We are adding a new archiving procedure at FOH that needs to be done at the end of the day every Sunday. Everything is automated, but there are still a couple of steps you’ll need to do:

• Save and Quit Pro Tools.
• Run the “Backup Masters” application located in the dock or on the desktop (the icon looks like a robot).

That’s all there is to it. There is also no need to shut down the Pro Tools computers anymore.

We are adding the house time-of-day timecode to FOH for audio this week. Initially this will only be in the east auditorium, but it will most likely also arrive in the west in the future. We’re adding timecode primarily to stamp the time-of-day to our multitrack recordings on Sunday. We’ll also be looking at ways we can use this with the Venue.

Unfortunately, there is a downside in this addition because we can no longer easily trigger Pro Tools to start and stop recording via the Venue. I’m working on a solution, but for now we will have to resort to old school methods of starting Pro Tools. This is due to the fact that we will no longer be pressing PLAY when using timecode. Instead we need to take Pro Tools ONLINE to sync it to the incoming timecode.

We will continue to manually record our Wednesday night rehearsals. Sunday mornings, however, will rely on timecode. Recording with timecode is very similar to manually recording. Once your tracks are armed for record simply follow these steps:

1. Arm the session for record by clicking the Record button on the transport button.

2. Click the ONLINE button to chase timecode.

When you click the ONLINE button, Pro Tools will start chasing timecode as soon as it reads and locates to the current location. One of the benefits of using timecode for recording is you will no longer need to move the playhead to a new location before you start recording; Pro Tools will automatically locate to the correct location in the timeline once it goes ONLINE. In the event that timecode fails in Pro Tools, please make sure to manually start recording.

Pro Tools Stopped

Pro Tools Running

In addition to Pro Tools, we are also adding timecode to the Venue. The current setup offers a good way to check if Pro Tools is recording since the Venue is reading timecode generated by Pro Tools. When Pro Tools is stopped, the MTC READ window on the Venue will show no time code. When Pro Tools is running, you will see timecode running in the Venue’s MTC READ window.

If you have any questions about using timecode at FOH, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Shortly before Christmas, the latest software for the Venue arrived. I want to take a minute to talk about some new features along with some other tweaks we’ve made to make our FOH workflow easier.

New Console Functions

First up are a couple new functions we’ve programmed into the console using events:

- Backup Mic Repatch
By pressing the “F4″ key located on the right side of the console’s main unit, you can activate an event that will re-patch the auditorium’s backup mic to the worship leader’s channel. This way, should you need the backup mic for the worship leader, you can press one button and have his/her mic show up on the exact same channel you’re already working with.

It’s important to note that when you fire the event, you are actually recalling a snapshot. By recalling that snapshot, you will change where you are in the order of your snapshots so make sure you have the right snapshot selected for your next cue before you recall it. Pressing “Next” may recall ALL SILENT if you’re not careful. If you want to return to the worship leader’s original mic, you have to manually re-patch it.

- Talkback Mutes the Band
If you look under “Events” on the Options page, you will see a new event “Talkback Mutes Band VCA”. By activating this event (click the green dot so that it is highlighted), you have a quick way to mute the band VCA. This way you can silence the band to talk to the worship leader or allow a producer to communicate with the worship leader. The Talkback button is a momentary button so it won’t latch. If you need to latch it, double-tap the talkback button. If you do use this event, we recommend that you disable it before the start of the service to prevent accidentally bumping the Talkback button.

Software Updates

The new software for the Venue adds a couple of great features for us:

- Snapshot the System Tempo
If you right-click on a snapshot’s name on the Snapshots page, you can “Show Tempo”. Clicking the metronome to highlight it for each snapshot will enable you to snapshot the system’s tempo. Clicking the lock icon in the Echofarm plugin will then force it to use the system tempo for its reference. The nice thing about this is now you can snapshot your tempos but also tap a new tempo in the middle of a song without having to mess around in the plugin.

- VCA/Group Spill
This is my favorite feature. By double-tapping the select button for a Group or VCA, you can “spill” the contents of that group or VCA to the left of the master section. For example, double-tapping the Kit VCA will bring all the Kit VCA members right to the center of the desk you can make your adjustments.

One thing I have started doing with this is using one of the VCA’s to create a virtual bank of channels. You might see a VCA on the console called Vitals performing this function. I assign any “vital” channels I need to this VCA. These are channels that might normally be on different banks that I’ll use during a transition. For example, I will typically assign Andy, keys, the worship leader, and title package to my Vitals VCA. This way I can get quick access to everything I need to grab during the transition from worship to the message.

There are some other new features as well such as the ability to copy plugin settings. To find out more, please visit Digidesign’s website. If you have any questions or would like a demonstration of the new features, please ask myself or Luke.

We’ve actually been using AV1 and AV2 for a while now, but I wanted to make sure that everyone on our team understands what they are.

AV1 & AV2 are our feeds from video world. Each “AV” represents one video line containing 8 channels of audio. We note these channels as AV1.1, AV1.2, AV1.3, etc, etc. In the amp room these video lines are connected to dis-embedders which remove the digital audio from the video lines. The digital audio is then input into the digital inputs on the second stage rack for the Venue.

AV1 is primarily used for local video playback (ex. 10B4, video sync’ed with live music, title package when Andy is live at NP). AV2 is primarily used for server delay playback (ex. playback of Andy and title pack for the 11am, Andy and title pack when Andy is speaking from another campus).

You should familiarize yourself with the location of these inputs in the Venue’s patchbay for any last minute or emergency patching.