Even if there is no timecode associated with the project – and you might want to check “Why Not?” before proceeding – we can still use cue marks at the start and end of the cues, safe in the knowledge that if we have word-clock referenced our recorders and editors, these tracks should not wander off sync for several minutes. Of course, sample-accurate timecode is really the way to go, but with hard sync points front and back it is surprising how accurately we can re-synchronize elements in a downstream workstation; just don’t expect the sync reference to stay lip-sync accurate over too long a period, however.

Will this be added later?

And maybe the project is going to involve some additional music trimmings later in the process, when it might pass to a well-known percussionist for some Latin-American embellishments. Since the producers are not sure what format these elements might take – either recoded live, or sampled and then added as MIDI data – we need to ensure that any tracks we are presented with do not interfere with these subsequent materials.

This shouldn’t be a problem in normal circumstances, since we always (don’t we!) run a master click when there is a remote chance that MIDI Tempo Maps might figure in a DAW-based production. It just makes tidy sense anyway.

The Golden Rule in these matters is that we need to ensure that be scrupulous in avoiding any tendency to consider our audio productions as living in a closed world. All of us need to reflect that audio production is often a highly collaborative process; just because we work in a small town within the Mid-west, for example, does not mean that we need to consider the walls of our studio as a bounded universe.

With Internet-based file-exchange services such as Rocket Network and its strategic partners, plus broadband access from virtually anywhere, we can become involved in projects that move freely around the major cities of the world.

No longer need geography nor immediate community be a hindrance; nowadays it is possible to offer create DAW-centered services, including sound design, music editorial and composition, to a wider audience. The critical considerations are the ability to accommodate a variety of incoming media, and to develop file formats and media that can be handled by your collaborators.

Next Time: “File Formats & Media.”
Then: “Summary: Putting all the pieces together.”

©2001 Mel Lambert/Media&Marketing. All rights reserved