Video Sound Design Pro-tools or Soundtrack Pro?

[Chaos123x]

Ok I have been trying to use Sound Track Pro 2 for audio post on my video projects.

Sound Track Pro seems to beach ball and hang for no reason when just doing simple tasks. Also effects seem to change while they play back on the timeline. I will use the Voice Transformer effect to say make someone sound like they have a deeper voice and then when it plays back it sounds like a robot voice, if I play again it will go back to the settings I choose.

All these bugs happen when I am just messing with a few tracks and audio files, nothing big at all. I am afraid of ever thinking about trying to do real Sound Design in Soundtrack for my videos now.

I am thinking about going out and buying Pro-Tools LE, to replace sound track but I am worried without the expensive DV ToolKit it would be useless.

Anybody know what I can do?

 

[LukeG]

Can you post some details of your setup? Kind of mac, system version, any audio hardware you're using, etc. Also, are all your software updates up to date?

When it is hanging, is this a new project, an imported movie or did you use "Send to Soundtrack" from FCP?

 

[Chaos123x]

I have Octo 2.8ghz Mac Pro with 8gb of Ram, OS X 10.5.6 Soundtrack 2.02

Using my second internal drive as a scratch the os and soundtrack are on another internal drive.

It's does this with a new project, or any project I do the effect with.


It hangs seemingly for no reason, when I am just clicking stuff on the time line, I have to force quit.

 

[Great Dave]

You might check out Digital Performer 6 from Mark Of The Unicorn - motu.com

Version 6 added a ton of Final Cut Pro features. It was very well received.

 

[Chaos123x]

I will take a look at that too.

So are the Mbox 2 boxes trash? i was about to by one before reading user reviews about it.

Seems like it needs it's own OS install partition to even work right, is Digidesign still that old school?

 

[ChemiosMurphy]

If you can afford Pro Tools 8, go for it.

I had to do post sound for a trailer in STP and it was a nightmare. It was an experiance full of crashing. It was bad.

I took a course on school on PT 7 and the software works. BUT keep in mind you need an Mbox.

Not trying to make a flamey statement. but Pro Tools is the de facto standard for Post Audio. It works...

 

[Phat Ham]

I will take a look at that too.

So are the Mbox 2 boxes trash? i was about to by one before reading user reviews about it.

Seems like it needs it's own OS install partition to even work right, is Digidesign still that old school?

Pro Tools doesn't need its own partition. Digidesign recommends having the pro tools install and the audio files on separate drives (what you're already doing I think). Digidesign is very strict about the systems they officially support but that doesn't mean Pro Tools won't run on a system that doesn't meet digidesign's specs.

 

[Chaos123x]

What I plan to do is use Pro-Tools Le 8 and Soundtrack Pro 2 together to kind of do a work around type thing, until I can afford the DV ToolKit.

But I am worried I will spend all my money on the Mbox with Pro-tools just to have FCS3 come out with a much improved Soundtrack in april.

I guess it's worth it?

 

[JFreak]

ProTools is always worth it if you can afford it, but please note that the whole system always costs more than you can think of right now.

Sure, buy ProTools and record whatever you like, it works like a charm, but once you get to process the mix you most probably need to buy some 3rd party plugins -- or better yet, before you actually get to mix, you probably need to buy some 3rd party virtual instruments if you cannot record everything you need.

It costs more than mBox.

I for example run a ProTools HD system. The hardware itself only costs about 35k, but then I have plugin licenses worth another 35k at least. So the basic system is only a framework, like a multitrack tape recorder and basic mixing console back in the last century...

 

[Chaos123x]

True,

But I just want to make sure the Mbox works with SoundTrack Pro well, because I will have to use that till I get all those expensive Pro-tools add ons.

 

[JFreak]

It should work via CoreAudio driver, just like every other interface out there...