Opinions on Soundtrack? at DVinfo.net

Jeff Farris · July 16th, 2003, 09:12 PM

Have you seen the web-commercial for Apple's Soundtrack yet? If you're an FCP editor, you already have it. But, for those of us using FCE or anything else, this looks pretty exciting. Have any of you FCP users created your own music with Soundtrack? Is it as easy as they try to make it seem? I haven't made music since marching band in high school, and that is more years ago than I care to remember.

Aaron Rosen · July 16th, 2003, 11:28 PM

I have made 1 45 second piece of music for a trailer I did. It is very easy.

What I find hard about Soundtrack it the amount of music they provide. There is SO much that it makes it hard to choose. After a bit of searching through the tracks, everything similar starts to run together and sound the same. Only do the a few stand out at tha point.

It also does not help that I have no musical background. I can only go by what sounds good and that is after a BUNCH of trial and error.

Hope this helps!

- Aaron

Benjamin Harrison · July 17th, 2003, 07:54 PM

I do a fair amount of original audio production using reason and protools. Soundtrack does not impress me. I feel way too limited by the number of loops provided, and the people that made the loop collection were clearly looking for sounds that fit into the corporate promo video genre. That said, it is a very nice thing to have if you have your own loops that you want to sync with a video project. Its quick to learn, and the ability to add your own loops with complete tagging like the included ones is the program's saving grace.

David Bogie · July 22nd, 2003, 08:14 AM

Easy to use? Well, yes. But so is a can of spray paint. The problem with SoundTrack is the same problem editors have with any new add-on tool ... lack of training.
I can write, shoot, edit, light, mix audio, animate, and all that other stuff but I'm not a musician. How can I compose music? I don't know from beats per minute or measures or keys or transpositions. Gimme twenty CDs of library music and I'll find the clips I need to do my job for your video production but why would you try to make me write my own music? Puhleez.

wihtout proper training or a background in music, SoundTrack is a pleasantly goofy toy in my hands, of little or no use. Far more trouble than just grabbing a handful of CDs.

bogiesan

Curtis T. Stoeber · July 22nd, 2003, 11:18 AM

Soundtrack does not allow you to compose music. It just lets you jam a whole bunch of loops together and layer them so that they sound original. But you can't come up with your own melodies. So therefore it is quite limited in that respect.

Soundtrack is fun to play with for a goof. Nothing to impressive.

Here is something I came up with in Soundtrack just for fun:

Click here
3.2 MB

Matt Stahley · July 22nd, 2003, 07:50 PM

Curtis I like the track. Reminds me of somr Tangerine Dream or Jean Michel Jarre. It would sound nice if you added some big fat crunchy drums under it!How many loops did you use to create that?I havent upgraded to FCP4 yet but soundtrack looks interesting coming from a hip-hop production backgound. I've got a ton of my own loops/samples can't wait to try them out.Does soundtrack allow one shot samples or is it strictly loops?

Curtis T. Stoeber · July 22nd, 2003, 07:56 PM

Uhhh, not sure. I know you can import your own samples, so maybe you can do one shots. I am not sure what format the samples have to be in. Most of what I see are AIFF files. As for the example track I used maybe 24 different loops, some of them repeated throughout. Wasn't tremendously complex. Took less than an hour.

David Bogie · July 24th, 2003, 10:59 AM

Curtis, thanks for the sample. I wish there were hundreds more of such -- or ST-format files -- from other editors.

Perhaps my use of the term "compose" was inappropriate. Similarly, I choke when I hear the term "animate" used by the clueless.
However, I've heard some very convincingstuff from ST that seems to be composition. The ability to transpose to different keys and to change beat structure (I may be misusing the terminology) allows the talented user to create tension and to build to (possibly silly) crescendos. I can fakeit but it sounds like I'm tone deaf and utterly incompetent.

The two things missing from ST that make it impossible to use for people like me are simple ringouts and a massive collection of prebuilt templates.

bogiesan

<<<-- Originally posted by Curtis T. Stoeber : Soundtrack does not allow you to compose music. It just lets you jam a whole bunch of loops together and layer them so that they sound original. But you can't come up with your own melodies. So therefore it is quite limited in that respect.Soundtrack is fun to play with for a goof. Nothing to impressive.Here is something I came up with in Soundtrack just for fun:
Click here
3.2 MB -->>>

July 16th, 2003, 09:12 PM	#1
Jeff Farris Regular Crew Join Date: May 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 102	Opinions on Soundtrack? Have you seen the web-commercial for Apple's Soundtrack yet? If you're an FCP editor, you already have it. But, for those of us using FCE or anything else, this looks pretty exciting. Have any of you FCP users created your own music with Soundtrack? Is it as easy as they try to make it seem? I haven't made music since marching band in high school, and that is more years ago than I care to remember. __________________ Jeff Farris

July 17th, 2003, 07:54 PM	#3
Benjamin Harrison Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: New York, NY Posts: 60	I do a fair amount of original audio production using reason and protools. Soundtrack does not impress me. I feel way too limited by the number of loops provided, and the people that made the loop collection were clearly looking for sounds that fit into the corporate promo video genre. That said, it is a very nice thing to have if you have your own loops that you want to sync with a video project. Its quick to learn, and the ability to add your own loops with complete tagging like the included ones is the program's saving grace. __________________ www.badcharacter.com

July 22nd, 2003, 08:14 AM	#4
David Bogie New Boot Join Date: May 2002 Location: boise, idaho Posts: 8	Easy to use? Well, yes. But so is a can of spray paint. The problem with SoundTrack is the same problem editors have with any new add-on tool ... lack of training. I can write, shoot, edit, light, mix audio, animate, and all that other stuff but I'm not a musician. How can I compose music? I don't know from beats per minute or measures or keys or transpositions. Gimme twenty CDs of library music and I'll find the clips I need to do my job for your video production but why would you try to make me write my own music? Puhleez. wihtout proper training or a background in music, SoundTrack is a pleasantly goofy toy in my hands, of little or no use. Far more trouble than just grabbing a handful of CDs. bogiesan __________________ David Bogie ristretto doppio My other two cars are a Tour Easy and a Cannondale.

July 24th, 2003, 10:59 AM	#8
David Bogie New Boot Join Date: May 2002 Location: boise, idaho Posts: 8	Curtis, thanks for the sample. I wish there were hundreds more of such -- or ST-format files -- from other editors. Perhaps my use of the term "compose" was inappropriate. Similarly, I choke when I hear the term "animate" used by the clueless. However, I've heard some very convincingstuff from ST that seems to be composition. The ability to transpose to different keys and to change beat structure (I may be misusing the terminology) allows the talented user to create tension and to build to (possibly silly) crescendos. I can fakeit but it sounds like I'm tone deaf and utterly incompetent. The two things missing from ST that make it impossible to use for people like me are simple ringouts and a massive collection of prebuilt templates. bogiesan <<<-- Originally posted by Curtis T. Stoeber : Soundtrack does not allow you to compose music. It just lets you jam a whole bunch of loops together and layer them so that they sound original. But you can't come up with your own melodies. So therefore it is quite limited in that respect.Soundtrack is fun to play with for a goof. Nothing to impressive.Here is something I came up with in Soundtrack just for fun: Click here 3.2 MB -->>> __________________ David Bogie ristretto doppio My other two cars are a Tour Easy and a Cannondale.

July 16th, 2003, 11:28 PM	#2
Aaron Rosen Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: HB, CA - USA Posts: 298	I have made 1 45 second piece of music for a trailer I did. It is very easy. What I find hard about Soundtrack it the amount of music they provide. There is SO much that it makes it hard to choose. After a bit of searching through the tracks, everything similar starts to run together and sound the same. Only do the a few stand out at tha point. It also does not help that I have no musical background. I can only go by what sounds good and that is after a BUNCH of trial and error. Hope this helps! - Aaron

July 22nd, 2003, 11:18 AM	#5
Curtis T. Stoeber Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Lakewood Colorado USA Posts: 150	Soundtrack does not allow you to compose music. It just lets you jam a whole bunch of loops together and layer them so that they sound original. But you can't come up with your own melodies. So therefore it is quite limited in that respect. Soundtrack is fun to play with for a goof. Nothing to impressive. Here is something I came up with in Soundtrack just for fun: Click here 3.2 MB

July 22nd, 2003, 07:50 PM	#6
Matt Stahley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Waynesboro, PA Posts: 648	Curtis I like the track. Reminds me of somr Tangerine Dream or Jean Michel Jarre. It would sound nice if you added some big fat crunchy drums under it!How many loops did you use to create that?I havent upgraded to FCP4 yet but soundtrack looks interesting coming from a hip-hop production backgound. I've got a ton of my own loops/samples can't wait to try them out.Does soundtrack allow one shot samples or is it strictly loops?

July 22nd, 2003, 07:56 PM	#7
Curtis T. Stoeber Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Lakewood Colorado USA Posts: 150	Uhhh, not sure. I know you can import your own samples, so maybe you can do one shots. I am not sure what format the samples have to be in. Most of what I see are AIFF files. As for the example track I used maybe 24 different loops, some of them repeated throughout. Wasn't tremendously complex. Took less than an hour.