SMPTE HELL - a solution for film composers

[jessbailey]

Hi

I just bought a MacPro/Logic 7.2.3 and I discovered that there is a bug, whereby you cannot edit the timecode reference in the Tempo List - effectively making it impossible for composers to work to picture.

I have found a workable solution that I would like to share with everyone.

Apologies in advance if you think I am being pedantic, but I want to make this as idiot-proof as possible....

 

1. make a screen set with the following global tracks in this order:

Tempo/Beatmapping/Marker (you can move the order of the tracks around as in any arrange page)

Zoom out so you can see the lines from the beatmapping track

 

2. Set start time of the cue in the Song Settings>Synchronisation page

 

For this example, let's make bar 5 10:00:00:00 and tempo 60bpm

(If you now look in the tempo list, you will see a tempo event at bar 5, t/code: 10:00:00:00

 

3. Put a marker on bar 5 and lock it.

When you select this marker in the global track you will see a line coming up towards the beatmap track. Click on in to 'connect it, and you should see a tempo node appear in the tempo track. If you now open the tempo list, you will see one 'event' at bar1 and one at bar 5. (don't worry if this doesn't occur in exactly this order - it really is going to work)

We are now ready to 'map' the cue.

 

4.Let's say that you want to hit a cut and change tempo at 10:00:31:17 :

Move the SPL to this timecode, insert a marker and lock it

 

At the current tempo, this would be at bar 12 4 3 174. (we will want this to be bar 13)

 

5. Put a marker at bar 12 and lock it (any tempo change will only occur between here and the 'new' bar 13

 

6. Click on the marker at bar 12 and connect it as we did for bar5

 

7. Click on the marker we want to change and then click and hold on the beatmap mark for bar 13 (which is ahead of our marker.) and a yellow dialogue box opens and says 'Set Beat'. If you now drag the mouse down to meet the edge of your marker you get another yellow line at an angle and the dialogue: Set Beat to 12 4 3 174.

When you connect the line, you will see that your marker is now at bar 13, and there is a new tempo node at bar12 of 65.2173.

Now you can go into the tempo list, create an event at bar 13 and select whatever tempo you like.

 

The same protocol applies as you go through the cue

 

In practice I think this is not much more time consuming than doing this in the tempo list, as there has always been a bit of faffing about deciding on the time signature of the bar before the tempo change to minimise fluctuations.

 

I arrived at this solution after looking in the Manual page 338 and although I have to overcome the 'muscle memory' of working with the tempo list, this seems a good solution.

 

Hope this is of some help

Let's hope Apple sort this one out along with the other gremlins.

[dwaynedelario]

Hey jessbailey,

 

maybe i am misunderstanding your objective but i score to picture and use the "tempo operations" window for this purpose all the time. i simply select the change area with the loop selector at the top and open this window "Options > Tempo > Tempo Operations" and you can lock the destination Bar and SMPTE independent of each other or together. Great feature really. Is this what you are trying to achieve with ease?

 

-Joe

[gsilbers]

changing the SMPTE time code?? or tempo? time code will always be the same unles u are workin with 2 diferent TC pixs . and there arent many options 23.98

and 29.97 and 25 for PAL.

do u mean tempo changes in the tempo list??

[jessbailey]

Hey jessbailey,

 

maybe i am misunderstanding your objective but i score to picture and use the "tempo operations" window for this purpose all the time. i simply select the change area with the loop selector at the top and open this window "Options > Tempo > Tempo Operations" and you can lock the destination Bar and SMPTE independent of each other or together. Great feature really. Is this what you are trying to achieve with ease?

 

-Joe

 

Sorry if this was confusing. What I mean is that on Intel Macs you can't change the SMPTE position within the tempo list, but I just tried your method and it seems great

Thanks

[camillo jr]

I've never used the tempo op window before, only the global tracks method.

 

I'm trying to figure this out.... is this a way of locking a tempo to a specific point on the time line? Be great if it did. I find that if I change a tempo earlier in a peice that the start of a tempo change down the line moves and I have to move it back.

 

If it isn't tempo that's being locked then what is? I see "position" and "time" in the window. I know you can lock regions and automation to SMPTE but I'm not sure what's being locked here from this window.