Templates Make Life Easier

Templates can make a project run smoothly in any application-program, especially in Pro Tools. In this blog I will discuss the advantages in creating a unique template for work process. For one to create a new session and begin creating tracks and aux busses to route sounds through, can fairly take up time and distract your creative thinking. Pro tools just like any other application today allows you to create a session and make a template off of it, for future use.
First you would want to create a session, which will come out empty with no tracks provided. You will need to create the tracks desired. You can add tracks with the “track” menu. Many people work differently in Pro Tools so choose the work flow that best compliments your work. I usually start with about 5 mono/stereo tracks, 4 Instruments tracks, 3 auxiliary tracks, a click track and 1 master fader for final audio result. After clicking on “create”, your session is half way done. Next we would have to use the busses routing matrix to route the audio to the correct aux’s and so on. That would be up to you to decide where you want the audio to be routed to, using the busses I/O settings. Once the routing has been done, your session is complete. Now you can save the session as a template, so you can easily use the custom settings you have arranged.
You can save a session template in the “file” menu; it’s called “save session template”. Once you opened up this window, you will need to choose where you want to save the template. I would save it somewhere you can find it easily. Create a new category and save it in there. Now when you open pro tools the system will ask you which template or saved session would you like to use. Simply click on the new category you have created and you will find the template you have saved inside. I also recommend you save it with a name you will remember. Templates just make life easier.

Digidesign (publisher). (2007). Pro Tools® 7.3 - Music Creation (Part 1). Retrieved from:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knXGQGpXWCw