Advanced Uses of Automation In Logic Pro 9

Logic Pro 9 has a lot of options for tweaking midi and control data and when it comes to Automation there are a few cool features that follow in this tradition. In this article I will discuss 2 features that you may be unaware of and should definitely know about.

REGION BASED AUTOMATION DATA

So when you open your Track Automation view you can adjust the lines to match the corresponding parameter, such as volume/pan/sends/etc… Pretty straightforward, right? Now if we look under the Options menu in Logic we see the Track Automation drop down menu. At the bottom of that menu are some very cool options. The first thing to do is to select a region that has automation data written over it in the track view. Something like this:

Now what we will do next is take that data and permanently stamp it to the region. So under the Options Menu go to the Track Automation Menu and select Move Current Track Automation Data to Region. Now your region should look like this:

Now the Automation data is available anytime even when the Automation track display is set to Display Off. And you can also tweak the data just as you would normally. Kind of cool if your mixing and want only certain types of Automation to happen over specific regions and not worry about tweaking the whole line. Also the region is much more self contained and easier to move around. We could have said Move All Track Automation Data to Region if we had multiple Automation parameters happening and then that leads us to the next section…..

SEQUENCING AUTOMATION DATA via THE HYPER EDITOR

Now this next feature is a little more advanced and opens the doors for sequencing Control data, just as you would Note data, in the Hyper Editor. The first step is to select the region with Automation written over it like normal ( the first pic on top ) and go to Options/Track Automation/Move All Track Automation Data to Region. Now your region should look something like this:

So what’s happened here is the Track Automation data has been converted in to Hyper data. So if you go to the Window Menu and open the Hyper Editor you should see something that looks like this ( you probably want to zoom in ):

So what is the use of all this? Well, there are things you can do a lot faster with the Hyper Editor than simply by drawing lines and the resolution is now grid based so pattern based Automation ( similar to the Pencil Tool shapes in Pro Tools ) is now very easy. So use the Pointer Tool, Pencil Tool, or Line Tool to reshape the curves and tweak the step data. Once your done go back to the Arrange Page and select the region. Now go to that old Options Menu and select Track Automation/Move All Region Control Data to Track Automation. Now the region should show the changes you’ve made back in the Track Automation view and has converted the data back to normal, make sure you’re viewing the parameter you’ve tweaked ( i.e. Volume ).

I hope you find some cool uses for these features. Check out the Logic Pro 9 – Automation Tutorial for a step by step/in depth look at everything discussed in this article and a lot more.

Thanks for tuning in.

Malcolm

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 1:34 pm. It is filed under Logic Pro 9, blog and tagged with Automation, Editors, Hyper Editor, Logic Pro 9. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.