Steinberg Nuendo 4 Manual

							231
Automation
Automation track operations
About automation tracks
Audio tracks, group channel tracks and FX channel tracks 
all have automation tracks. These allow you to view and 
edit the automation of all mixer settings for the track, in-
cluding settings for the track’s insert effects. There is one 
automation track for each parameter, and automation 
tracks can be shown or hidden in any combination.
Similarly, MIDI tracks have automation tracks for mixer set-
tings, track parameters and (if used) for send and insert ef-
fect settings.
VST Instruments have special automation tracks that ap-
pear in the Project window when you load a VST Instrument 
via the VST Instruments window. There is one automation 
track for the plug-in parameters, and one track for each 
mixer channel used by the instrument. These tracks all have 
automation tracks, giving you access to all parameters and 
mixer settings.
Instrument tracks, as a combination of a MIDI track and a 
VST Instrument, have automation tracks that provide auto-
mation parameters for the VST Instrument itself, for the 
VST Instrument channel and the respective MIDI automa-
tion parameters.
Finally, for ReWire channels and input/output channels, 
automation tracks are automatically added as soon as you 
activate automation (with the Write button) in the corres-
ponding mixer channel strip or in the Channel Settings 
window. These tracks have automation tracks for all pa-
rameters as well.
Opening automation tracks 
Every track/channel has a number of automation tracks, 
each showing one automation parameter.
For audio, Instrument, group channel, MIDI and FX chan-
nel tracks, there are two ways you can open an automa-
tion track for the channel:
By right-clicking the track in the Track list and selecting 
“Show Automation” from the context menu.By clicking along the left edge of the track in the Track 
list. (Also, when you position the mouse pointer over the 
lower left corner of the track, a corresponding arrow icon 
(“Show/Hide Automation”) appears.)
An automation track opens in the Track list. Depending on your Prefer-
ence settings (see above), the event display shows a straight black hori-
zontal line as well as a grayed out mirror image of the audio events’ 
waveform (or MIDI events for MIDI tracks). By default, the volume para-
meter is assigned to the first automation track.
For VST Instruments (not for Instrument tracks, see below), 
automation tracks appear automatically when you add them 
in the VST Instruments window.
For ReWire channels and input/output busses, automa-
tion tracks are automatically created when the Write auto-
mation button (see “Enabling and disabling the writing of 
automation data” on page 214) is activated in either:
 The corresponding channel strip in the mixer.
 The corresponding Channel Settings window.
 The mixer common panel (“All Automation to Write Status”).
 The area above the Track list (“All Automation to Write Status”).
Opening additional automation tracks
If you position the mouse pointer over the lower left cor-
ner of an automation track, a “+” sign (“Append Automa-
tion Track”) will appear. If you click this, another 
automation track opens, by default showing the next pa-
rameter in the Add Parameter list (see below).
Click here to open an 
automation track 
						

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Automation
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 (see below).
To select which parameter an open automation track 
should display, proceed as follows:
1.If none exists, open an automation track using one of 
the methods described above.
2.Click in the parameter display for the automation track.
A pop-up list is shown, containing some of the automation parameters 
plus the item “More...” at the bottom of the list. The contents of the list 
depend on the track type (audio, MIDI, VST instrument, etc.).
If the parameter you wish to automate is on the pop-up 
menu, you can select it directly.
The parameter will then replace the current parameter in the automation 
track. 
If you wish to add a parameter not available on the pop-
up menu or want to view all parameters that can be auto-
mated, go on to the next step.
3.Select “More...”.
The Add Parameter dialog appears. This dialog shows a list with all pa-
rameters that can be automated for the selected channel (sorted into dif-
ferent categories), including the parameters for any assigned insert 
effects. To view the parameters in each category, click the “+” sign for 
the category folder.
The Add Parameter dialog for an audio track.
4.Select a parameter from the list and click OK.
The parameter will then replace the current parameter in the automation 
track. 
						

							233
Automation
ÖNote that the “replacing” of the parameter displayed in 
the automation track is completely non-destructive. 
For example, if the automation track contained any automation data for 
the parameter you just replaced, this data will still be there, although it 
will not be visible after you replaced the parameter. If you click in the pa-
rameter display you can switch back to the replaced parameter. On the 
pop-up menu, all automated parameters are indicated by an asterisk (*) 
after the parameter name.
The Volume parameter is automated.
You can click the “Append Automation Track” button (the 
“+” sign) for the automation track several times to open 
additional automation tracks. Repeat the above procedure 
to assign a parameter to each automation track.
Removing automation tracks 
To remove automation tracks from the Track list, proceed 
as follows:
To remove a single automation track, click the parame-
ter name and select “Remove Parameter” from the pop-up 
menu.
Note that this will also delete any automation events on the automation 
track, and the automation track will be closed.
To remove all currently unused automation tracks from a 
track in the Track list, select “Remove Unused Parame-
ters” from any of its automation track parameter name 
pop-ups.
All automation tracks that do not contain automation events will be 
closed for the selected track.
On the Automation panel, you will find the Delete op-
tions in the Functions pop-up menu (see “The Functions 
pop-up menu” on page 229).
Using these commands will also lead to the removal of automation tracks.
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 minus 
sign).
To hide all automation tracks for a track, right-click the 
track for which you wish to hide the automation tracks, 
and select “Hide Automation” from the context menu.
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 in the Track Folding submenu of the Project 
menu.
On the Automation panel, you can hide or show auto-
mation tracks using the options in the Show section.
See “The Show options” on page 228.
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 
actually contain automation events) and hide all empty au-
tomation tracks, do one of the following:
Right-click any track in the Track list and select the op-
tion “Show All Used Automation” from the pop-up menu.
This will close all automation tracks not containing any automation 
events, while leaving used automation tracks open for all tracks. This op-
tion is also available in the Track Folding submenu of the Project menu.
Right-click a specific track and select the option “Show 
Used Automation (Selected Track)” from the context menu.
This will close all automation tracks for the selected track not containing 
any automation events, while leaving used automation tracks open. 
						

							234
Automation
Muting automation tracks
You can mute individual automation tracks by clicking their 
Mute buttons in the Track list. Clicking the Read (R) but-
ton (see “Enabling and disabling the writing of automation 
data” on page 214) for an automation track will activate or 
deactivate Read mode for all automated parameters of the 
track. Using the Mute button allows you to turn off auto-
mation for a single parameter.
The “Automation follows Events” setting
If you activate “Automation follows Events” on the Edit 
menu (or in the Preferences–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 will be moved.
If there are automation events in the new position (to which you move the 
part or event), these will be overwritten.
If you copy an event or part (using Copy/Paste, or [Alt]/
[Option]-dragging, or using the Duplicate or Repeat func-
tions), the automation events will be duplicated as well.
Recording plug-in automation
Every parameter for every assigned effect or VST Instru-
ment can be automated in much the same manner as de-
scribed above.
The following example assumes that you have assigned an 
insert effect to an FX channel track (see the chapter “Au-
dio effects” on page 168), and describes how to record 
automation for the effect:
1.Select the FX channel track in the Track list and open 
its Inserts section in the Inspector.
If the Inspector is hidden, click the “Show Inspector” button in the 
Project window toolbar.
ÖPlease note that not all Inspector tabs are shown by 
default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by right-
clicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating 
the desired option(s).
Make sure to click on an Inspector tab and not on the empty area below 
the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead.
2.Open the control panel for the effect by clicking the Edit 
button (“e”) above the insert effect slot in the Inspector.
3.Click the Write button in the control panel to enable 
Write mode.
The Read button is enabled as well. All effects and VST Instruments have 
Write/Read buttons on their control panels. These work exactly like the 
corresponding buttons in the mixer or in the Track list.
4.Start playback and adjust some effect parameters in 
the control panel.
When you are finished, stop playback and return to the position where 
you started playback.
5.Disable Write.
The Read button remains enabled.
6.Start playback and watch the control panel.
All actions you performed during the previous playback will be repro-
duced exactly.
Assigning an automated parameter to an automation 
track
To select which parameter is currently shown in the auto-
mation track for a channel, proceed as follows:
1.Click on the parameter name for the channel’s automa-
tion track.
The parameter name pop-up list is shown containing the automation pa-
rameters for the plug-in. The parameter(s) you previously automated are 
indicated by an asterisk after the parameter name in the list.
Automated parameters for the PingPongDelay effect.
2.Select the parameter you wish to view from the para-
meter display pop-up.
The automation curve for the parameter you selected is displayed on the 
automation track. 
						

							235
Automation
To view VST Instrument parameters, you use the same 
method.
As described earlier, each VST Instrument has two or more automation 
tracks – one for the plug-in settings and one for each VST Instrument 
mixer channel.
Dragging and dropping of insert plug-ins
You can drag an insert plug-in from one insert slot to an-
other, either on the same channel or on a different chan-
nel.
When dragging a plug-in to a different insert slot on the 
same channel, any existing automation data will move with 
the plug-in.
When dragging a plug-in to a different insert slot on a 
different channel, any existing automation data will not be 
transferred to the new channel.
Working with automation curves
About automation curves 
There are two kinds of automation curves, “ramp” and 
“jump”:
Jump curves are created for any parameter that only has 
on/off values, like a Mute button, for example.
Ramp curves are created for any parameter that gener-
ates continuous multiple values, such as fader or dial 
movements etc. 
Examples of jump and ramp automation curves shown in the event dis-
play.
About the static value line
When you are not using virgin territory (see “Virgin terri-
tory vs. the initial value” on page 217) and you open an 
automation track for a parameter for the first time, it 
doesn’t contain any automation events (unless you have previously adjusted that parameter with write automation 
activated), and this is reflected in the event display as a 
straight horizontal black line, the “static value” line. This 
line represents the current parameter setting.
If you have manually added any automation events or 
used write automation for the corresponding parameter, 
and then disable the reading of automation data, the auto-
mation curve will be grayed-out in the automation track 
event display and the static value will be used instead.
As soon as Read mode is enabled, the automation curve will become 
available.
Editing automation events
Drawing automation events
By using write automation in the mixer, you generate auto-
mation events by moving parameter dials and faders in the 
mixer. You can also add them manually by drawing automa-
tion curves on an automation track. Proceed as follows:
1.Show the automation track by clicking on the left edge 
of the track in the Track list.
The static value line is shown in the event display for the automation 
track.
2.Select the Pencil tool.
You can also use the various modes of the Line tool for drawing curves, 
see below.
3.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 blue automation 
curve. 
						

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Automation
4.If you click and hold, you can draw a curve by adding a 
multitude of single automation events.
Note that the track color in the track list changes to red to indicate that 
automation data is being written.
5.When you release the mouse button, the number of 
automation events is reduced to a few events, but the ba-
sic shape of the curve still 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 229.
6.If you now activate playback, the volume will change 
with the automation curve.
In the mixer, the corresponding fader moves accordingly.
7.Simply redo the operation if you are not happy with the 
result.
If you draw over existing events, a new curve is created.
If the automation track is in Read mode already, you can 
also add automation events by clicking with the Arrow 
tool.
If you are trying to add a break-point between two existing points and the 
new point doesn’t deviate from the existing curve, it will be removed by 
reduction as soon as you release the mouse button (see “Reduction 
Level” on page 229).
Drawing curves with Fill enabled
You can use the Fill options on the Automation panel in 
combination with the Pencil tool. This provides you with an 
extremely powerful tool for offline work:
1.As in the example above, open an automation track for 
the desired parameter and select the Pencil tool.
Remember: the Write button does not have to enabled.
2.On the Automation panel, select “To End”.
3.Click and draw to create an automation curve.4.Release the mouse button.
At the moment of release, a final automation event is created. The auto-
mation curve is written from this last break-point through to the end of 
the project.
You will find this works the same for all the other Fill op-
tions. For more information on what you can do with Fill 
and the other automation performance utilities, see “Auto-
mation performance utilities” on page 222. 
Using the various modes of the Line tool to draw 
automation curves
The Line tool can be very useful for drawing automation 
events. The various modes are accessed by selecting the 
Line tool on the toolbar, clicking on it a second time and 
selecting from the pop-up menu that appears.
Clicking and dragging with the Line tool in Line mode 
shows a line in the automation track and creates automa-
tion events aligned with this line.
This is a quick way to create linear fades, etc.
The Line tool in Parabola mode works in the same way, 
but aligns the automation events with a parabolic curve in-
stead, resulting in more “natural” curves and fades.
Note that the result depends on the direction from which you draw the 
parabolic curve.
The Sine, Triangle and Square Line tool modes create 
automation events aligned with continuous curves.
If snap is activated and set to Grid, 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. 
						

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Automation
Selecting automation events
To select a single automation break-point, click on it 
with the Arrow tool.
The break-point turns red, and you can drag it in any horizontal or vertical 
direction between two points.
To select multiple break-points, you can either [Shift]-
click or drag a selection rectangle with the Arrow tool.
All break-points inside the selection rectangle will be selected.
Drawing a selection rectangle around break-points 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 break-points:
By selecting points and pressing [Backspace] or [De-
lete] or selecting Delete from the Edit menu, or by clicking 
on a break-point with the Eraser tool.
This will remove the break-points. The curve is redrawn to connect the 
break-points immediately to the left and right of the removed points.
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 break-points within the 
range, but the curve will be redrawn to connect new break-points at the 
start and end of the selected range. See also “Gaps” on page 218.
By clicking in the parameter display on an automation 
track and selecting “Remove Parameter” from the pop-up.
This will remove all automation events from the automation track, and the 
automation track will be closed.
Editing automation events
Automation events can be edited much like other events. 
You can use cut, copy and paste, you can group and 
nudge events etc. There are, however, four items on the 
Edit menu that are not applicable to automation events. 
These are:
 Split at Cursor
 Split Loop
 Move to Front

Editing automation events in the Project 
Browser
You can also edit automation events in the Project 
Browser. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Project Browser by selecting it from the 
Project menu.
The Browser window opens. The window is divided into two sections, 
the Structure list to the left and the event display to the right.
2.Click on the “+” sign for a track in the structure list.
Automated tracks have two subitems: Track Data and Automation. The 
Automation item corresponds to the automation track in the Project win-
dow, and contains the track’s automation events.
3.Click on the “+” sign for the Automation item.
All automated parameters for the track are shown in the structure list. 
4.Clicking on a parameter in the structure list brings up 
the automation events in the event display.
The following parameters are available for all automation 
tracks:
Parameter Description
Position The position of the automation event.
Value The value of the automation event.  
						

							17
Audio processing and functions 
						

							239
Audio processing and functions
Background
Audio processing in Nuendo can be called “non-destruc-
tive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or 
revert to the original versions. This is possible because 
processing affects audio clips rather than the actual audio 
files, and because audio clips can refer to more than one 
audio file. This is how it works:
1.If you process an event or a selection range, a new au-
dio file is created in the Edits folder, within your project 
folder. 
This new file contains the processed audio, while the original file is unaf-
fected. 
2.The processed section of the audio clip (the section 
corresponding to the event or selection range) then refers 
to the new, processed audio file.
The other sections of the clip will still refer to the original file.
Since all edits are available as separate files, it is possi-
ble to undo any processing, at any point and in any order!
This is done in the Offline Process History dialog, see “The Offline Pro-
cess History dialog” on page 251.
Furthermore, the original, unprocessed audio file can 
still be used by other clips in the project, by other projects 
or by other applications.
Audio processing
Basically, you apply processing by making a selection and 
selecting a function from the Process submenu on the Au-
dio menu. Processing is applied according to the follow-
ing rules:
Selecting events in the Project window or the Audio 
Part Editor will apply processing to the selected events 
only.
Processing will only affect the clip sections that are referenced by the 
events.
Selecting an audio clip in the Pool will apply processing 
to the whole clip.
Making a selection range will apply processing to the 
selected range only.
Other sections of the clip are not affected.
If you attempt to process an event that is a shared copy 
(i.e. the event refers to a clip that is used by other events in 
the project), you are asked whether you want to create a 
new version of the clip or not.
Select “New Version” if you want the processing to affect the selected 
event only. Select “Continue” if you want the processing to affect all 
shared copies. 
ÖIf you activate “Do not show this message again”, any 
further processing you do will conform to the selected 
method (“Continue” or ”New Version”). 
You can change this setting at any time by using the “On Processing 
Shared Clips” pop-up in the Preferences (Editing–Audio page).
After processing the event the clip will refer both to the original file and 
a new file, containing the processed section only.
This event plays a section of this clip…
…which refers to this audio file. 
						

							240
Audio processing and functions
Common settings and features
If there are any settings for the selected Audio processing 
function, these will appear when you select the function 
from the Process submenu. While most settings are spe-
cific for the function, some features and settings work in 
the same way for several functions:
The “More…” button
If the dialog has a lot of settings, some options may be 
hidden when the dialog appears. To reveal these, click the 
“More…” button.
To hide the settings, click the button again (now labeled 
“Less…”).
The Preview, Process and Cancel buttons
These buttons have the following functionality:
Pre/Post-CrossFade
Some processing functions allow you to gradually mix the 
effect in or out. This is done with the Pre/Post-CrossFade 
parameters. If you activate Pre-CrossFade and specify a 
value of e.g. 1000 ms, the processing will be applied grad-
ually from the start of selection, reaching full effect 1000 ms 
after the start. Similarly, if you activate Post-CrossFade, the 
processing will gradually be removed, starting at the speci-
fied interval before the end of the selection.
Acoustic Stamp
The Acoustic Stamp function is a convolution tool, which 
allows you to apply room characteristics (reverb) to the 
audio. This is done by processing the audio signal accord-
ing to an impulse response – generally a stereo or mono 
recording of a very short signal (the impulse) in a room or 
other location. As a result, the processed audio will sound 
as if it were played in the same location.
The dialog contains the following settings:
Impulse and Envelope display
This display shows the loaded impulse response (in white) 
and the Envelope (in red). You can zoom in vertically on 
the impulse response using the slider to the right of the 
display (this can be useful since impulse responses typi-
cally are very weak). Zooming does not affect the pro-
cessing in any way.
Button Description
Preview Allows you to listen to the result of the processing with 
the current settings. Playback will continue repeatedly 
until you click the button again (the button is labeled 
“Stop” during Preview playback). You can make adjust-
ments during Preview playback, but the changes are not 
applied until the start of the next “lap”. Some changes 
may automatically restart the Preview playback from the 
beginning.
Process Performs the processing and closes the dialog.
Cancel Closes the dialog without processing.
!The sum of the Pre- and Post-CrossFade times can-
not be larger than the length of the selection.
!This function requires a lot of processing power, es-
pecially when using the Preview function. If you are 
working with long impulse response files or stereo 
files, you may find that Preview playback stutters or 
stops. In that case, it’s better to process the material, 
listen to the result and modify it in the Offline Pro-
cess History (see “The Offline Process History dia-
log” on page 251) if necessary.