects) are to be
mastered to 8-track MDM.
Example Multichannel Paths
Signal routing is the key element in any
Pro Tools surround session. Signal routing is
configured and defined in the I/O Setup dialog.
Example Output Paths
Figure 17 shows output paths defined in the I/O
Setup dialog of an example session that was cre-
ated on a Pro Tools|HD system with one 96 I/O
audio interface.
Figure 17. I/O Setup, example output paths