Steinberg Nuendo 5 Manual

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Automation
ÖYou will also find global Read/Write buttons on the 
Automation panel, see 
“The Read/Write buttons” on page 
248.
Writing automation data 
There are two approaches you can use to create automa-
tion curves: manually (see “Manual writing of automation 
data” on page 241) and automatically (see “Automatic 
writing of automation data” on page 241). While manual 
writing makes it easy to quickly change parameter values 
at specific points without having to activate playback, au
-
tomatic writing lets you work much like you would using a 
“real” mixer. 
With both methods, any applied automation data will be 
reflected in both the Mixer (a fader will move for example) 
and in the corresponding automation track curve. 
Automatic writing of automation data
Every action you perform is automatically recorded on au-
tomation tracks which you can later open for viewing and 
editing. 
To enable the recording of automation events, proceed as 
follows:
1.Open an automation track by clicking on the “Show/
Hide Automation” button of a track in the track list.
2.Enable the Write button for the track and adjust the 
desired parameters in the Mixer, in the Channel Settings 
window, or in the effect control panel while rolling through 
the project.
The value settings are recorded and displayed as a curve on the automa-
tion tracks. When automation data is being written, the color of the auto-
mation track changes to red and the delta indicator in the automation 
track shows the relative amount by which the new parameter setting de-
viates from any previously automated value.
3.When you are finished, stop playback and return to the 
position where you started playback.
4.Disable Write.
The Read button remains enabled.
5.Start playback.
All actions you recorded will be reproduced exactly.
ÖWhen dragging a plug-in to a different insert slot on 
the same channel, any existing automation data will move 
with the plug-in. When you drag it to an insert slot on a 
different channel, any existing automation data will not be 
transferred to the new channel.
Manual writing of automation data
You can add automation events manually by drawing auto-
mation curves on an automation track. Proceed as follows:
1.Open an automation track by clicking on the “Show/
Hide Automation” button of a track in the track list.
2.In the track list, click on the automation parameter 
name and select the desired parameter from the pop-up 
menu.
3.Select the Pencil tool.
You can also use various modes of the Line tool for drawing curves, see 
below.
4.Click on the static value line. 
An automation event is added, read automation mode is automatically 
activated, and the static value line changes to a colored automation 
curve.
5.If you click and hold, you can draw a curve by adding 
many automation events.
Note that the track color in the track list changes to red to indicate that 
automation data is being written.
6.When you release the mouse button, the number of 
automation events is reduced, but the basic shape of the 
curve remains the same.
This “thinning out” of events is governed by the Reduction Level setting 
in the Settings section of the Automation panel, see “Reduction Level” 
on page 260. 
						

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Automation
7.If you now activate playback, the automated parameter 
will change with the automation curve.
In the Mixer, the corresponding fader moves accordingly.
8.Repeat the procedure if you are not happy with the 
result.
If you draw over existing events, a new curve is created.
Apart from the Pencil tool, you can use the following tools 
to draw automation events:
•Arrow tool 
If Read is activated and you click on an automation track with the arrow 
tool, you can add automation events. Note that events introduced be-
tween two existing events that do not deviate from the existing curve are 
removed as soon as you release the mouse button (see 
“Reduction Level” on page 260).
•Line tool – Line mode
If you click on the automation track and drag with the Line tool in Line 
mode, you can create automation events in a line. This is a quick way to 
create linear fades, etc.
•Line tool – Parabola mode
To activate the Line tool in Parabola mode, click on the Line tool and click 
again to open a pop-up menu where you can select the Parabola option. If 
you click and drag on the automation track with the Line tool in Parabola 
mode, you can create more “natural” curves and fades. Note that the result 
depends on the direction from which you draw the parabolic curve.
•Line tool – Sine, Triangle, or Square mode
To activate the Line tool in these modes, click on the Line tool and click 
again to open a pop-up menu where you can select the desired option. If 
you click and drag on the automation track with the Line tool in Sine, Tri
-
angle, or Square mode and snap to grid is activated, the period of the 
curve (the length of one curve “cycle”) is determined by the grid setting. 
If you press [Shift] and drag, you can set the period length manually, in 
multiples of the grid value.
ÖThe Line tool can only be used for ramp type automa-
tion curves.
Editing automation events
Automation events can be edited much like other events. 
You can cut, copy, paste, group, and nudge events, etc.
Selecting automation events
•To select a single automation event, click on it with the 
Arrow tool.
The event turns red, and you can drag it in any direction between two 
events.
•To select multiple events, you can either [Shift]-click on 
the events or drag a selection rectangle with the Arrow 
tool.
All events inside the selection rectangle will be selected.
Drawing a selection rectangle around events to select them.
•To select all automation events on an automation track, 
right-click the automation track in the track list and choose 
“Select All Events” from the context menu.
Removing automation events
There are several ways to remove events:
•By selecting events and pressing [Backspace] or [De-
lete] or selecting Delete from the Edit menu, or by clicking 
on an event with the Erase tool.
This will remove the events. The curve is redrawn to connect the remain-
ing events.
•By selecting a range (with the Range Selection tool), 
and pressing [Backspace] or [Delete] or selecting Delete 
from the Edit menu.
When “Use Virgin Territory” is enabled, this will create a gap. When “Use 
Virgin Territory” is disabled, this will remove the events within the range, 
but the curve will be redrawn to connect new events at the start and end 
of the selected range (see also 
“Gaps” on page 246). 
						

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Automation
•By clicking on the automation parameter name in the 
track list and selecting “Remove Parameter” from the pop-
up menu.
This will remove all automation events from the automation track, and the 
automation track will be closed.
Automation track operations
Most of the tracks in your project have automation tracks, 
one for each automated parameter. Automation tracks are 
hidden by default. 
Opening automation tracks 
To open an automation track for a channel, proceed as fol-
lows:
•Position the mouse pointer over the lower left corner of 
the track and click the arrow icon (“Show/Hide Automa
-
tion”) that appears.
•Right-click the track in the track list and select “Show 
Automation” from the context menu.
The event display shows a straight black horizontal line as 
well as a grayed out mirror image of the audio events’ wave
-
form (or MIDI events for MIDI tracks). By default, the Vol-
ume parameter is assigned to the first automation track.
•To open another automation track, position the mouse 
pointer over the lower left corner of an automation track, 
and click the “+” sign (“Append Automation Track”) that 
appears.
By default, the new automation track shows the next parameter in the 
Add Parameter list (see below).
You can click the “Append Automation Track” button (the 
“+” sign) for the automation track several times to open 
additional automation tracks. 
Assigning a parameter to an automation track
Default parameters are already assigned to automation 
tracks when you open them, according to their order in the 
Add Parameter list.
To select which parameter an open automation track dis-
plays, proceed as follows:
1.Open an automation track and click on the automation 
parameter name.
A parameter list is shown. The contents depend on the track type.
•If the parameter you wish to automate is available on the 
pop-up menu, you can select it directly.
•If you wish to add a parameter not available on the pop-
up menu or if you want to view all parameters that can be 
automated, proceed with the next step.
Click here to open an 
automation track. 
						

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Automation
2.Select “More…”.
The Add Parameter dialog opens. This dialog shows a list with all parame-
ters that can be automated for the selected channel (sorted into different 
categories), including the parameters for any assigned insert effects. To 
view the parameters in a category, click the “+” sign for the corresponding 
category folder.
The Add Parameter dialog for an audio track
3.Select a parameter from the list and click OK.
The parameter will replace the current parameter in the automation track.
Note that the “replacing” of the parameter displayed in the 
automation track is completely non-destructive. If the au
-
tomation track contains any automation data for the pa-
rameter you just replaced, this data is there, although it is 
not visible. By clicking on the automation parameter name 
in the track list, you can switch back to the replaced pa
-
rameter. On the pop-up menu, all automated parameters 
are indicated by an asterisk (*) after the parameter name.
Automated parameters
Repeat the above procedure to assign a parameter to 
each available automation track.
ÖTempo changes cannot be automated on automation 
tracks. This is done using the tempo recording function in 
the Tempo Track Editor, see 
“Recording tempo changes” 
on page 456.
Removing automation tracks 
•To remove an automation track together with all auto-
mation events, click the parameter name and select “Re-
move Parameter” from the pop-up menu.
•To remove all automation tracks from a track that do not 
contain automation events, select “Remove Unused Para
-
meters” from any of its automation parameter name pop-up 
menus.
•To remove automation tracks, you can also use the De-
lete options on the Functions pop-up menu of the Automa-
tion panel, see “The Functions pop-up menu” on page 251.
Showing/hiding automation tracks
•To hide a single automation track, position the pointer 
over the top left border of the automation track in the track 
list and click the “Hide Automation Track” button (the “-” 
sign).
•To hide all automation tracks for a track, right-click the 
corresponding track, and select “Hide Automation” from 
the context menu. 
						

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Automation
•To hide all automation tracks for all tracks in the track 
list, right-click any track and select “Hide All Automation” 
from the context menu.
This option is also available on the Track Folding submenu of the Project 
menu.
•To show or hide automation tracks, you can also use the 
options in the Show section of the Automation panel, see 
“The Show options” on page 260.
Showing only used automation tracks
If a lot of automation tracks are used, it may be impractical 
to have them all open in the track list. If you want to view 
only the automation tracks that are used (i.
 e. those that ac-
tually contain automation events), do one of the following:
•To close all automation tracks not containing automa-
tion events, right-click any track in the track list and select 
the “Show All Used Automation” option from the pop-up 
menu.
This option is also available on the Track Folding submenu of the Project 
menu. 
•To close all automation tracks for the selected track that 
do not contain any automation events, right-click a spe
-
cific track and select the “Show Used Automation (Se-
lected Tracks)” option from the context menu.
Used automation tracks will be left open. 
Muting automation tracks
You can mute individual automation tracks by clicking their 
Mute buttons in the track list. This allows you to turn off 
automation for a single parameter.
The “Automation follows Events” setting
If you activate the “Automation follows Events” option on 
the Edit menu (or in the Preferences dialog, on the Editing 
page), automation events will automatically follow when 
you move an event or part on the track. 
This makes it easy to set up automation related to a spe-
cific event or part, rather than to a specific position in the 
project. For example, you can automate the panning of a 
sound effect event (having the sound pan from left to right, 
etc.) – if you need to move the event, the automation will 
automatically follow! 
The rules are:
•All automation events for the track between the start 
and end of the event or part are moved.
If there are automation events at the new position (to which you move the 
part or event), these are overwritten.
•If you copy an event or part, the automation events are 
duplicated as well.
Virgin territory vs. the initial value
Before we go into detail about the various modes and op-
tions available on the Automation panel, we need to ex-
plain how Nuendo handles those sections of your project 
in which you have not yet performed an automation pass. 
For parameter automation, Nuendo works either with an 
initial value or with “virgin territory”. 
It is very important that you understand the difference be-
tween these two concepts and their individual advantages 
and disadvantages before continuing.
!When we speak of “touching a control” in the follow-
ing sections, we mean both clicking a parameter 
control on the Nuendo program interface and physi
-
cally touching a fader or other control on a remote 
control device. 
						

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Automation
The initial value
An initial value is always used when “Use Virgin Territory” 
is disabled in the Automation Settings (see 
“Automation 
Preferences” on page 260).
When no automation data exists for a particular parameter, 
the starting point of an automation pass is saved as the ini
-
tial value. When you punch out of the automation pass, it is 
this initial value to which the parameter will return.
This has one very important consequence: As soon as the 
initial value is set, the corresponding parameter is fully au
-
tomated for the complete track, at any given timecode po-
sition of the project – even if your automation pass lasted 
only 2 seconds.
The straight line after the last automation event corresponds with the 
initial value.
When you release a control, it returns to the value defined 
by the automation curve – even when in Stop mode.
Virgin territory
Think of virgin territory as the “state” of the automation 
track before performing the first automation pass. When 
you enable the “Use Virgin Territory” option, no automa
-
tion curve is displayed on the automation track, and you 
have full manual control of the parameter.
The idea here is that you find automation only where you 
actually perform an automation pass – there is no initial 
value to which the parameter can return.
Gaps
After an automation pass you will find virgin territory only 
to the right of the last automation event. “Empty” sections 
between two automation curves are referred to as “gaps” 
in the following sections. 
Only the dynamic change in the parameter is automated.
If you want to create gaps inside a section with automated 
values, proceed as follows:
1.Open the Automation Settings and make sure that 
“Use Virgin Territory” is enabled (see 
“Automation Prefer-
ences” on page 260).
2.Select the Range Selection tool.
3.On an automation track with existing automation data, 
select a range and press [Delete] or [Backspace].
A gap is created.
New events at the beginning and the end of the selection 
range mark the end point of the automation curve (to the 
left) and the start of the next automation curve (to the right 
of the gap).
•When you select one or more events of an automation 
curve with the Arrow tool and press [Delete] or [Back
-
space], no gap is created.
Instead, the selected events are deleted. The curve between the deleted 
events is replaced by a new line connecting the two events to the left and 
right of the deleted events. 
						

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Automation
The “Terminator” setting
You can “force” any automation track into using virgin ter-
ritory, by defining any automation event on the automation 
curve as the “terminator” point of this part of the curve. 
This will automatically delete the line between this event 
and the next one, creating a gap.
ÖNote that this is independent of the setting for “Use 
Virgin Territory” – you can create gaps at any time.
•To define an event as the last point in an automation 
curve, select it by clicking on it, and in the Event info line in 
the Project window, set “Terminator” to Yes.
•When you set the “Terminator” option for the last (right-
most) automation event of an automation curve to “Yes”, 
any automation data to the right of this event (as defined 
by an initial value) is deleted.
If you select an 
event and set 
“Terminator” to 
Yes…
…a gap is created. 
						

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Automation
The Automation panel
The Automation panel is a floating window, similar to the 
Mixer and Transport panel, and can be left open while you 
work. The Project window will always have the focus.
To show the Automation panel, open the Project menu 
and select the Automation Panel option or click the “Open 
Automation Panel” button on the Project window toolbar.
The Read/Write buttons 
In the upper part of the Automation panel, you will find 
Read and Write buttons. These are used to globally en
-
able or disable the Read and Write buttons on all tracks.
•Click “Activate Read for all tracks” to enable all Read 
buttons on all tracks/channels of your project.
Clicking “Deactivate Read for all tracks” will disable all Read buttons.
•Click “Activate Write for all tracks” to enable all Write 
buttons (and, at the same time, all Read buttons) on all 
tracks/channels of your project.
Clicking “Deactivate Write for all tracks” will disable all Write buttons. 
The Read buttons will remain enabled.
Automation modes
Nuendo provides three different punch out modes for au-
tomation, available on the upper part of the Automation 
panel and on the Automation Mode pop-up menu on the 
Project window toolbar.
The three modes available are “Touch”, “Auto-Latch”, and 
“Cross-Over”. In all three modes, automation data will be 
written as soon as a parameter control is touched in play 
mode. They differ in the way the writing of automation data 
is ended, i.
 e. in their “punch out” behavior.
ÖThe automation mode set on the Automation panel or 
the Project window toolbar is used globally for all tracks of 
your project. If you want to select a different automation 
mode for individual tracks, select the track and on the 
“Track Automation Mode” pop-up menu in the Inspector 
choose the corresponding option.
Click here… …to open the Automation panel.
…and on the Project window toolbar.Selecting the automation mode on the Automation panel… 
						

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Automation
Note that you can change the automation mode at any time, 
i.
 e. in play or stop mode or during an automation pass. You 
can also assign key commands to the automation modes, 
see 
“Automation key commands” on page 261.
The current automation pass will always punch out as 
soon as one of the following conditions is met, indepen
-
dent of which automation mode is selected:
• If you disable Write.
• If you stop playback.
• If you activate Fast Forward/Rewind.
• If the project cursor reaches the right locator in Cycle mode.
• If you click in the ruler to move the project cursor (this is user-
definable and can be controlled via the Automation panel, see 
“Automation Preferences” on page 260).
Touch
Typically, you use Touch mode in situations where you 
want to make a change lasting only a few seconds to an 
already set up parameter.
As the name implies, Touch will write automation data only 
for as long as you actually touch a parameter control – 
punch out occurs as soon as you release the control.
After punch out, the control will return to the previously set 
value. The Return Time setting (see 
“Automation Prefer-
ences” on page 260) determines how long it takes for the 
parameter to reach the previously set value.
Auto-Latch
In Auto-Latch mode, there is no specific punch out condi-
tion other than those valid in all modes, see above.
Auto-Latch is useful in situations where you want to keep 
a value over a longer period of time – for example when 
making EQ settings for a particular scene.
Once your pass has started, the writing of automation 
data continues for as long as playback lasts or Write is 
enabled. When you release the control, the last value is 
kept until you punch out.
ÖThe automation mode for On/Off switches is always 
Auto-Latch (even if another mode is selected globally or 
for the track).
Cross-Over
The Cross-Over mode is a kind of “manual return time” op-
tion (see “Automation Preferences” on page 260). The 
Cross-Over mode can be used in situations where you are 
not satisfied with an automation curve or with the automati
-
cally applied return settings. Cross-Over mode allows you 
to perform a “manual return” to ensure smooth transitions 
between new and existing automation settings.
For Cross-Over, the punch out condition is crossing over 
an already existing automation curve after touching the 
parameter for a second time.
Like in Auto-Latch mode, once the automation pass be-
gins with the first touching of the parameter control, auto-
mation data is written for as long as playback lasts.
When you have found the correct value setting, you can 
release the fader – the automation pass continues, with 
the value setting remaining the same. 
						

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Automation
Now, re-touch the fader and move it towards the original 
value. As soon as you cross the original curve, punch out 
occurs automatically.
Trim
Trim allows you to update data from a previous pass by 
adding or removing automation data.
ÖTrim works for channel volume and aux send level ad-
justments.
When enabling Trim on the Automation panel, a trim curve 
is positioned in the exact middle position of your automa
-
tion track. You can use the trim curve to modify the original 
automation curve. Just drag the trim curve up or down and 
add automation events to it. These increase or decrease 
the values of the original automation curve, but allow you 
to preserve the original data. 
Trim data is edited like any other automation data and it is 
stored with the project. When Trim is activated, all editing 
and recording affects the trim curve. When you deactivate 
Trim, the original automation curve will be reset and gets 
active so that you can edit it. 
You can use Trim either in Stop or in Play mode:
•In Stop mode, you can select one of the Fill options (see 
“The Fill options” on page 254) and edit the trim curve man-
ually by clicking on it and moving it up or down. The original 
automation curve is displayed in a lighter color and its val
-
ues are merged with the trim curve. The resulting automa-
tion curve is displayed in a darker color. 
•In Play mode, the events of the original automation curve 
are trimmed as the project cursor passes over them.
Trim in Play mode, in combination with Fill to Punch
Freeze Trim
You can freeze your trim curve automatically or manually 
and render all trim data into a single automation curve. 
To freeze your trim curve automatically, open the Freeze 
Trim pop-up menu in the Automation Settings and select 
“On Pass End” to perform a freeze whenever a write oper
-
ation is finished, or “On Leaving Trim Mode” to freeze the 
trim data when Trim mode is switched off (globally or indi
-
vidually for a track).
Trim curve Original automation 
curveResulting automation 
curve