# Pro Tools for ADR: instructor pacing guide ## Delivery model This is a 25-30 hours college-level intensive for students beginning with no application-specific experience. Students complete the 75-minute Professional Media Workflow Foundation first. Module checkpoints are formative; the completed portfolio is assessed with the 100-point rubric. ## Lab readiness - Current Pro Tools Studio or Ultimate lab system with video playback. - Audio interface, talkback path, closed-back performer headphones, and one dialogue microphone. - A quiet recording space with a stable picture display. - Completion of the shared workflow foundation; prior ADR experience is not required. - Create one clean student account and complete every guided build before release. - Publish the exact tested application version, workspace/keymap assumptions, storage location, and support escalation route. - Provide captions and transcripts for demonstrations, text alternatives for diagrams, and additional time or alternate input methods where required. ## Module 1: Prepare picture, timecode, and the ADR session **Student workload:** 3 hours **Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account. **Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection. **Outcomes:** - Verify picture frame rate and session timecode. - Import picture and guide audio without offset errors. - Build repeatable record, comp, production, and print tracks. **Checkpoint:** Submit Session Setup, picture/window-burn, marker, and routing screenshots with a signed sync and latency record. **Common diagnostic prompts:** - Window burn and counter drift gradually: Check frame-rate mismatch, variable-frame-rate picture, pull settings, and picture transcode properties. - Guide is consistently early or late: Verify timestamp placement, first frame of action, two-pop, and any known editorial offset before sliding clips. - Performer hears distracting delay: Reduce buffer and monitoring plugins, use low-latency or hardware monitoring where approved, and remeasure the path. ## Module 2: Spot, name, and cue replacement lines **Student workload:** 3 hours **Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account. **Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection. **Outcomes:** - Decide which lines require ADR and why. - Create consistent cue identifiers and cue records. - Prepare clear visual and audible prompting without obscuring performance. **Checkpoint:** Submit the cue sheet, marker export, and a cue-by-cue decision record with frame-accurate in/out references. **Common diagnostic prompts:** - Cue numbers change during revision: Keep IDs stable and mark status or version separately; never renumber all later cues after a deletion. - Beep timing encourages clipped first words: Check pre-roll, performer latency, and the exact implied fourth beat; allow a natural lead-in where the performance requires it. - Cue text disagrees with picture edit: Confirm the current locked picture version and log the discrepancy before recording. ## Module 3: Route and run a safe ADR stage **Student workload:** 3.5 hours **Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account. **Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection. **Outcomes:** - Choose microphone and placement for the production perspective. - Create separate performer and control-room balances. - Run record checks that prevent clipped, delayed, or contaminated takes. **Checkpoint:** Submit the routing diagram, stage checklist, three perspective recordings, and microphone-position photographs or measured sketches. **Common diagnostic prompts:** - Headphone mix feeds back: Check open microphones, speaker muting, talkback routing, send pre/post state, and performer headphone isolation. - Recorded level changes between takes: Check performer distance, preamp movement, clip gain accidentally printed, and any automation or plugin on the record path. - Take contains beeps or guide: Trace bus assignments and physical loopback; solo-safe monitoring paths must not feed the record input. ## Module 4: Direct, record, and preserve performances **Student workload:** 3.5 hours **Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account. **Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection. **Outcomes:** - Give playable direction tied to story action. - Record and label complete take sequences. - Maintain a live cue log without interrupting performance flow. **Checkpoint:** Submit all takes for three cues, the live cue log, and a direction reflection connecting each note to an audible change. **Common diagnostic prompts:** - Performance becomes mechanical: Stop chasing frames, restore scene context and objective, capture a free take, then shape timing from the stronger performance. - Take names and cue log diverge: Pause, reconcile the current cue before recording more, and use a single operator naming convention. - The performer strains to match effort: Recreate physical posture safely, use breath and movement cues, reduce repeated high-effort takes, and schedule recovery. ## Module 5: Edit, synchronize, and match ADR **Student workload:** 4 hours **Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account. **Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection. **Outcomes:** - Comp performances while preserving cadence and intention. - Align consonants and actions without over-tightening natural speech. - Match perspective, ambience, spectral balance, and dynamics. **Checkpoint:** Submit raw preferred take, edited dry ADR, matched ADR in context, and an annotated sync/perspective decision sheet. **Common diagnostic prompts:** - Lip sync looks correct but feels late: Inspect consonant onset, picture-monitor delay, guide offset, and whether the actor anticipates the visible mouth movement. - ADR sounds too close: Revisit microphone distance first, then reduce proximity, high-frequency detail, and direct-to-ambience ratio carefully. - Time processing creates artifacts: Return to alternate takes or smaller region-based moves; process sustained vowels rather than consonant attacks where possible. ## Module 6: Review, turn over, and archive ADR **Student workload:** 3 hours plus capstone work **Before class or release:** Verify the module diagram, application version, required source media, storage path, and checkpoint folder. Reproduce the guided build on a clean lab account. **Suggested pacing:** 20 minutes retrieval and orientation; 30 minutes principle instruction; 30 minutes annotated demonstration; 90-120 minutes guided build; 45-60 minutes independent challenge; 15 minutes checkpoint packaging and reflection. **Outcomes:** - Run a cue-by-cue picture review. - Deliver aligned clips and stems with stable identifiers. - Package session, reports, media, and known issues for handoff. **Checkpoint:** The capstone package is the checkpoint: picture-referenced session, cue log, dry and matched stems, alternates, QC report, and archive. **Common diagnostic prompts:** - Consolidated clips lose useful source handles: Follow the turnover specification for handle length and retain the full recorded session in the archive. - Cue sheet points to the wrong take: Reconcile by stable cue ID and audition; never infer from playlist order alone. - Recipient sees a picture offset: Compare picture checksum, frame rate, start timecode, first frame of action, and timestamp before moving audio. ## Assessment calibration Before marking, score two sample portfolios independently. Discuss any criterion differing by more than five points, revise the local examples, and retain the common rubric language. Do not reward expensive equipment, preset choice, or speed where the stated outcome is judgment, organization, delivery, or evidence. ## Completion gate A portfolio is not complete until the native project opens on a second lab system, required outputs meet the specification, the final master has been inspected outside the timeline, known limitations are documented, and the student can explain the workflow in five minutes.