![]() The newer offerings in the library include “mood mapping”. When you change the duration or pick a different variation to a song, Sonicfire Pro intelligently rearranges the block to avoid something that sounds overly repetitive. It can do this because each song file is made up of blocks. The Sonicfire Pro software lets you non-destructively change the variation (arrangement), “mood” (orchestration), tempo and length of these music selections. To build up my own library, I treat myself to a few new discs each Christmas and whenever a new project can support it! In order to get the best out of Sonicfire Pro, you really need to use SmartSound music. SmartSound is really two entities – the Sonicfire Pro music customization software and the supporting SmartSound music libraries. There are various options, including the music cues that come with Apple Soundtrack Pro or Adobe Soundbooth, but neither of these options is as comprehensive as SmartSound. This is where royalty-free music sources can really shine. That takes a lot of time to audition cues online through a needledrop library like Killer Tracks and often clients don’t have the budget to pay for 20 or 30 cues on a longer production. I’m essentially scoring the video without the help of a composer. I’ve frequently built videos with music changes every :30 or so. There is no replacement for a true custom score that’s right on the money, but rarely do clients have a budget to support that, especially in the world of corporate video. Additional music CDs can be purchased for $100.Music choices are very subjective and can often be the most difficult part of finishing a production. Additional music tracks are available for download at $20 each. That being said, if you need a piece of music that isn’t included in your package, you can always search and sample music from SmartSound’s online music library via the SmartSound Maestro library browser. Sonicfire Pro 4’s only real drawback is that the included music library is sometimes anemic, particularly with the Standard edition (the Mega version has a decent amount of music, but at $799, it should). These moods can be added to the music like markers, so you can change the music’s mood at a scene change, for example. ![]() For example, when you apply the Dialog mood, Sonicfire Pro cuts down the lead instruments that carry the main melody so the music doesn’t detract from a video’s dialog and action. ![]() Essentially, the Mood Mapping tool remixes the music to change its characteristics the actual musical notes don’t change, but the way you hear them does. When I first read about this feature, I dismissed it as a trivial tool, but I quickly changed my mind when I tried it. Sonicfire Pro 4 also has a new Mood Mapping feature that lets you change the nature of the music. 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. 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. 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. You couldn’t remove a guitar riff from the music if it bothered you, for example. The music was fixed-prearranged-you just picked how much you wanted to use. ![]() When I reviewed Sonicfire Pro 3, my main criticism was that the program did not allow for very much audio manipulation. ![]()
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