Pro Tools Certification

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Catoogie
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Pro Tools Certification

Post by Catoogie » Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:27 pm

I've been a professional, semi-professional musician for 25 years. I've had a Pro Tools (002R/G5) rig which I've used sporadically over the years with a bunch of half-finished recordings to show for it. I have access to amazing musicians, great ideas and great songs but my Pro Tools knowledge and abilities stifle me. Recently I thought maybe I should take a Pro Tools class and become certified. I figured it would GREATLY increase my confidence, knowledge and workflow and in-turn, coupled with my innate musicality and good taste would open me up to some promising opportunities.

To be honest I worried that taking a class would be kind of hokey, I'm from the school of putting your time in, trudging it out in the real world and building from there but I'm 45 and my lifestyle doesn't allow me to spend 12 hours shadowing someone in the studio. One of my best friends won a Grammy last year for engineering the best R&B album and I asked him what he thought about it. He knows my deal, I'm a 'veteran' as a musician but I don't have the Pro Tools skills. He thought it was a great idea and something that would be hugely beneficial to someone like me.

So my question is, where do I start? I'm in Philly. Thanks guys.

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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:36 am

Go to Avid.com to enroll in a class, or to do it online.

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AndersonSoundRecording
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Post by AndersonSoundRecording » Mon Sep 12, 2011 4:41 pm

The Avid training is generally not cheap, and may be overkill for what you are looking to do.

Are there any community colleges nearby that offer recording classes that feature Pro Tools? The one that I teach at uses PT in the introductory course.
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Sean Sullivan
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Post by Sean Sullivan » Wed Sep 21, 2011 1:15 pm

http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Tools-Officia ... 630&sr=1-1

I think this book is plenty for your needs. Or really any book that comes with a DVD of sessions for you to work with while reading the book.
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TapeOpLarry
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Post by TapeOpLarry » Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:47 pm

I've always just approached PT from "what do I want it to do?" versus "What can it do?" Your friend who won a Grammy didn't win it for Pro Tools chops, he won it for all the other bits of knowledge that helped him make a great recording. I've slowly learned more about PT, but just as I need to and in order to apply the tool in the best way I can. My 2 cents.
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sessionsatstudiom
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Post by sessionsatstudiom » Fri Sep 30, 2011 7:40 am

Ken Walden at Secrets of the Pros has some pro tools training DVDs. He used to work for them and is one of the best PT ops I know. You can learn a lot from them. I think there are 3 of them.

Mike

PT Certification means nothing in the end. Most PT operators that are certified that come to work at my "Day Job" look like a deer in the headlights when asked to do some of the tasks quickly that some of us have been doing for years. I work corporate post production during the day.

But just figure out what you need to know to fit your work you want to do and head down that path.
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mscottweber
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Post by mscottweber » Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:32 am

There is most likely nothing in the expensive official Avid Pro Tools certification course that you can't learn from online videos, dvds, reading the user guide, and trial and error. The big draw of the certification is that, if you were to pursue producing and engineering work, being able to market yourself as "Pro Tools Certified" can make you worth more to potential clients.

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alexdingley
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Re: Pro Tools Certifications

Post by alexdingley » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:32 pm

I'm inclined to say that the certification will amount to little more than a bragging right for you in the end. With a lot of software certs, they are only good for Current and 1-prior versions... So if you get certed in PT 9, that cert might only be meaningful for a couple/few years until they jump to v10, and v11... Then it's time to re-up. So it's a cycle of money that keeps getting spent on something which might not pay off as well as, say, a good social marketing campaign. I have a couple production software certs, and frankly... No one has ever asked.

I've never seen a thread on the boards called: "Got rejected 'cause clients decided to go with a pro tools certified engineer". But maybe I was using too specific of a search. ;-)


Ps: I just feel more comfortable going with an Alliance-Approved magicians

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ott0bot
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Post by ott0bot » Sat Oct 22, 2011 6:17 pm

my advice....take a few DAW classes at a community college with a small class sizes from a teacher with a good rep. That way you get the knowledge and practical application skills from someone who actually utilizes the program in a studio setting for a couple hundred dollars. Totally worth it.

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sonicanger
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Post by sonicanger » Sun Oct 23, 2011 4:54 pm

along the lines of what other have been saying: before splashing out serious coin on a course, why not spend $30 for monthly pass somewhere like groove3 and run through a few of the pro tools tutorials on line? You'll probably get everything you need out of them to make a more informed decision.

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billkahler
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Post by billkahler » Sat Oct 29, 2011 7:48 am

I think asking yourself "what do I want PT to do" is a good approach but it's also a good idea to check various books etc. You may find something it does that will help your work flow in a very big way that you never imagined.
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