Panasonic Mixing Automation Expansion Software Users Guide

79
Chapter  8
SURROUNDPANNER
MAX can automate the Panasonic DA7 Digital Mixers surround panning. You
can automate surround panning either in real time or off line.
SURROUNDPANNING INREALTIME
To use the mixer’s built-in panning patterns, write the moves in real time
from the mixer by rotating the encoder wheel. 
If you want to write the moves “free hand”, in any direction, use the mouse to
position the sound in MAX’s Panning window.
First, become familiar with the DA7s instructions regarding the use and...

At the start of this chapter we said that there were two ways to enter the
panning moves, either from the mixer or from the MAX software.
To enter the moves from the mixer, follow the instructions from the DA7
manual. Position the cursor over the desired pattern in the mixer display, and
rotate the encoder.
To enter moves from the software, go to the Windows menu, and open a
Panning Module. Use the mouse to position the audio within the Panning
Module.
The Panning window features a Channel selection pop...

81
Surround Panner
PANNING ANDSOFTGROUPS
MAX’s Surround Panning automation respects any SoftGroup assignments
you have made. Surround Panning moves made to the SoftGroup master will
automatically be applied to the member channels.
For example, say that you have turned channel 12 into a SoftGroup Master for
channels 1 through 11. To do this, double click on the audio fader in channel
12 in the Custom View. 
Then single click on the faders 1 through 11. Press Enter.
From the Windows menu, open the Panning...

83
Chapter  9
DISK ANDFILEOPERATIONS
Mixes may be saved on your hard disk either manually or automatically using
Auto-Backup. 
To manually save the mix, select Save from the file menu to save the currently
active mix to disk. 
Select Save as... to save the mix in a different folder, or on a different drive, or
with a new name,.
AUTO-BACKUP
MAX’s Auto-Backup feature automatically saves your mix to disk every time
MAX stops detecting incoming time code. 
Backup may be turned on and off from the...

Choosing Unlimited vs a Fixed Number of Passes
The number of passes to keep should be selected keeping in mind the
amount of available hard disk free space.
Though mix files may vary in size, suppose a small mix file is 100 K. If Auto-
Backup is on, and you have chosen to keep “Unlimited”, then every time you
make any fader move and stop the program material, a 100 K file be saved to
hard disk. Do 10 passes and you’ve consumed 1 meg of hard disk space. 
This might not be a concern if you have a 1 Gig...

AUTO-BACKUP
Auto Backup Numbering
Backups are numbered sequentially, that is
[name of mix].1 
[name of mix].2 
[name of mix].3 
[name of mix].4
and so on.
The Auto Backup feature appends an incrementing number to the end of the
name of the mix. 
MAX will never change the name of any mix. 
If you have included a number in the mix name, 
MAX will ignore it.
That is, if you named a mix “my song.1”, and then turned on Auto Backup,
MAX will save the next pass naming the mix “my song.1.1”.
85
Disk and File...

86
Disk and File Operations
Auto Backup Example
Say you set MAX’s Preferences to keep the last 3 passes. Suppose the mix is
currently Untitled.
At the end of the first pass, a Save As dialogue box will automatically appear,
allowing you to name the mix.
Type a name and press Enter.
MAX saves the mix automatically appending “.1”, as observable in the
window’s title. 
On the next pass, make some fader or channel on/off moves, stop the
program material. The mix is renamed with “.2” and saved.
Select Open......

87
Disk and File Operations
Cancel to exit the Open Dialogue box for now.
Likewise, on the third pass, again observe the names of the mixes that you can
Open.
But notice what happens on the fourth pass. 
Again the mix is automatically re-numbered and saved.
Select Open and observe the names of the mixes.
You had set the Preferences to keep the last 3 passes.
The mixes have not been re-numbered. 
“my song.1” was simply deleted. 
Likewise on the fifth pass, the mix is automatically saved as my song. 5....

MIXBACKUPTREES
As stated earlier, MAX’s Auto Backup feature automatically performs a Save As
at the end of each pass, each time renaming the mix with an incrementing
number. 
MAX’s Auto Backup feature starts its numbering over again from .1 after you
Open a previously saved mix, or manually select Save As.
Simply put, suppose you Open a mix already called “Mix.1”. Auto Backup is
turned on. 
The first pass will be saved as Mix.1.1, not Mix.2. 
That way, if a mix called Mix.2 already exists, it will not be...

Mix Backup Tree Example
Suppose Auto Backup is turned on, and set to keep the last 5 passes. Say
you’ve reached a point where you have a good mix of channel on/offs only.
Let’s call it “mix.7”. 
Now you make a few more passes, writing fader moves.
Currently on the hard disk are the last 5 passes, say mix.5 through mix.9. 
If you continue mixing, in a few more passes mix.7 will be deleted. You want
the option of being able to preserve mix.7, that is, the last known good mix of
channel on/offs only.
Open...