Fairlight final mixdown

Hi,
I'm a new user of Resolve and I may well be missing something obvious!

I have set up and adjusted all my audio tracks to give me close to what I want in the final output. I was expecting to be able to do what I will call a 'live final mixdown' to produce the result I want. By this I mean a final reviewing of the combined outputs with small tweaks to the faders as I listen to the result.
In Premiere Pro (which I have used for many years) there is a facility to do this and the system 'remembers' the fader settings so that the whole task is repeatable, so can be modified as necessary and then rendered as the final mix.

I can't find this in Resolve. Have I missed it or has this valuable faclilty not been provided? It is very useful to enable that final tweak to be made without having to go into each clip with keyframes.

Advice much appreciated..

Terry

Refer to the Resolve 17 Manual:
Bouncing Audio | Page 3273 | Chapter 174 | Mixing in the Fairlight Page
Automation Recording | Page 3276 | Chapter 175 | Automation Recording

Dear Reynaud,
Many thanks for such a helpful reply. That was just what I was looking for - though far more sophisticated than I need! I will have a go at it.

Two points - I'm assuming that any keyframe edits I may have already placed in the audio clip will still be there and operating? i.e. the automation works 'over the top' of what any such edit.

Second - are you aware of any video tutorial that covers this area?

Many thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.
Regards,
Terry

Have a look at the two Fairlight tutorial sections here.
https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/products/davinciresolve/training

I'm assuming that any keyframe edits I may have already placed in the audio clip will still be there and operating? i.e. the automation works 'over the top' of what any such edit.

Correct, automation is Track-based while keyframing is Clip-based.

With “Automation Follows Edit” enabled in the Fairlight toolbar (or via the Fairlight menu > Automation > Follows Edit), automation will remain associated with underlying Audio Clips with edits - enabling both keyframes and automation to shift with Clips on the Timeline.

Hi Charles and Reynaud,
Many thanks for the replies.
I certainly agree that Mary's two Fairlight tutorials are very good but as far as I can see she doesn't actually get to an 'automation' mixdown.
I've had a go and by referring to the manual made some progress. I'm getting there though my results are hidden as I don't get the red line in the clip as the manual says (page 3280) - and therefore I have no visibility of where I've been and what I've done. This makes things a little tricky.
Is there a setting to use to get the red line?
Cheers,
Terry

Hi Terry,

I've been working with Automation myself lately.

There are a few basic steps.

1. Enable automation in the Fairlight GUI (to the right of the playback controls across the top, looks like two small circles/wheels and a strip of tape passing past them). That enables automation and will read any existing automation, but will not write anything - yet.

2. Select mode (Write/Trim); Touch (Off, Latch, Snap); On Stop (Event, Hold, Return) and what parameters you want to write (the list laid out across to the right), f.x. fader movements, panning, EQ changes, etc. That tells Resolve what controls and how you want to record them as far as Automation goes.

3. Enable the tracks you want to record automation for (there's a corresponding automation symbol icon at the head of each track), if you want to see the automation line you can choose one and only one from the pull down menu right beside the icon to enable writing automation to the track.

4. As I've been told, it's a good idea to "stripe" your track with a "static write" - a baseline setting from the top of the project to the end. You do this by enabling Automation and parameters desired as per above, set "On Stop" to Hold, press Play and then Stop a second or two later. That will write your current values across the timeline and server as a starting point for further automation moves. You only need to do this with parameters you plan to automate, not everything.

The manual helps explain how the different modes and settings work.

When it comes to reading automation, while many other DAWs have a dedicated "Read Automation" button, in Fairlight if Automation is enabled it will automatically read any and all automation present.

This is at least my understanding, I'm sure some of the Fairlight veterans will chime in with additions or corrections as needed.

Hope this helps at least get you started.

Cheers,
Thor

Terry you can adjust the mix as you put it down in realtime, to do it you need to record the mix back to a track on the timeline.
Create a new stereo track (or surround if in that format) and before you do anything else, the track will be automatically assigned out the main bus. You need to turn that off before you can patch the mix to the track or you won't be able to patch it. Just hover over the main bus assign on the track channel and click the X.
Then patch the main bus out left and right to the track input left and right of the track you are recording the mix on, usually call it the print track. Hit record and tweek away as the mix gets recorded. When it's done right click the clip you recorded and choose export clip to file, and you can choose the destination folder. If you name the clip first in the attributes, you can also choose to use that as the name for the exported file.

This is how many soundies work on longer form stuff, (although with a little more complicated bussing setup) because if just one short scene needs altering, you can just drop that section into the print track, consolidate the track into one clip again and export it rather than having to remix a whole long project.

Hi Thor and Andy,
Many thanks to you both for your inputs.
Thor's remark about how to bring up the automation line is useful as I wasn't aware of that.
I will need more study to follow the Australian suggestions from Andy. It sounds a very neat idea but - as I said - i need to think about it more.
I'm so glad that the automation facility is there but like most of Resolve it is so comprehansive that I have to get my mind in gear first!

Thanks again,
Terry.

Hi,
I posted this thread a long time ago but for a variety of reasons have not yet got into the subject.
My porblem is with Automation of audio tracks.
I follow the advice I've been given but one major problem. I can see the 'global' automation symbol which brings up the options (fader,EQ etc) but NO SYMBOLS ON THE AUDIO TRACKS Obviously with no symbols indicated it is not surprising that the function doesn't work.
Any ideas why the symbols don't appear please?
I'm still with version 17.
Thanks,
Terry.

Is the Track height set to a narrower setting? Is the automation icon exposed on Fairlight Mixer channels?

This shows what Reynaud is referring to, plus some other automation related things.
You might find the Automation section of the Fairlight chapter in the Reference Manual usefull. It is on page 3638.

Hi Reynard & Charles.
Thank you very much for the helpful replies.
I think I'm making progress. I could not find the automation logo on the individual tracks ----then ---I happened to expand (widen) a track and there it was! With a narrow audio track setting there was no icon which was my problem.
Thanks!
One, hopefully final, query. Having put down some 'automation' on a track what are the options for removing it? Does one have to run the automation again with a fixed level or are there other methods.
Thanks again for your help.
Terry

One way to remove automation is to select Focus Mode, highlight the section of automation with the tool, and click Backspace (NOT Delete) on your keyboard.

Fairlight provides a few methods to delete automation data:
(1) Edit menu > History > Open History window or Command + Z to Undo and step through event actions
(2) Option + Command click an individual automation node
(3) In Focus or Range mode define a Range followed by Backspace
(4) In Focus or Range mode define a Range followed by Fairlight menu > Automation > Erase
(5) Fairlight menu > Mix List > New Mix > Empty Mix

Hi,
Again thank you both for the very helpful replies. I'll give the methods a try.
Regards,
Terry.

Good info - never used automation in Fairlight.
Always tweaked levels by adding points to the db line (alt+left click)
Will problem keep doing so mostly as for me it's more precise/easier/what I'm used to.
But good info to learn.
The tip to show the automation track was critical.
My tracks were too small to even show that dialogue.

Thanks guys!