User`s guide

Chapter 18: Advanced Editing 245
chapter 18
Advanced Editing
Pro Tools includes a rich advanced editing
feature set, which is covered in this chap-
ter.
Using Crossfades
You can quickly and easily crossfade be-
tween two adjacent audio regions. Cross-
fading is the process of fading two regions
of audio to prevent pops, clicks, or sudden
changes in sound. Crossfades have many
applications, from smoothing transitions
between regions to creating special audio
effects. The crossfade duration, position,
and shape are all user-definable.
Crossfades are computed and written to
disk. Crossfades that are written to disk are
stored in a folder named “Fade Files”
within the session folder. When you play
back your track, Pro Tools reads and plays
back the crossfade file from disk.
✽ Pro Tools 24 and MIX systems also include
an Auto Fade feature that provides real-time
fades without processing them to disk. See
“Using the AutoFade Feature” on page 254.
About Crossfades and Curves
To create a crossfade between two regions,
the regions must be contiguous. Use the Se-
lector to select across the point where the
regions touch. The length of the selection
determines the length of the crossfade.
Though fades may appear to be discrete re-
gions, they cannot actually be separated
from the regions in which they were cre-
ated. You can, however, create fade-ins and
fade-outs for individual regions (see “Creat-
ing Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Re-
gions” on page 253).
You can use the Fades dialog to select, view,
and manipulate the curves used to perform
the crossfade. Different volume curves can
be assigned to the fade-out and fade-in por-
tions of crossfades. The Fades dialog can
also render a preview of the fade.
The following examples illustrate common
crossfade types, and explain how the type
of selection you make determines the char-
acter of the crossfade.
▲ Since crossfades are created by fading be-
tween overlapping audio material, a crossfade
cannot be performed on regions that do not
contain audio material beyond their region
boundaries.