User's Manual

208 Launching Clips
The default setting for Follow Action is actually a 1:0 chance that “No Action“ happens after the
Follow Action Time, which means that there is effectively no Follow Action. But now, imagine a
group consisting of one single clip. Follow Action A is set to “Play Again,“ with a Chance of 8.
Follow Action B is set to “No Action,“ with a Chance of 1. The clip uses a long sample, and Fol-
low Time is set to one bar. Clicking on the clip will play the first bar, after which it will be very
likely that it will play the first bar again. However, after a few repetitions, it will eventually come
to Action B — “No Action“ — and continue playing the rest of the sample.
Or, a clip can be played from its start to a specific point, when its Follow Action tells it to “Next.“
The same file can be used in the next clip in the group, but this one can be set to loop. This sec-
ond clip can have any manner of Follow Action settings, so that it might then play forever, for a
specified time or until random chance leads to the next clip in the group.
13.6.4 Adding Variations in Sync
Paired with clip envelopes (page 317) and warping (page 157), Follow Actions can be used
to create all sorts of interesting variations within a group of similar clips. You could, for example,
use Follow Actions to randomly trigger clips with different MIDI controller clip envelopes, so that
fine variations in pitch bend or modulation of an instrument or synth could occur as the clips in a
group interacted. Audio clips could morph between different effect or clip transposition settings.
Using Follow Actions and Legato Mode together provides a powerful way of gradually chang-
ing a melody or beat. Imagine that you have several identical clips of a melody that form a
group, and they are set up to play in Legato Mode. Whenever their Follow Actions tell them to
move on to another clip in the group, the melody will not change, as Legato Mode will sync the
new play position with the old one in beat-time. The settings and clip envelopes of each clip (or
even the actual notes contained in a MIDI clip) can then be slowly adjusted, so that the melody
goes through a gradual metamorphosis.
13.6.5 Mixing up Melodies and Beats
You can let Follow Actions perform unpredictable remixes and solos for you: Use a clip contain-
ing a beat or melody, and copy it so that there are several instances of it forming a group. Alter-
natively, you can use several different beats or melodies that you want to mix together. The start
and end (page 140) for each clip can be set differently, as can clip envelopes (page 317)
and other clip settings. As long as Follow Action Time in each clip is equal to the length of the
clip that you want to play, you can set up two Follow Actions with different Chance values in
each clip, launch a clip, and surprise yourself.