George Hufnagl over at CreatingSound.com recently wrapped up a super-duper 3 post series on Saving Space with Linear Audio in Pro Tools. In a nutshell:
When working on projects with limited audio space, such as apps for mobile, browser-based games or packaged electronics/toys, it is often necessary to squeeze as much out of that space as possible in order to meet or exceed the expectations of the project. From the standpoint of the sound designer, this is likely achieved through compressing the sound files in various ways. However, when working with linear audio that contains gaps of silence or recalls repeated audio, precious space can be saved by editing within your Pro Tools session and exporting the resultant files and session data for programming. While the processes for identifying and editing these two elements are different, their functionality in implementation is essentially the same.
George has a lot of experience working with very tight space restrictions, and I think that comes through in how well thought out and detailed the 3 part series is. Although his techniques might not seem applicable 100% of the time, keep in mind some thing George says in Part 3:
Every project will have its own places to save space if needed, so it’s important to recognize these opportunities as early as possible and give your input. In other words, make friends with whomever is in charge of design/editing and best friends with the person implementing. We sure love to fight for our audio space, but it’s nice to have a bag of tricks handy.
Also make sure to follow George Hufnagl on Twitter.