Specifications

Chapter 28: Fades and Crossfades 611
Chapter 28: Fades and Crossfades
Pro Tools calculates fades and crossfades in RAM
in real-time. You can quickly and easily apply a
fade-in or fade-out on a audio clip, as well as apply
crossfades between adjacent audio clips. Crossfad-
ing is the process of fading between two clips of
audio to prevent pops, clicks, or sudden changes in
sound. Crossfades have many applications, from
smoothing transitions between clips to creating
special audio effects. The crossfade duration, posi-
tion, and shape are all user-definable.
About Crossfades and Curves
To create a crossfade between two clips, use the
Selector tool to select across the end point of the
first clip and the start point of the second. The
length of the selection determines the length of the
crossfade. Though fades may appear to be discrete
clips, they cannot actually be separated from the
clips in which they were created. You can, how-
ever, create fade-ins and fade-outs for individual
clips (see “Creating Fades at the Beginnings and
Ends of Clips” on page 619).
Use the Fades dialog to select, view, and manipu-
late the curves used to perform fades and cross-
fades. Different volume curves can be assigned to
the fade-out and fade-in portions of crossfades.
The Fades dialog can also be used to audition a
fade or crossfade before applying it.
The type of selection you make determines the
character of the crossfade.
Standard Crossfade (Centered)
This type of selection creates a crossfade on both
sides of the splice point, which affects the volume
of clip 1 and clip 2. It is the most common type of
crossfade.
This crossfade type requires that clip 1 contain au-
dio material beyond its end point, and clip 2 con-
tain audio material before its start point.
Since crossfades are created by fading
between overlapping audio material, a
crossfade cannot be performed on clips
that do not contain audio material
beyond their clip boundaries.
If a clip references insufficient data to
execute a selected fade or crossfade, you
are prompted to either skip those fades
or to adjust the bounds of the selection to
execute those fades.
Centered crossfade
splice
point
fade-in curvefade-out curve
crossfade selection
clip 2
clip 1