Review
- DTMS Inside Soundtrack Pro
Digital
Media Training Series
Run time 5 hours - $99.00
Available
in the lafcpug Store for $84.15
Review by Steve
Douglas
There are a number of books and tutorials
out for Soundtrack Pro and DTMS has its own as well. Consisting
of 5 hours of video based instruction divided into 25 lessons,
the DTMS is certainly a disc worth considering for the beginner
or advanced user.
Narrated and taught by Jem Schofield,
the user is lead through an extensive building of a very interesting
project entitled "The Box". Mr. Scholfield, with humor
and a comfortable speaking style, takes the user step by step
through this video project, which comes off as a very scary trailer
for a movie. With each step the user is guided through the use
of a great many features and capabilities that many Soundtrack
Pro users might not even be aware of.
Every transition to a deeper level
and understanding of Soundtrack Pro is logical and fits in the
workflow. Many tasks are repetitive which creates a second nature
to what you might be doing. This certainly works better than
a snapshot approach where you may be asked to do something once
and by the time you get to the end of the disc you've forgotten
how to do what you had already done 5 lessons back.
Beginning with the basic introduction
to audio fundamentals such as audio waveforms, beats vs timecode,
preferences and the standard Soundtrack Pro layout, Jem prepares
you properly to build this unique trailer.
In the second section the student
learns how to properly set up their initial multitrack project,
creating both background and ambience while learning how to search
for and apply Foley effects. Many of these effects are adjusted,
trimmed and highlighted in later chapters as your knowledge and
skills increase.
Thorough instruction on removing
noise with noise print and creating composite audio clips is
not all. Have a pop or hiss in your audio files? You'll learn
how to remove them while adding natural ambience to fill the
gaps. Section 3 also nicely covers applying and using audio Process
effects and an excellent lesson on beneficial and practical methods
while using the audio waveform monitor.
It is in this section that we find
a problem, one that is not insurmountable but never the less,
should have been fixed. While working with the 4th segment of
this lesson, that which covers the application of Process Effects
to a voice, you are instructed to apply the Vocal Transformer
from the Process Menu of Soundtrack Pro. Herein lies the problem.
Soundtrack Pro 1.0 had the Vocal Transformer while Soundtrack
Pro 1.0.2 does not. DTMS, when producing this tutorial, used
a pre-release version of the software. Thus, the effect used
within the project cannot be applied as directed. I simply used
a similar effect as my own work around. My thoughts are that
they should have waited for the final version to hit the market
so as to avoid problems for those purchasing the Inside Soundtrack
Pro disc.
Chapter 4, divided into four lessons,
runs 52 minutes and teaches you the ins and outs of adding sound
effects and adding music. A tremendously beneficial lesson on
automation in a multitrack project follows. Creating automated
key frames in real time is one of the many strengths in Soundtrack
Pro and yet many editors I have met have not even been aware
of this possibility.
Your project is almost done by
this point and it is impressive. While it has been typically
time consuming, seeing it all come together has been fun. However,
you work isn't done as chapters 5, 6 and 7 demonstrates how fine
tune your project utilizing the Soundtrack Pro mixer while creating
busses, sends and voice overs, as well as exploring the export
options open to you. To finish up this tutorial disc the last
chapter covers roundtripping between Soundtrack Pro and Motion
and Final Cut Pro 5.
While this disc, like most tutorials,
is certainly self-pacing, be prepared to spend plenty of time
with it. There is much to accomplish and do while working with
the DTMS tutorial and interruptions can throw your concentration
off. I found that while working with the disc, switching between
the tutorial and my own Soundtrack Pro project necessitated my
having to repeat several tasks over again. For example, if you
highlighted a portion of your waveform after measuring out a
specific section, and then switched to the tutorial to receive
the next instruction when going back to your own project, you
would then have to repeat the measure and highlight. This slowed
my workflow tremendously and was a real pain. The positive side
is that repetition makes for mastery.
The bottom line is that Soundtrack
Pro is a more complex and powerful application than many realize.
Sure, it is lots of fun to simply bring over loops and create
your copyright free songs but it is capable of so much more than
that. It would be a shame not to be able to utilize all that
it has to offer. Aside from that one major problem in utilizing
the vocal transformer, I really think that the DTMS disc for
Soundtrack Pro is a great tutorial. It brings to you a wonderful
project for you to build while enhancing your knowledge and abilities
to work with a very capable application. Jem Schofield and DTMS
utilize most of what Soundtrack Pro can do. If you work through
the tutorial you will come out a much more capable editor and
user of this great application. Do I recommend the DTMS 'Inside
Soundtrack Pro? Absolutely!
Steve Douglas,
is an underwater videographer and contributor to numerous film
festivals around the world. A winner of the 1999 Pacific Coast
Underwater Film Competition, 2003 IVIE competition, 2004 Los
Angeles Underwater Photographic competition, and the prestigious
2005 International Beneath the Sea Film Competition, Steve has
also worked on the feature film "The Deep Blue Sea",
contributed footage to the Seaworld parks for their Atlantis
production, and is one of the principal organizers of the San
Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition. Steve leads both underwater filming
expeditions and African safaris with upcoming filming excursions
to Kenya, Bali and the Red Sea. Feel free to contact him if you
are interested in joining Steve on any of these trips. www.worldfilmsandtravel.com
DTMS Inside Soundtrack Pro is available
for $84.15 at the lafcpug
store.
copyright © Steve Douglas
2006
This article first appeared on www.kenstone.net and is reprinted here
with permission.
All screen captures and
textual references are the property and trademark of their creators/owners/publishers.