With my workflow (and many others) it’s a case of working top-down when mixing and only adjusting what is needed when it’s needed. I might have master VCA which I’m using to automate between arrangement sections and then instrument section VCA groups. I can freely adjust the balances within any VCA group as expected. If I however need to make an automation adjustment with one particular fader then it will take into account the various VCA offsets and the mix now falls apart. Writing initial node automation removes all the flexibility and speed when working so this is simply not an option.
Again, look at it from a top-down approach with nested VCAs and it’s pretty clear how broken the workflow becomes. I’ve honestly given up on trying to use Nuendo for this anymore as Pro Tools just works as expected. They should come with a huge disclaimer as to how much of a steaming pile of garbage they are though. For example, client asks for a “1dB change” in a section which creates automation and seems simple enough. Do the change, automation is now created, incorrect VCA offset is calculated, and now the mix is ruined. I had wrongly assumed that they [VCAs] actually worked and a 1dB move was doing what was expected so I’d just do the change, print, move on to the next job, and would get an email back wondering why it sounded so different now with such a small change. Of course as you can’t undo automation and have faders go back to previous positions (another issue) it turns into a case of having to re-create a lot of work and searching through backup files for a seemingly insignificant change.
Total and utter garbage.