Automation Clips On FL Studio

Automation Clips This feature is available only in FL Studio Producer Edition & FL Studio Signature Bundle.

Automation Clips move (automate) linked controls on the FL Studio interface or plugins. They are closely related to Event automation and are a type of internal controller. Unlike event data they are not bound to a specific pattern and exist as a special type of Generator, loaded into a Channel. Automation Clip data can be displayed in the Playlist window as a line-graph, as shown below.

Jump to Channel Settings

NOTE: Once an Automation Clip is created it will appear as an 'Internal controller' link option in the 'Link to controller' Right-click dialog on automatable controls.

Automation Clips

Automation Clip Focus

The clip focus selector (shown below) is used to focus various clip types. This is particularly useful when clips are stacked, the focused clip will be brought to the top for selection and editing. Selecting CTRL+click will focus all clips so they can be moved together.

Automation Clip focus

Right-click tab - Show Automation Clip menu.

Step - Sets the Automation Clip curve editor in 'step editing' mode. Left-click and drag in the clip to create a "free hand" curve where a new control point is defined for every step in the timeline (steps depend on the current snap settings). Hold SHIFT while dragging to draw "pulse" lines (straight vertical/horizontal lines only). Note that each new segment created this way uses the last tension set while adding a segment.

Slide - Preserves the relative distance between a dragged control point and all control points following it.

Creating Automation Clips

There are several ways to create an Automation Clip:

Native FL Studio controls - Native controls, those on the FL Studio interface and Image-Line plugins, can be Right-clicked to show a popup menu. Select 'Create automation clip'. A clip will be added to the Playlist Clip-Track area (as shown above). See Notes below.

VST plugin controls - Move (tweak) the target control on the VST using your mouse, then, from the Tools Menu select 'Last tweaked > Create automation clip'. This will create an Automation Clip and place it in the Playlist for further editing. See Note below. For more information on linking targets in FL Studio and plugins see the sections on Linking internal controllers and Linking hardware controllers.

Add a Channel - Add an Automation Clip to a channel from the Channels > Add One > Automation Clip dialog. In this case an Automation Clip display won't automatically show in the Playlist.

Convert from Event Data - All recorded automation is saved as Event Data. Convert Event Data to an Automation Clip from the 'Edit > Turn into automation clip' command in the Event Editor menu.

Audio Clips - FL Studio also provides you with a quick way to automate the volume/pan of an Audio Clip. Open the clip menu and select either Automate > Panning or Automate > Volume. The new Automation Clip will be placed over the target Audio Clip.

NOTE: Time range - If you pre-select a time-range in the Playlist, the Automation Clip will be restricted to the selected range. If no range is selected then the Automation Clip will span the entire song length.

Deleting Automation Clips

Delete the Automation Clip Channel. Deleting the Automation Clip from the Playlist leaves the Channel in place for use later in the Project.

NOTE: Initialized controls - When an Automation Clip is created using the Right-click menu option, the control will be initialized with the current value. This initialization remains after the Clip is deleted or unlinked. To remove the initialization, find it in the Browser > Current project > Patterns > Initialized controls list, then Right-click and select 'Delete event' OR set the control to the desired starting level and Right-click it to select 'Init song with this position'.

Working with Automation Clips

The following operations may be performed in the Clip Track area of the Playlist. See Video Tutorials here.

Automation Clip focus - Selects the Automation Clip layer/s for editing.

Step - When selected, allows you to draw relatively free-hand curves by laying down a new control point each time a Left-clicked mouse is dragged past a grid line.

Slide - When selected, slides any grabbed control points to the right of the selected point without changing the shape. When de-selected the moved control point will move relative to the points to the right of it.

To place the Automation Clip in the Playlist - Use the Clip selector along the top of the Playlist window to select the Automation Clip to be placed, then Left-click in the Playlist window while in Draw ( Shift+P) or Paint ( Shift+B) mode.

Add control points - Right-click on the clip area, continue to hold and drag to reposition the point. Hold ( Shift) while dragging to lock the vertical position, or ( Ctrl) to lock the horizontal position. Hold ( Alt) to override snapping (if selected).

Copy / Paste control point values - Right-click the source control point and select Copy value then Right-click the destination conorol point and select Paste value.

Delete Control Points - Right-click a control point and select Delete (make sure 'STEP' mode is off), OR quicker, hold ( Right Alt) and Left-click points.

Move control points - Left-click the control point and drag to the desired position (the point will snap to the background grid unless Playlist Snap Selector is set to none). Hold (Shift) while dragging to lock the vertical position, or ( Ctrl) to lock the horizontal position. Hold ( Alt) to override snapping (if selected).

Change envelope curve - Left-click a tension handle and move up/down. Holding ( Ctrl) will allow fine adjustment. Right-click the tension handle to reset curve tension.

Change curve type - Right-click the right-most control point of the segment to be changed, this will open the Curve Type Menu with the following options:

Single curve - Default mode for creating straight or curved segments (depending on the tension).

Double curve - Smooth 'S' curves, useful