Nuendo Project File Structure
Let’s create a new project. A project is the basic file structure in Nuendo. A project consists of one or more Nuendo Project Files (.npr) and any number of associated audio and video files along with other data the Nuendo uses to display the audio waveforms. All of these files, along with very large video files, are usually stored in one folder together. This is called the project folder.
When you record audio into Nuendo, it will be stored in the project folder inside another folder called simply Audio. The Nuendo project file contains a reference to that folder and will go to the folder to find audio files that are part of the project.
When you record audio, Nuendo needs to create data that allows it to display the waveform of sound. Nuendo creates a waveform display file for each and every audio file that is a part of the project. Those files are stored in a folder called Images within the project folder.
This might all seem simple and obvious at first, but when things start to get complicated and files outside the project folder are used within a Nuendo project, trouble can arise in the form of missing audio files and project backups that do not work correctly. Nuendo provides some simple tools to help avoid these issues when backing up projects while still providing the flexibility to use files outside the project folder as needed. If you have a clear understanding of how the project file structure works, any issues can be avoided or corrected.
To create a new project, select New from the File menu. The new Project dialog box (see Figure 2.30) opens. Here you will see the list of available templates that have been created with the option to create an empty project. Choose Empty so you can start from scratch.
Figure 2.30 New Project dialog box.
You will be prompted to set the project folder. Navigate to the directory where you want to store your project. You should create an empty folder for Nuendo to use. It is possible to use an existing folder, and this is where mistakes are often made. If you do not create a new folder for the project, the current directory will be used, no matter what other files might be in there. It is best to create a new, empty folder for any new project.
Pro Tools User Tip Pro Tools users will be used to the folder being created for you. When you create a new session in Pro Tools, the name of the session is given to the enclosing folder that Pro Tools creates for you. In Nuendo, you create this folder yourself and can name it whatever you like or use an existing folder. The project file (.npr) that is saved inside can have another name if you choose.
Caution I have had many clients who create project folders within other project folders inadvertently. Or they do not create separate project folders for unique projects (like different songs on an album), so what ends up happening is every audio file for all the projects is in the same Audio folder. This can cause a lot of confusion later on when trying to copy various projects to other systems or for backing up. Try to figure out where “Audio_01” goes when you have 500 of them in the same folder, and you get the idea. This happens with both Nuendo and Cubase as they have the same file structure.
Okay, so now you should have an empty Nuendo project open in front of you. It should look something like Figure 2.31.
The top window is called the project window. This is the main edit screen in Nuendo and the place where you spend a lot of time. The middle window is called the transport for obvious reasons. It has a number of controls that pertain to locating, playing, recording, and counter displays. At the bottom is the mixer.
Notice that it has two channels that represent the VST Inputs and VST Outputs. If you have already configured your VST Connections for your studio setup, the mixer might show different channels. A new project that does not use a template will adopt the current VST Connections. You can change the VST Connections at any time.
Project Setup
When you first create a project, there are some basic settings that you should determine before beginning any work. To access these basic settings, we want to open the Project Setup window by either selecting it from the Project menu or using the Shift+S shortcut keys. For now, we just need to set the very basic settings for audio formats. At the bottom of this window shown in Figure 2.32 are the audio settings.
These settings affect what type of audio file is created when recording. Setting the sample rate, bit depth, and file type determines how audio files are written to hard disk. You must ensure that these settings match the settings for your audio interface so there is no mismatch later.
Figure 2.32 Project Setup window.
Sample Rate—Nuendo can record at all sample rates including some not so commonly used ones. This is only limited by the capabilities of your audio hardware.
Bit Resolution—For 99 percent of the time, this should be 24-bit. A resolution of 16-bit is only useful when using much older audio hardware that is only capable of 16-bit audio. A 32-bit floating-point resolution is only useful if you are processing signals with plug-ins on the VST Input channels.
Record File Type—Nuendo is capable of recording in various file formats depending on your needs. The current most widely used format is Broadcast Wave File. Even the newer MXF format is supported for film and post work.
Stereo Pan Law—This setting determines how Nuendo performs stereo panning in the mixer. Common practice is to use -3 or -4.5 dB for the pan law, but the Equal Power method is more psycho-acoustically appropriate.
Now that you have the very basic settings ready to go, we can take a look at the layout of a Nuendo project in the next chapter. The rest of the settings in the project setup will be discussed later as they pertain to various sections.