I'm a student. I'm just wondering. Is Soundtrack a Cubase-ish kinda app? Like is it for the same purpose?
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Soundtrack
- Thread starter mmmdreg
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It looks like it, but it doesn't appear to support any kind of MIDI input. I would be surprised if it didn't support Audio Units, though. The real Apple "Cubase-like app" is Logic, which, in my opinion, beats the pants off of Cubase.
not much like Cubase. more like Acid. you arrange pre-made loops to make a song. like eJay, only not as lame.
It also records audio, which gives it a different dimension, plus it has a huge range of FX plug-ins from Logic and the ability to use AU plug-ins.
Even without the midi the loop stretching and tempo correction are cool.
Even without the midi the loop stretching and tempo correction are cool.
yeah, i guess it's more like Ableton Live, only way more bloated. i'm not crapping on it or anything, it's good, i have it. but it will never take the place of Ableton Live, for me atleast. i think it's really geared towards consumer/amateur/semi-pro video artists who need a decent soundtrack in a pinch. two different markets i guess. good little product overall. oh, i do like that i can use my Logic Platinum fx in there, that's kewl.
I disagree slightly. I think it is a very useful tool for video pros.
Below is the begining of Dan Brockett's piece on Soundtrack which is posted over at kenstone.net
"The Value Proposition
Final Cut Pro 4.0 now includes a new loop based music composition tool called Soundtrack. At the time of writing this article, Apple has just announced that Soundtrack will also be sold as a stand-alone application and will retail for $299.00. For those of you who may be just starting out with video editing and Final Cut Pro, let's go over, in order of expense, the methods most video editors use to obtain music for their projects.
Licensing Commercial Music $$$$$
When you hear a cool new song on the radio or MTV, you might think that it would work great for that wedding video, independent film or corporate video project you are editing. The problem is, without obtaining copyright permission and a synchronization license from the owner(s) of the music, you are breaking copyright law. Because of the high costs involved, licensing commercial music is not practical for most low to medium budget projects.
Composed Music $$$ to $$$$
Hiring a composer for film and video projects is becoming more rare as budgets shrink and the popularity of library music and music composition software grows. A composer is still the optimum way to end up with a killer music soundtrack, but you pay for it. Hiring a professional composer is usually expensive and can be time consuming.
Needle Drop $$ to $$$
If you cannot afford a composer, you generally end up going with stock music from a music library. I have used several different music libraries and the quality of the music ranges from okay to pretty good, but still, the average library music cue runs $75.00 to $150.00 per "drop" (each single use of a track within a project) for most non-broadcast usage.
Buyout $
There is another type of library music called "buyout" music, but, honestly, in my experience, buyout tracks are usually pretty low quality. Buyout music means that when you buy the CD, you can use as many tracks of the music, as many times as you want, for the one buyout price. These CDs usually range in price from $45.00 to $85.00 each. The main problem with buyout is that the music is usually pretty generic and often badly composed and performed. Often times, all of the music sounds the same.
Do-It-Yourself $$$
With the popularity of music composition and editing programs like Acid Pro, Reason, Phrazer, Sonicfire Pro, some video editors have "taken things into their own hands" and created their own music soundtracks from scratch. If you are not musical, none of these programs will make you a musician, but you can often obtain good enough results to use in low to no budget projects or as temp tracks before hiring a composer or before looking for appropriate library music. Or you can actually create some pretty great music, if you have the chops."
If I remember my music news right, Soundtrack is from the same developer as ACID (for Sounic Foundry.) Apple brought him over and he created it. As for functionality, it's a very simple program and Cubase SX is far more advanced. Despite being packaged with Final Cut Pro, it's more of a Final Cut Express-level package.
Apple/emagic's Logic Platinum is what I'd consider the competitor to MOTU's DP4, Steinberg's Nuendo, and AVID/Digidesign's ProTools.
Abelton Live (IMHO) falls between these two levels as does ProTools LE.
To recap video / audio
beginner:
iMovie / ????
amateur:
Final Cut Express / Soundtrack, ACID
novice:
Final Cut Pro / Cubase SX, Ableton Live, ProTools LE
pro:
AVID systems, Discreet systems, Pinnacle's Liquid "Colour" systems (sorry, Apple's not here yet) / Nuendo, Digital Performer, ProTools TDM, Logic Platinum
(hopefully this won't enrage supporters of any of the above platforms for where I'd rank 'em and of course, it doesn't include specialized software like samplers, etc., just "packaged" systems )
Apple/emagic's Logic Platinum is what I'd consider the competitor to MOTU's DP4, Steinberg's Nuendo, and AVID/Digidesign's ProTools.
Abelton Live (IMHO) falls between these two levels as does ProTools LE.
To recap video / audio
beginner:
iMovie / ????
amateur:
Final Cut Express / Soundtrack, ACID
novice:
Final Cut Pro / Cubase SX, Ableton Live, ProTools LE
pro:
AVID systems, Discreet systems, Pinnacle's Liquid "Colour" systems (sorry, Apple's not here yet) / Nuendo, Digital Performer, ProTools TDM, Logic Platinum
(hopefully this won't enrage supporters of any of the above platforms for where I'd rank 'em
and of course, it doesn't include specialized software like samplers, etc., just "packaged" systems )
Considering FCP's growing trend of replacing Avids in the post industry I'd hardley call it a novice level program. If price was not an option I'd probably pick a Media or Film composer over FCP anyday, but when you can get 90% of the functionality and pay, at leat, 50% less (varies by setup) FCP starts turning a lot of heads. Just because FCP doesn't cost a lot doesn't mean it can't do a lot.
Lethal
Lethal
Agreed, FCP offers a lot for the money, but it still isn't mature enough to match professional dedicated software.
The Discreet, AVID, Pinnacle systems follow the workflow of film editing on large projects with greater functionality. That's pretty much why I ranked FCP as novice; doing work to workshop a project (low budget, no budget) at Sundance or in Film School, FCP is great. Working on a high-level project from WB or Sony, etc., FCP would only be good for a quickedit on-site to see an impression of what the final project result will appear as, but final rendering and editing (in otherwords "Professional Quality") wouldn't be done on FCP. That's the niche that I'm seeing FCP fall into in post (more of a competitor to Pinnacle's CineWave, though FCP attempts to cover a broader scope) Maybe down the line (FCP 8???) it'll be able to play in the bigger leagues (or sooner if technology helps digital video supercede film in quality)
The Discreet, AVID, Pinnacle systems follow the workflow of film editing on large projects with greater functionality. That's pretty much why I ranked FCP as novice; doing work to workshop a project (low budget, no budget) at Sundance or in Film School, FCP is great. Working on a high-level project from WB or Sony, etc., FCP would only be good for a quickedit on-site to see an impression of what the final project result will appear as, but final rendering and editing (in otherwords "Professional Quality") wouldn't be done on FCP. That's the niche that I'm seeing FCP fall into in post (more of a competitor to Pinnacle's CineWave, though FCP attempts to cover a broader scope) Maybe down the line (FCP 8???) it'll be able to play in the bigger leagues (or sooner if technology helps digital video supercede film in quality)