Steinberg Nuendo 5 Manual

							461
Editing tempo and signature
Matching a musical score to video
Here’s an example of how to use the Time Warp tool in 
“musical events follow” mode. Let’s say you are creating 
the music for a film. You have a video track, an audio track 
with a commentary and some audio and/or MIDI tracks 
with your music. Now you want to match the position of a 
musical cue to a position in a video film. The musical cue 
is located in bar 33. There are no tempo changes in the 
project (yet).
1.Make sure tempo track mode is selected on the Trans-
port panel.
2.Now you need to locate the position in the video. If you 
do not need very high precision, you can simply locate it 
looking at the thumbnails on the video track – otherwise 
you can pinpoint the exact position and add a marker to 
the marker track (that you can snap to later on).
You can also make a note of the exact position and add an extra ruler 
track set to show the timecode.
3.Make sure that the correct tracks are set to linear time 
base or musical time base, respectively.
In our example, we want the video track and the audio track with a com-mentary voice-over to be linear time-based (as well as the marker track, if 
used). All other tracks should be set to musical time base. You change 
this by clicking the time base button in the track list or Inspector.
4.Set up the Grid Type pop-up menu as desired.
When you click with the Time Warp tool, it snaps to the selected grid. In 
this case, you will find the musical cue at the start of bar 33, so we can 
set the grid to “Bar”.
•Note that this affects the snapping to the ruler (tempo 
grid) when you click! In addition, the tool can be “magnetic” 
to events in the Project window when you drag – for this, 
you need to activate the Snap function, open the Snap 
Type pop-up menu, and select “Events”. 
In our example, this would be useful if you created a marker at the de-
sired position in the video – when you drag the grid (see below), it will 
snap to the marker.
5.Click on the Time Warp button and click again to open 
a pop-up menu.
6.Select the “Warp Grid (musical events follow)” mode.
7.Click in the event display at the start of bar 33 and 
drag to the desired position in the video.
As mentioned above, this can mean dragging to a position indicated by 
the thumbnails on the video track, to a marker on the marker track or to a 
time position on an additional ruler track.
When you drag, the ruler is scaled – and the music tracks 
will follow.
8.Release the mouse button.
If you look in the ruler at the beginning of the project, you will see that the 
first (and only) tempo event has been adjusted.
9.Try playing back.
The musical cue should now happen at the correct position in the video.
Let’s say you need to match another cue to another posi-
tion later on in the video. If you simply repeat this proce-
dure, you will find that the first cue gets out of sync – 
since you are still changing the first (and only) tempo 
event on the tempo track!
You need to create a “lock point” – a tempo event at the 
first cue position:
10.Press [Shift] and click with the Time Warp tool in the 
event display at the cue position.
In our case, this is bar 33.
A tempo event (with the same value as the first one) is 
added at that position.
Musical time base selected Linear time base selected 
						

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Editing tempo and signature
11.Now match the second musical cue to the correct 
video position by dragging the musical position to the 
desired time position as before.
The new tempo event is edited – the first tempo event is unaffected and 
the original cue is still matched.
•If you know you are going to match several cues this 
way, make it a habit to press [Shift] each time you use the 
Time Warp tool to match positions.
This adds a new tempo event – that way, you do not have to add tempo 
events afterwards as described above.
About snapping
If Snap is activated in the Project window and “Events” is 
selected on the Snap Type pop-up menu, the Time Warp 
tool will be magnetic to events when you drag the tempo 
grid. This makes it easier to snap a tempo position to a 
marker, the start or end of an audio event, etc.
Using the Time Warp tool in an audio editor
Using the Time Warp tool in the Sample Editor or Audio 
Part Editor is different from using it in the Project window, 
in the following ways:
•When you use the Time Warp tool, a tempo event is 
automatically inserted at the beginning of the edited event 
or part. This tempo event will be adjusted when you warp 
the tempo grid with the tool. 
This means that material before the edited events will not be affected.
•Only the default mode for the Time Warp tool is avail-
able. 
This means that when you use the tool, the edited track is temporarily 
switched to linear time base.
Making a tempo map for a “free” recording
The following example shows how to use the Time Warp 
tool in the Sample Editor to create a tempo map matching 
freely recorded music. Let’s say you have recorded a 
drummer, playing without a metronome – this typically means the tempo varies ever so slightly. To be able to add 
more material and easily rearrange the recorded audio, 
you want the tempo in Nuendo to match the recorded 
drum track:
1.If necessary, move the recorded event.
Move it so that the first downbeat (“one”) happens at the start of the bar 
– zoom in if needed.
2.Open the drum recording in the Sample Editor and 
make sure Hitpoint mode is not selected.
The Time Warp tool cannot be used in Hitpoint mode. However, if you 
have calculated hitpoints already, these will be visible when the Time 
Warp tool is selected (see below).
3.Set the zoom so that you can see the individual drum 
hits clearly.
To achieve this type of “visual” beat matching, it is important to have a 
fairly clean recording, such as the drum track in this example.
4.Select the Time Warp tool.
You have already matched the first downbeat with the 
start of a bar. However, if the recording starts before the 
first downbeat (with a fill, some silence, etc.), you want to 
“lock” the first downbeat so that it stays in position:
5.Press [Shift] and click in the event at the position of 
the first downbeat (the start of the bar).
When you press [Shift], the pointer turns into a pencil. Clicking adds a 
tempo event at the first downbeat – when you later adjust the tempo with 
the Time Warp tool, the first downbeat will stay in place. Note that if the 
event starts exactly on the first downbeat (no audio before the “one”), 
you do not need to do this. This is because a tempo event is automati
-cally added at the start of the edited event.
6.Now, locate the start of the next bar in the ruler. 
7.Click at that position in the event display and drag to 
the downbeat of the second bar in the recording.
When you click, the pointer will snap to the ruler grid.
By dragging the grid, you changed the tempo value in the 
tempo event at the first downbeat. If the drummer held a 
fairly consistent tempo, the following bars should now 
match pretty well, too.
8.Check the following bars and locate the first position 
where the audio drifts from the tempo. 
						

							463
Editing tempo and signature
Now, if you simply adjusted that beat in the tempo grid to 
match the beat in the recording, the tempo event at the 
first downbeat would be changed – this would ruin the 
match in the previous bars! We need to lock these by in
-
serting a new tempo event.
9.Locate the last beat that is in sync.
This would be the beat just before the position where the audio and 
tempo drift apart.
10.Press [Shift] and click at that position to insert a tempo 
event there.
This locks this matched position. The material to the left will not be affected 
when you make adjustments further along.
11.Now match the tempo grid to the next (unmatched) 
beat by clicking and dragging with the Time Warp tool.
The tempo event you inserted in step 10 will be adjusted.
12.Work your way through the recording this way – when 
you find that the recording drifts from the tempo, repeat 
steps 9 to 11 above.
Now the tempo track follows the recording and you can 
add more material, rearrange the recording, etc.
Matching to hitpoints
If you have calculated hitpoints for the audio event you are 
editing, these will be shown when the Time Warp tool is 
selected.
• The number of hitpoints shown depends on the Hitpoint Sen-
sitivity slider setting you have made in Hitpoint mode.
• If you activate the Snap to Zero Crossing button on the tool-
bar, the Time Warp tool will snap to hitpoints when you drag 
the tempo grid.
• You can use the Create Markers from Hitpoints function (on 
the Hitpoints submenu of the Audio menu) to create markers 
at the hitpoint positions. This can be useful when using the 
Time Warp tool in the Project window, as the tool will be mag
-
netic to markers (if the Snap Type is set to Events).
Using the Time Warp tool in a MIDI editor
This is very similar to using the tool in an audio editor:
• When you use the Time Warp tool, a tempo event is automat-
ically inserted at the beginning of the edited part – this tempo 
event will be adjusted when you warp the tempo grid with the 
tool. Material before the edited part will not be affected.
• Only the default mode for the Time Warp tool is available. So 
when you use the tool, the edited MIDI track is temporarily 
switched to linear time base.
• The rulers in the MIDI editors can be set to “Time Linear” or 
“Bars+Beats Linear” mode (see 
“The ruler” on page 407) – 
the Time Warp tool requires Time Linear mode. If necessary, 
the ruler mode will be switched when you select the Time 
Warp tool.
• If Snap is activated on the toolbar in the MIDI editor, the tool 
will snap to the start and end of MIDI notes when you drag the 
tempo grid.
Typically, you would use the Time Warp tool in a MIDI 
editor to match the Nuendo tempo to freely recorded MIDI 
material (much like the audio example above). 
						

							34
The Project Browser 
						

							465
The Project Browser
Window Overview
The Project Browser window provides a list based repre-
sentation of the project. This allows you to view and edit all 
events on all tracks by using regular value editing in a list.
Opening the Project Browser
You open the Project Browser by selecting “Browser” from 
the Project menu. The Browser window can be open while 
you are working in other windows; any changes made in the 
Project window or an editor are immediately reflected in the 
Project Browser and vice versa.
Navigating in the Browser
You use the Project Browser much like you use the Win-
dows Explorer and Mac OS X Finder for browsing folders 
on your hard disk:
•Click on an item in the Project Structure list to select it 
for viewing.
The contents of the item are shown in the event display.
•Items with hierarchical substructures can be folded out 
by clicking the “+” symbols or the “closed folder” symbols 
in the Project Structure list.
When the substructure of an item is revealed, a “-” symbol or an “open 
folder” symbol is shown instead – click this to hide the substructure.
•To reveal or hide all substructures in the Project Struc-
ture list, use the buttons “(+) All” and “(–) All” above the list.
•The actual editing is done in the event display, using 
regular value editing techniques.
There is one exception: You can rename items in the Project Structure 
list by clicking on their names and typing.
Customizing the view
You can drag the divider between the Project Structure 
list and the event display to make one of them wider and 
the other narrower. Furthermore, the event display can be 
customized in the following ways:
•You can change the order of the columns by dragging 
the column headings to the left or right.
•You can resize columns by dragging the dividers be-
tween the column headings.
•To select a display format for all position and length val-
ues, use the Time Format pop-up menu.
Project Structure 
list. This is where 
you navigate 
through the project.Event display. This is 
where you view and 
edit parts, events and 
regions. Add pop-up menu and Add button for  
creating new parts, events and regions.Filter pop-up menu, used for 
MIDI editing Time Format (display format) 
pop-up menu 
						

							466
The Project Browser
•You can sort events in the display by columns, by click-
ing the column heading.
For example, if you want to sort events by their start positions, click that 
column heading. An arrow appears in the column heading, indicating that 
events are sorted by that column. The direction of the arrow indicates 
whether the events are sorted in ascending or descending order. To 
change the direction, click the column heading again.
Importing files via the MediaBay
You can also import audio, video and MIDI files into the 
Project Browser via the MediaBay using drag and drop.
ÖYou can only import into existing tracks. This means, for 
example, that a video track has to exist in the Project win
-
dow prior to importing a video file in the Project Browser.
For more information about the MediaBay, see “The Media-
Bay” on page 334.
About the Sync Selection option
If the “Sync Selection” checkbox is activated (on the 
Project Browser toolbar), selecting an event in the Project 
window automatically selects it in the Project Browser, and 
vice versa. This makes it easy to locate events in the two 
windows.
Editing tracks
Editing audio tracks
Audio tracks can have two “subitems”: Track Data and 
Automation. 
• The Automation item corresponds to the automation track in 
the Project window, and contains the track’s automation 
events (see 
“Editing automation tracks” on page 468).
• The Track Data item corresponds to the actual audio track in 
the Project window. It contains audio events and/or audio 
parts, which in turn can contain audio events.
Note that if you have not performed any automation or 
opened an automation track, the Browser will only contain 
the audio data.
The following parameters are available for the different 
items:
The list columns for audio events
ParameterDescription
NameAllows you to change the name of the event. Double-click-ing on the waveform image beside it opens the event in the 
Sample Editor.
FileThe name of the audio file referenced by the event’s au-dio clip.
StartThe start position of the event. If the event belongs to an 
audio part, you cannot move it outside the part.
EndThe end position of the event. 
SnapThe absolute position of the event’s snap point. Note that 
adjusting this value will not change the position of the snap 
point within the event – instead it is another way of moving 
the event!
LengthThe length of the event. 
OffsetThis determines “where in the audio clip” the event starts. 
Adjusting this value is the same as sliding the contents of 
the event in the Project window (see 
“Sliding the con-tents of an event or part” on page 74). You can only specify positive Offset values, since the 
event cannot start before the start of the clip. Likewise, it 
cannot end after the end of the clip. If the event already 
plays the whole clip, the Offset cannot be adjusted at all.
VolumeThe volume of the event, as set with the Volume handle or 
on the info line in the Project window.
Fade InFade OutThe length of the fade-in and fade-out areas respectively. 
If you use these settings to add a fade (where there pre-viously was none), a linear fade will be created. If you ad-just the length of an existing fade, the previous fade 
shape will be maintained.
MuteClick in this column to mute or unmute the event.
ImageDisplays a waveform image of the event inside a gray box 
corresponding to the clip. The image is scaled according 
to the width of the column. 
						

							467
The Project Browser
The list columns for audio parts
Creating audio parts
When the “Audio” item of an audio track is selected in the 
Project Structure list, you can create empty audio parts on 
the track by clicking the Add button on the toolbar. This 
will insert a part between the left and right locator.
Editing MIDI tracks
Just like audio tracks, MIDI tracks can have two “subitems”: 
Track Data and Automation.
• The Track Data item corresponds to the actual MIDI track in 
the Project window and can contain MIDI parts (which in turn 
can contain MIDI events).
• The Automation item corresponds to the automation track in 
the Project window, and contains the track’s automation 
events (see 
“Editing automation tracks” on page 468).
Note that if you have not performed any automation or 
opened an automation track, the Browser will only contain 
the MIDI data.
When editing the Track Data, the following parameters are 
available:
The list columns for MIDI events
The list columns for MIDI parts
ParameterDescription
NameThe name of the part. Double-clicking on the part symbol 
beside it opens the part in the Audio Part Editor.
StartThe start position of the part. Editing this value is the 
same as moving the part in the Project window.
EndThe end position of the part. Editing this value is the same 
as resizing the part in the Project window.
LengthThe length of the part. Editing this value is the same as 
resizing the part in the Project window.
OffsetThis adjusts the start position of the events within the part. 
Adjusting this value is the same as sliding the contents of 
the part in the Project window (see 
“Sliding the contents of an event or part” on page 74). Setting a positive Offset value is the same as sliding the contents to the left, while a 
negative Offset corresponds to sliding the contents to the 
right.
MuteClick in this column to mute or unmute the part.
ParameterDescription
TypeThe type of MIDI event. This cannot be changed.
StartThe position of the event. Editing this value is the same as 
moving the event.
EndThis is only used for note events, allowing you to view and 
edit the end position of a note (thereby resizing it).
LengthThis is only used for note events. It shows the length of 
the note – changing this resizes the note and automati-cally changes the End value as well.
Data 1The property of this value depends on the type of MIDI 
event:
For notes, this is the note number (pitch). This is displayed 
and edited as a note name and an octave number, with the 
values ranging between C-2 and G8.
For controller events, this is the type of controller, dis-played in words. Note that you can edit this by entering a 
number – the corresponding controller type is automati-cally displayed.For pitchbend events, this is the fine adjustment of the 
bend amount.
For poly pressure events, this is the note number (pitch).For other event types, this is the value of the event.
Data 2The property of this value depends on the type of MIDI 
event:
For notes, this is the note-on velocity.For controller events, this is the value of the event.For pitchbend events, this is the coarse bend amount.For poly pressure events, this is the amount of pressure.For other event types, this is not used.
ChannelThe event’s MIDI channel, see “Notes” on page 106.
CommentThis column is used for some event types only, providing 
an additional comment about the event.
ParameterDescription
NameThe name of the part.
StartThe start position of the part. Editing this value is the 
same as moving the part.
EndThe end position of the part. Changing this is the same as 
resizing the part (and will automatically affect the Length 
value as well).
LengthThe length of the part. Changing this resizes the part and 
automatically changes the End value.
OffsetThis adjusts the start position of the events within the 
part. Adjusting this value is the same as sliding the con-tents of the part in the Project window (see “Sliding the contents of an event or part” on page 74). Setting a pos-itive Offset value is the same as sliding the contents to 
the left, while a negative Offset corresponds to sliding the 
contents to the right.
MuteClick in this column to mute or unmute the part.
Parameter Description 
						

							468
The Project Browser
ÖFor SysEx (system exclusive) events, you can only edit 
the position (Start) in the list. However, clicking the Com
-
ment column opens the SysEx Editor, in which you can 
perform detailed editing of system exclusive events. For a 
description of this, see 
“Working with SysEx messages” 
on page 427.
Filtering MIDI events
When you are editing MIDI in the Project Browser, the large 
number of different MIDI events displayed can make it hard 
to find the events you want to edit. The Filter pop-up menu 
allows you to select a single event type for display.
When this option is selected, only Controller events will be shown in 
the event display. To show all event types, select the top item (“---”) 
from the menu.
Creating MIDI parts
When a MIDI track is selected in the Project Structure list, 
you can create empty MIDI parts on the track by clicking 
the Add button. This will insert a part between the left and 
right locator.
Creating MIDI events
You can use the Project Browser to create new MIDI 
events:
1.Select a MIDI part in the Project Structure list.
2.Move the project cursor to the desired position for the 
new event.
3.Use the Add pop-up menu above the event display to 
select which type of MIDI event to add.
4.Click the Add button.
An event of the selected type is added to the part, at the project cursor 
position. If the cursor is outside the selected part, the event is added at 
the beginning of the part.
Editing automation tracks
All kinds of Nuendo automation (the automation tracks for 
MIDI, instrument, audio, group, and FX channel tracks, or 
the individual automation tracks for VST instruments, 
ReWire channels, or input and output busses) are handled 
in the same way in the Project Browser. Each Automation 
item in the Project Structure list will have a number of sub
-
entries, one for each automated parameter. Selecting one 
of these parameters in the Project Structure list shows its 
automation events in the list:
You can use the two columns in the list to edit the position 
of the events and their values.
Editing the video track
When the video track is selected in the Project Structure 
list, the event display lists the video events on the track, 
with the following parameters:
ColumnDescription
NameThe name of the video clip that the event refers to.
Start The start position of the event. Editing this value is the 
same as moving the event.
EndThe end position of the event. Editing this value is the 
same as resizing the event, and will automatically change 
the Length value as well. 
						

							469
The Project Browser
Editing marker tracks
Marker events have the following parameters:
You can insert markers on the selected marker track by 
selecting “Marker” or “Cycle Marker” from the Add pop-up 
menu and clicking the Add button. Regular markers will be 
added at the current project cursor position while cycle 
markers will be added between the current left and right 
locator positions.
ÖThe Project Browser only displays the default attributes.
For further information on markers and marker tracks, refer 
to the chapter 
“Using markers” on page 136.
Editing the tempo track
When the tempo track is selected in the Project Structure 
list, the event display shows the events on the tempo 
track, with the following parameters:
You can add new tempo events by clicking the Add but-
ton. This creates a jump-type event with the value 120 
bpm at the project cursor position. Make sure that there is 
no other tempo event at the current cursor position.
Editing time signatures
When “Signature track” is selected in the Project Structure 
list, the event display shows the time signature events in the 
project:
You can add new time signature events by clicking the 
Add button. This creates a 4/4 event, at the beginning of 
the bar closest to the project cursor position. Make sure 
that there is no other time signature event at the current 
cursor position.
Deleting events
The procedure for deleting events is the same for all differ-
ent track types:
1.Click on an event (or a part) in the Event display to se-
lect it.
2.Select Delete from the Edit menu or press [Delete] or 
[Backspace].
LengthThe length of the event. Editing this value is the same as 
resizing the event, and will automatically change the End 
value as well.
OffsetThis determines “where in the video clip” the event starts.Note that the event cannot start before the start of the 
clip, or end after the end of the clip. Thus, if the event al-ready plays the whole video clip, the Offset cannot be ad-justed at all.
ColumnDescription
DescriptionThe name of the marker. This can be edited for all markers 
except the left and right locator.
Start The position of “regular” markers or the start position of 
cycle markers.
End The end positions of cycle markers. Editing this value is 
the same as resizing the cycle marker, and will automati-cally change the Length value as well.
Length The length of cycle markers. Editing this value is the same 
as resizing the marker, and will automatically change the 
End value as well.
IDThe number of the marker. For regular (non-cycle) mar-kers, this corresponds to the key commands used for 
navigating to the markers. For example, if a marker has 
ID
 3, pressing [Shift]-[3] on the computer keyboard will 
move the song position to that marker. By editing these 
values, you can assign the most important markers to key 
commands.
Note that you cannot edit the “L” and “R” marker IDs (left 
and right locator) or assign IDs 1 and 2 to markers (since 
these are reserved for the locators).
Column Description
ParameterDescription
PositionThe position of the tempo event. You cannot move the 
first event on the tempo track.
TempoThe tempo value of the event.
TypeThis indicates whether the tempo jumps to the value of 
the event (“Jump” type) or whether it changes gradually 
from the previous tempo event, creating a ramp (“Ramp” 
type), see 
“Editing the tempo curve” on page 455.
ParameterDescription
PositionThe position of the event. Note that you cannot move the 
first time signature event.
SignatureThe value (time signature) of the event. 
!Note that you cannot delete the first tempo event or 
the first time signature event. 
						

							35
The Track Sheet