Why Use Templates?

One of the great things about using software is that everything you did in the project can be saved and opened at a later point, if, for example, you wanted to make revisions to a file.

Another use of stored files is templates, generic files that can be opened and used at any time. Templates save setup data that only need to be done once. A film score template is an especially good use of this feature.

For this exercise, we are using the file created in Film Assignment 1.

Duplicate Your Previous Score File and Setup a Template and Audio Tools Folder

•With DP quit/closed, look in your Beach Movie Project Folder, and find the file your created for Beach Movie 1, probably called Beach Movie unless you renamed it. Click it once to highlight it.

•Go File > Duplicate to duplicate your file. Rename the new file Scoring Template.

•On your desktop, go File > New Folder to create two new folders on your desktop. Rename the folders DP Templates and Audio Tools respectively.

•Drag your new file Scoring Template into your new folder DP Templates.

•In your Beach Movie Project folder, locate the file 2-pop.aif (it is probably in the Beach Movie Files folder). Option-drag it to the new Audio Tools folder to copy it there.

Make sure you option-drag--you want to leave the original 2-pop where it was.

•Open Scoring Template in DP.

Remove Track Data from your Template File

We want to create an empty file with useful setup data. We need to remove all MIDI and audio data, and also any "links" to them that are contained in the file.

We start by removing all the data contained in the tracks.

•In your DP file, make sure the Tracks window (Project > Tracks) is open.

•BE CAREFUL WITH THE NEXT TWO STEPS: Go Edit > Select All to select all the data in your sequence.

Select All will select all tracks, from the beginning to the end of your sequence.

•Hold down the Shift key and click on the Conductor track to DE-SELECT it.

Repeat--we want to select all the data in the sequence, except the data on the Conductor track.

We DO want to remove the 2-pop data.

•Hit the Delete key to remove all data from the selected tracks in your sequence. You should see all data disappear leaving Conductor track info in place.

You can always Undo if you accidentally remove Conductor track info.

Rename the Sequence

Now we want to rename the sequence and clean up the Chunks window.

•Go Project > Chunks to open the Chunks window.

•In the Chunks window, find the sequence you are editing. Option click its name to "pop" it, then enter the name Film Cue and hit Return.

•Select any other Chunks in your file. In the Chunks window mini-menu, select Delete to remove all selected Chunks.

You should now have a single Chunk in your file called Film Cue.

Remove Movie File

Now we want to remove any reference to movie files still in the new file.

•Go Project > Movie to open the Movie window.

•In the Moview window mini-menu, select Close Movie. The Movie window will close and any reference to a movie will be removed.

Remove Markers

Now we want to remove all but one of the markers.

•Go Project > Markers to open the Markers window.

•In the Markers window, go Edit > Select All to select all your markers.

Make sure you are in the Markers window when you do this and that you haven't selected anything except your markers.

•Hold down the Shift key and click on the marker that's on 1/1/000 (probably labeled START) to de-select it.

•In the Markers mini-menu, select Delete to remove all the selected markers.

•Make sure the remaining marker at 1/1/000 is locked and is named Film Start.

Edit Conductor Track Data

Now we want to edit the Conductor track data to make it generic.

•Select the Conductor track and go Project > Event List to open the Conductor track Event List. If necessary, locate to the beginning of your sequence. You should see the data for bars -1 and 1.

•The data for bar -1 should stay the same--meter of 4/4, tempo quarter note=120, key signature of C major.

•For bar 1, change as necessary--you want a meter of 4/4, a tempo of 120. I usually don't put key signature data in bar 1 in case there's a pickup.

•Drag down over any remaining data in the Conductor track to select it, then hit the Delete key to remove it. Your Conductor track should now show generic data in only bars -1 and 1.

Clean Up Tracks Window

Now we want to clean up the tracks in the Tracks window.

You can choose to make use of the tracks that are there now, or remove and replace to fit your working style. The following is how I would do it.

•Either create or find a stereo audio track. Rename it Mix and move it to the top of the window, just under the Conductor Track.

•Either create or find the 2-Pop mono audio track. Move it just below the Mix track.

•For both audio tracks, set their input to None and the output to a working audio output, e.g. Built-In Audio 1-2.

•Either create or find the DLS Instrument track in your window. Move it just below the 2-Pop track. Set its output to a working audio output, e.g. Built-In Audio 1-2.

•For the two audio tracks, set their input to None and the output to a working audio output, e.g. Built-In Audio 1-2.

Of course, you may prefer and different VI, or you may be using V-Racks.

•Remove all other audio tracks.

•Either create or find 20 MIDI tracks, placed under the DLS Instrument track.

•Assign the output of the first 9 MIDI tracks to DLSMusicDevice-1 on MIDI channels 1-9 respectively. Assign the outputs of the next 6 tracks to DLSMusicDevice-1 on MIDI channels 11-16 respectively.

•Assign the output of the last 5 MIDI tracks all to DLSMusicDevice-1 on MIDI channel 10.

To keep our window organized, we are going to create some "spacer" tracks.

•Select the bottom MIDI track. Hold down the Option key, and go Project > Add Track > Multiple MIDI Tracks. In the resulting window, enter the number 3, and hit OK--3 generic MIDI tracks will be added to the bottom of the Tracks window.

•Assign the output of all three MIDI tracks to None, and disable playback on all three.

•Rename the 3 tracks as follows:

--AUDIO--
--MIDI--
--PERC--

•Drag the --AUDIO-- track directly below the Conductor track, the --MIDI-- track to just above the top MIDI track, and the --PERC-- track just above the MIDI tracks assigned to MIDI channel 10.

•For the top 15 MIDI tracks, set Default Patch assignments that correspond to patches you might need in your most common project. For the bottom 5 MIDI tracks, set the Default Patch assignment to Standard Kit or a similar drum patch.

•Rename your tracks in way that works for you. You might simply duplicate the names of the patches. My settings are shown below--note the different track names for the 4 percussion tracks.

About Digital Performer and Audio Files

To understand the next section it's important to understand how DP references audio files.

As you may know, audio files are not "contained" in a DP sequence in the way that MIDI data is.

Instead, audio files are stored somewhere on your hard drive.

DP only keeps information on the location of those files. When DP wants to edit or play audio data, it goes to that location and pulls in the data it needs.

Most often, nothing you do in DP has any effect on the audio files themselves.

We usually store audio files in the Audio Files folder inside the typical DP project file. That's a folder that DP itself creates, and it's the default location DP uses to store a file you make when you record a track., for example.

But audio can be stored anywhere--DP simply keeps a record of where to find it. That information is shown in the DP Soundbites window.

When you duplicate a DP file, all of its audio file reference information is retained, unchanged. Any audio file information that was in the original file stays exactly the same in the new file.

In other words, the new file is still referencing audio files in their original location--which is usually a folder inside the original project folder. You haven't duplicated any additional audio information.

This is why you run into trouble if you copy your DP file without including the audio files, and then try to open the file on another computer--DP will look for those files back on the computer where your original file is.

Also, any audio that you record in your duplicated file will be placed into the Audio Files folder in the original project folder.

In our template file, we need to remove the references to the original data, but not remove the data itself from its original location.

And we need to do two other things: 1) put the 2-pop back into the template sequence, and 2) reset the default location for future audio recordings.

Remove References to Audio Files in the Soundbites Window

•Go Project > Soundbites to open the Soundbites window. You will see a list of the Soundbites that are currently referenced by your DP file.

"Soundbites" includes original audio files plus information on any edits you have previously made.

•Go Edit > Select All to select all your Soundbites.

As always when using Select All, make sure you have only selected data in the Soundbites window.

•In the Soundbites mini-menu, select Remove From List. The reference to all soundbites will be removed from your Soundbites list.

DO NOT select Delete (if you do, you will get a dialogue warning you of the following). Delete will remove the actual audio data from your hard drive entirely, and you will not have the files available in your previous project.

•Your Soundbites window should now be empty.

About the Audio Tools Folder

Earlier, we created a folder called Audio Tools, and we put a copy of 2-pop.aif into it. If you didn't do that before, go ahead and do that now.

It is often helpful to create a folder that contains frequently used audio files. Besides a 2-pop, the folder might include test tones, "slate" dialogue (take 1, take 2, etc.), signature music used for logos, or common sound effects.

If we reference these audio files in our templates, then they are ready to go when we start a new project--very handy.

However, a couple of cautions--

1) The audio files remain in the Audio Tools folder. If that folder gets moved, template files won't be able to find the audio files when a template is opened.

2) If you are "portable" and use several different computers, the Audio Tools folder needs to be on all computers in exactly the same spot for the audio files to show up in the DP template.

For archiving purposes, you may want to Save As your DP file under another name, using the "Duplicate audio data" feature."

Put In A Commonly Used Audio File

•If you haven't already, go Project > Soundbites window to open the Soundbites window.

•In the folder Audio Tools, find the file 2-pop.aif. Carefully drag it directly into your DP file's Soundbites window. It's name will appear in the Soundbites window.

The original audio file 2-pop.aif is still in the Audio Tools folder.

•In DP, if you have not done so already, go Project > Tracks to open the Tracks window. If necessary, scroll your track so that you can see measure 0 in the Tracks window. Find the track 2-Pop.

•In the Soundbites window, find the file 2-pop.aif . Using the mono waveform icon in its MVE column, drag the file directly into measure 0 of the the 2-Pop track. A "soundbite" should appear at the start of measure 0.

Reset the Default Record Location

We will do this here, and also again when we create a new file from the template file.

•In the DP Tracks window, find the Mix track, and set its input to Built In Audio 1-2. Click the record button for the Mix track to "arm" it.

•DP, go Studio > Audio Monitor to open the Audio Monitor window.

The Mix track is highlighted at the top of the Audio Monitor window.

•Select the name of the track in the Take File column. In the Audio Monitor mini-menu, select Set Take Folder.

•Navigate to the DP Template folder. Hit the New Folder button to create a new folder, and rename it Audio Files.

•Hit Choose to reset the Take Folder.

•Expand the Audio Monitor window to the right to show the Take Folder column. In the Mix column, clicking on the Take Folder name toggles a long and short pathway to the Take Folder. Confirm that your Take Folder is in DP Templates>Audio Files.

•In the Tracks window, set the input for the Mix track to None to conserve screen space.

Set Additional Parameters and Save Your Template File

•Make any additional changes to your file that might make your life easier next time you start a film project.

•Save your file, and quit Digital Performer.

Starting a New Digital Performer Project Using the Template

DP allows you to Save File as Template, which can certainly do. When you create a new file, DP will allow you to use the template as a starting point. The new file will have all your Start Time information entered, and it will also create a project folder that has the correct default Take File folder in it.

However, the template file will not have an Markers, nor any of the audio files you may have place in the project. I prefer to simply duplicate the template file, then reset the Take File folder, and I'm ready to go.

You may certainly use the method that works best for you.

•On your Desktop, create a new folder. Rename it with your new project name.

•Open your new project, and create a new folder called Audio Files.

•In DP Templates, find the file Scoring Template. Option-drag it to your new project folder to copy it there.

•Rename your DP file with your project name.

•Open your new DP file in DP.

•In DP, go Studio>Audio Monitor to open the Audio Monitor window.

•In the Audio Monitor window, double click the Mix track, and reset the Takes File as described above.

Customize Your New File

Assuming you are working on a film score, there are a couple of other things to do before you start working.

You may want to move your film into your project folder.

•Go Project>Movie to open the Movie window. It will ask you to choose a movie--navigate to your new movie file, and hit Open to open it in the Movie window.

•Play your movie and determine the frame number of the first frame of picture.

•In the Movie window mini-menu, select Set Movie Start Time. In the resulting window, enter a time code that will place the first frame of picture at the 1:00:00:00 start time that corresponds to measure 1 in your sequence.

You may need a time code calculator like this one.

•You may want to set some new locked markers including the last frame of picture.

You're now ready to go to work on a new film score project!