Panasonic Mixing Automation Expansion Software Users Guide

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In addition, even if the motors are on, there are times when
you can be manually moving a fader to a position other than
the actual automated audio level.
Note:Phantom faders are operative only from the DA7 mixer.
What is a Null Point?
When MAX is receiving time code, and an automated mix is
playing back, the faders on the computer monitor are moving.
As stated previously, there can be times when the position of
the fader on the mixer is different than the actual audio level as
indicated on the computer.
To move a fader to its “null point” means to manually move a
fader on the mixer until it matches (that is, lines up with) the
position of the fader on the computer.
Manually Nulling a Fader
When the mixer is receiving time code, slide the fader (down
or up) just to the position where the Phantom Fader lies under
the Level Fader. When the two faders are superimposed, the
fader is said to be “at its null point”, or simply “the fader is
nulled”. 
You can now put the fader into Write mode to re-write the
fader moves, without any jump in level. 
When the fader is writing, the Phantom disappears. 
When time code is not being received (because either the
program material is stopped or Receive Time Code menu item
is unchecked), the faders are always “live”, and no Phantoms
are seen.
Phantom Faders appear as you move the faders when time
code is being received. The Phantoms will automatically
disappearafter about 8 seconds if you are not moving the
faders.
Example:
Fader 1 on the
mixer must be
moved up to null
the fader. 
						

							Manually Punching In Fader Moves
In Write Mode you may selectively rewrite (that is, replace) any fader moves in
any part of the mix. 
Simply fast wind the program material to a place a few seconds before the
fader moves that you wish to replace. 
Make sure that faders are Overwrite Enabled.
Check that the Edit Mode is set to Write.
Start the program material, and use the Select button to toggle the fader from
Read to Write.
If motors are turned off (using the Motors button), use the Phantom Faders to
help you find what the actual channel level is at that point in the mix. 
Slide the fader down or up just until the two faders are nulled. Now the
position of the fader accurately reflects the level of the channel. Then put any
number of faders into Write mode by Selecting them, and make the new
moves.
Two Ways to Manually Write Enable a Fader
Normally, a fader is put into Write by using its Select button.
The fader move is not written until fader is moved.
Alternately, you can put the fader into Write with the mouse by clicking on
the Mode indicator in the fader module.
This action immediately writes the current fader position, without having to
move the fader.
Note: When recording fader moves of a Link group, make sure to set the
individual channel mode to WRITE for both channels assigned to the
group. 
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Auto Punch In and Auto Punch Out 
Auto Punch In and Out make editing easier by automatically switching any
selected fader from Read into Write mode when the fader is moved across its
null point. 
Auto Punch Inlets you arm the fader before writing fader moves. You do not
have to bother about null points or jumps in level. The fader will not actually
start writing moves until you move it to its null point, the level of the channel
from the previous pass.
Likewise, Auto Punch Outlets you arm the fader in advance of switching to
read. You do not have to bother about null points or jumps in level. The fader
will not stop writing moves until you move it to its null point, the level of the
channel on the previous pass.
Thus smooth and seamless fader edits may be made without any jumps in
level.
Turn on Auto Punch In by selecting it from the Real Time menu.
(Clicking on the  AUTO button in the Control Bar turns on both Auto
Punch In and Auto Punch Out. To keep things simple, for now just turn on
only Auto Punch In from the Real Time menu. That way you have the
opportunity to learn how they work separately.)
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							Using Auto Punch In and Write Mode
Check that the Edit Mode menu is set to  “Write”.
The individual channel mode indicators above each fader should say READ.
To re-write only specific channels, press the individual channel’s SEL
Buttons. The individual channel mode indicators flash from Read to Write, alerting
you that the track is armed for writing.
Slowly move the fader. This fader movement is not written into memory yet.
The channel status will automatically “Punch In”, changing from a flashing
condition to WRITE as the fader is moved slowly across its null point. The
Phantom will disappear.
Some engineers prefer to think of it as reaching with the Phantom to “grab”
the level fader.
The fader will only Punch In if it is moved slowly.
The software behaves this way to avoid an unintentional Punch In, should you
accidentally bump a fader.
The fader is now in Write mode and the move is being written into memory,
replacing any previous moves during this time period.
To manually “Punch Out”, that is, to return the fader to Read, press the
channel’s SEL Buttons.
When the fader returns to Read, it will begin playing back any previously
written fader moves.
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							Using Auto Punch In and Read Mode
Auto Punch In and Read Mode may be used together to “rehearse” a fader
move.
Remember that in Read, the mix is playing back.
Selecting a fader in Read switches the fader into Manual. That means that the
fader is affecting the audio level, but the fader moves are not being written.
In this scenario, the Edit Mode menu says Read, and most of the faders are in
Read. 
But a few faders have been Selected and are in Manual. This means that you
listen to the mix play back, while moving a few faders in Manual. 
In essence you are rehearsing fader moves, since you can hear what the fader
moves would sound like with respect to the whole mix, though you are not
writing any new fader moves yet.
The procedure for rehearsing a fader move is given on the following page.
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							How to Rehearse a Fader Move
Check that the Edit Mode menu is set to  Read. 
The individual channel mode indicators above each fader should say READ.
To rehearse channels, press the individual channel’s SEL Buttons. The
individual channel mode indicators flash from Read to Manual, altering you
that the track is armed for manual mixing. 
Slowly move the fader. This fader movement will not affect the level yet. The
channel status will automatically “Punch In”, changing from a flashing
condition to Manual as the fader is moved slowly across its null point. The
Phantom will disappear.
The fader will only Punch In if it is moved slowly.
The software behaves this way to avoid an unintentional Punch In, should you
accidentally bump a fader.
The fader is now in Manual mode, allowing you to listen to the move. No new
moves are written into memory.
To manually “Punch Out”, that is, to return the fader to Read, press the
channel’s SEL Buttons. When the fader returns to Read, it will begin playing
back any previously written fader moves.
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							Using Auto Punch Out
When Auto Punch Out is turned on, first write your fader moves as described
above.
When you are ready to punch out, press the channel’s SEL Buttons again. The
fader will not instantly return to Read. 
Instead, a Phantom fader appears. This Phantom fader represents the level of
the fader from the previous pass, so it may be a moving Phantom fader. 
(This is the only circumstance when a Phantom does not represent the
physical position of a hardware fader.) 
Slowly move the fader on the mixer. As the fader is moved across its original
null point, the fader will automatically “Punch Out”, changing from Write to
Read mode.
As soon as the fader’s individual channel mode indicator says Read, Phantom
Fader will once again indicate the position of the physical fader. The level
fader will continue to play back any previously written fader moves. 
This results in a seamless punch-out.
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							Important Notes About Auto Punch In and Out : Auto Punch Out Does
Not Operate with SoftTouch
Auto Punch Out does not operate in conjunction with SoftTouch (next
section.) This is because SoftTouch continues to write fader moves as long as
you are moving the fader, so the punch out occurs when you stop moving the
fader.
If SoftTouch is turned off, clicking on the AUTO button turns both Auto
Punch In and Auto Punch In on or off.
If SoftTouch is turned on, clicking on the AUTO button will only turn Auto
Punch In on or off.
If AUTO is clicked first, turning on both Auto Punch In and Auto Punch
Out, the TOUCH button will be dimmed.
Auto Punch In and Out are De-selected on First Pass
Auto Punch In and Auto Punch out are special editing modes that are used
after some fader moves have already been written.
To make the MAX software easier to use, Auto Punch In and Out are
temporarily de-selected on the first pass, that is, whenever the memory has
been cleared.
Both Auto Punch In and Auto Punch out require that some fader moves are
already in the mix.
So, even if you have turned on Auto Punch In and Out, on the first pass, when
a fader is Selected, it will immediately go into Write, without flashing an
armed condition.
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							SoftTouch™ 
When  SoftTouch is turned on, faders on the mixer behave as if they
were touch sensitive, similar to moving fader systems. When the Edit Mode
menu says Write or Trim, simply moving any fader selects it, without pushing
a button. 
There will be no jump in level if  Auto Punch In is also turned on,
because the move will not be written until the null point is crossed. 
In Write mode, with both Auto Punch In and SoftTouch turned on, when a
fader is moved the channel mode indicator will flash Read-Write.
The Phantom Fader will appear. Since Auto Punch In is on, the fader move
will not be written until you move the fader to the null point.
The fader will return to Read mode if it is not moved for a certain period of
time. This time period is user-set in the Preferences dialogue box. It is entered
in seconds.
Turn SoftTouch On by clicking on the TOUCH button in the Control Bar.
SoftTouch Time Out 
Open the Preference dialogue box in the Edit menu. Select Faders.
SoftTouch Time Out sets how long it takes after you stop moving the fader for
it return automatically to Read mode.
SoftTouch In Read Mode
When the Edit Mode menu says Read, if SoftTouch is turned on, moving a
fader puts that fader into Manual. Previously written moves will not play back
on that fader, and you have manual control over the fader. The level will jump
to match the position of the fader.
If Auto Punch In is also turned on, there will be no jump in level. Moving the
fader will cause the mode indicator to flash Read-Manual. The fader will go
into Manual when it is moved to the Null point.
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							Important Notes About SoftTouch 
A Fader May Occasionally Arm Itself
Since the fader is being “digitized”, that is, its position is being turned into a
number, occasionally the fader will be “resting” between two numbers. This
means that a slight vibration of the fader will be detected as a fader move, and
arm the fader. 
This is because the software is designed to make the faders very responsive to
the engineer’s touch. The MAX System’s software, however, does detect and
reject such minute changes in fader position, but it is possible for one to
occasionally get through. 
Even so, if a fader does arm itself, it should not cause any problem if Auto
Punch In is on. That fader cannot actually write moves to the mix unless the
null point is crossed.
SoftTouch Should be Turned Off During Mixdown
Since SoftTouch selects faders when they are moved, turn SoftTouch off
before mix down. 
Otherwise, any fader accidentally moved while in Read will automatically
switch to Manual mode. If Auto Punch In is turned off, the fader will
immediately become manual and stop playing back previously written fader
moves.
Likewise, any fader accidentally moved while the Edit Mode menu says Write
will automatically switch to Write mode. If Auto Punch In is turned off, the
fader will immediately begin writing and stop playing back previously written
fader moves.
Auto Punch Out Does Not Operate with SoftTouch
Auto Punch Out does not operate in conjunction with SoftTouch (next
section.) This is because SoftTouch continues to Write fader moves as long as
you are moving the fader, so punch out occurs when you stop moving the
fader.
If SoftTouch is turned on, 
clicking on the AUTO button will only turn Auto Punch In on or off.
If AUTO is clicked first, 
turning on both Auto Punch In and Auto Punch Out, the TOUCH button will
be dimmed.
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