This may be a bit "off topic" but I'm looking for a website that can provide, inexpensive music for a pageant I videotaped...any ideas out there that are royalty free??

a royalty free music (http://www.vasst.com/search.aspx?text=Royalty%20free) listing can be found at the link

sounddogs.com and shockwavesound.com are good, i've bought from them before and just as importantly, found their websites navigable.

I would recommend you check out Sonicfire Pro (http://www.smartsound.com/sonicfire/). I found a review of it and thought it sounded perfect. I downloaded the free trial and it does everything they advertise it does and more. It's freakin' awesome and the standard package only costs $199. Mood mapping is one of those simple ideas that makes you go, well, of course. Why hasn't someone done this before? It's fundamental and imporant for those of us who don't want to spend thousands of dollars buying clips that have no flexibility. This program goes so far as to automatically scale the clip length to your video length when you bring your video into the program. How cool is that? Tremendously cool.

Here's a few review clips:

Mood Mapping adds a new dimension to an already-powerful music creation tool - Digital Producer (http://www.digitalproducer.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=44698-0)
A good piece of music can make or break a video production. But sometimes that's not enough. The music has to be perfectly synchronized with the video, becoming less complicated when there are voiceover sequences. Until SmartSound Sonicfire Pro ($199 Mac or PC, includes two music disks) came along a few years ago, to accomplish this kind of customization you would have needed to hire a composer at great expense. Not any more. And now with version 4, Sonicfire has added an even more human element to the mix which it calls Mood Mapping. It's remarkable.

Sonicfire Pro has improved significantly since I favorably reviewed version 3.1 three years ago. If you're not familiar with Sonicfire Pro, it's a music application that lets you fine-tune stock music so that it perfectly fits your production. All the music cuts -- and there are thousands available -- have been cleverly recorded with points where they can be easily merged with other points, letting you designate exactly how long the music should last. You can also in emphasize certain instruments at certain times, and bring the music to full volume at the exact point where you need it.

The most impressive new feature of Sonicfire Pro is Mood Mapping. This really opens up the capabilities of the software to a level far beyond what it could do in the previous version. You set a keyframe where you would like the mood of the music to change, and then select the mood from a drop-down list. You can choose full, background, dialogue, heavy, drum and bass, synth, no drums, or silence. By choosing one of these, what you can make the music more or less complicated in order to accommodate different emotions or situations with your video. It lets you mold the music to your own devices, changing it by feel, until it works perfectly with what you're doing. Even though the term "mood mapping" may sound frivolous, it's extremely practical and gives you great flexibility.

App gives you customizable soundtracks in a snap - Macworld (http://www.macworld.com/2006/05/reviews/sonicfirepro4/index.php)

Even if you don’t know a B-flat from a waffle iron, you probably know what kind of music you’re looking for—once you hear it. Sonicfire Pro works on this principle. You load a video track and then audition music tracks against it until you find something that fits.

As with the previous version (4 mice), Sonicfire Pro 4 helps you create a score to fit almost any length by stringing together segments of music blocks and then using its Smart Extend feature to end the track in a musically satisfying manner.

When I reviewed Sonicfire Pro 3, my main criticism was that the program did not allow for very much audio manipulation. The music was fixed—prearranged—you just picked how much you wanted to use. You couldn’t remove a guitar riff from the music if it bothered you, for example.

With Sonicfire Pro 4, SmartSound has opened up the music to tinkering, practically down to an instrument level on the program’s Multi-Layer music tracks. Once you have a Multi-Layer music sample in your timeline, you can expand the view to show up to eight levels of instrumentation, which you can independently control. If you want to remove the drums from a song, all you need to do is select the percussion track and mute it, or simply remove the percussion audio from the timeline.

Sonicfire Pro 4 will allow you to take customization to the next level - Ken Stone's Final Cut Pro (http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/review_sonicfire_pro4_douglas.html)

The bottom line is that Sonicfire Pro 4 really does offer an unprecedented control over the feel, mix and creative input with purchased copyright free music. Sonicfire Pro 4 is one of the more user friendly applications I have ever had the pleasure to use. Learning it is a snap. Never again will I expect to hear the same version of any piece I use in another's film. I'm smiling!!!

Cheers

Or stick with Sony products and check out Cinescore (http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/showproduct.asp?pid=1013).

For projects that are attractive, there is always the possibility of getting a budding composer to create custom music for free. In general, composers would be looking for some combination of the following:

* The ability to include parts of the finished project in a demo reel
* A particularly interesting project for art's sake
* Royalties on the back end
* General exposure
* Networking and relationship building with a budding filmmaker
* Experience in mating sound to picture
* Entry in competitions
* Ego stroking
* Cash on the barrelhead

There are many composers lurking at http://northernsounds.com Some are making decent livings in the trade, and have no interest in budget projects. Others have been investing in the latest and greatest tools, and want to develop their skils and start a career.

For people who want original music, it wouldn't be a bad idea to register at NS, lurk around and PM some of the people who's demos, personalities and situations seem attractive.

A videotaped pageant probably isn't the kind of project that will attract people there, but if in the future you're shooting a narrative piece, you might be able to hook up with some real talent.

Or stick with Sony products and check out Cinescore (http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/products/showproduct.asp?pid=1013).

I have been eyeing Cinescore for exactly that same reasons. So far, I have been working all my audio editing right on the timeline with the video in Vegas. Is there any clear advantage to using CineScore? I am in the process of yet another production (Clients mean income which is good!) and will have one coming up in a month so I seem to be getting one wedding every other month. If Cinescore will speed up my work then it might be worth my time.

Know of any good reviews for Cinescore? THanks as usual for any advice, Ed.

jason

Cinescore is designed to CREATE music. You would then place that music on your timeline in Vegas.

I use music2hues.com and sopersound.com. The have a good variety of styles and good prices.

Cinescore is designed to CREATE music. You would then place that music on your timeline in Vegas.

Looks like the utility of Cinescore entirely rests with your audio library. Any one of experience with the Wedding pack that Sony is touting with their Cinescore bundle?

jason

Cinescore is designed to CREATE music. You would then place that music on your timeline in Vegas.I would say that Cinescore lets you SHAPE music to fit your movie. The composers behind the scenes CREATED the melodies, harmonies and riffs. The end user simply bends the pre-composed music to fit the timing and emotional context of the pictures.

Yeah, Cinescore is great. If you want to just download some free royalty free music, look here (http://www.pana3ccduser.com/forumdisplay.php?f=28) for some links.

Personally, if you are looking for the "cheapest" solution, I would look into Sony's (free version) of Acid and it's on-line samples of loops as well as the monthly free "8 packs" samples/songs (http://download.acidplanet.com/8packs/).

I'm not sure how restricted the free version is, but Acid (Pro at least) is very capable. It can import a video file so you can see the highlights to score to.

I would absolute agree with the ACID nod. Rather than Cinescore, where you adapt other people's music, with ACID you really get to put together your own stuff. It's kind of like assembling a mosaic.

Sure, you're limited to the loops that you own, but you can also record your own.

You won't create any John Williams scores with it, but if you're doing hip hop, industrial or something else with a repetitive beat, ACID is the right tool for the job.

There is also opsound.net for free music

I recently bought from www.royaltyfreemusic.com and was happy with the price (for a full disc anyway) and the quality of what I got.

Cinescore was created with me in mind...a videographer with little talent in the musical department. Acid and the others are great but I need something that will quickly create a score, for the time length that I need, that is tweakable for different moods during the video, and is a great piece of music. Cinescore does that better than I could with more flexibility than I have learned to use (need more experience with it). Looking forward to the new packs as with each new one comes thousands of possible scores for that theme.
Randy

problem with cinescore: there is almost no library available.
problem with Sonicfire: there are tons of libraries but they are pretty expensive (for free music , i mean).
problem with Acid or magix or any sample loop editor, is you need to find the loops (you can buy tons of them , but again it has a cost and they better fit a techno or R&B style than classical music or jazz) and assembling them to make a real music (not only a background fill) require real good musical skills.
My opinion is that Sonicfire is the best (good music , easy edition) if you can afford the 1000$ it cost to have the libraries.
I am not sure, but it seems that libraries at 22Khz are free, while the ones at 44Kz must be puchased.
for the new Strata series (with discretes instruments you can mute) they cost the hell (about 1000$) but i think with them you would be ok for any occasion.
you will need a lot of disk space to store them (between 10 to 20 gig).