Review: SmartSound Sonicfire Pro 4
EventDV by Tim Kennelly Synopsis: SmartSound Sonicfire Pro (SFP) has been an excellent tool in the videographer's aresenal for years, supplying royalty-free, customizable soundtracks. Now SmartSound has upped the ante, introducing SFP 4 with Mood Mapping and the new Strata Series libraries. Adding the ability to adjust the mood and up to eight individual musical instrument tracks with both present choices and full manual control allows editors of all skill levels to use the software with effectiveness and precision. Price: $199+, depending on bundle The magic of Sonicfire Pro 4, the latest version of SmartSound's popular soundtrack-creation tool, is its patented process of reducing music soundtracks down to what SmartSound terms blocks. This is done by a music editor that divides the music into small sections while taking into account tempo, verse, chorus, measures, and probably several other musical terms I don't understand all that well. The good news is, the developers who created Sonicfire Pro (SFP) 4 do understand this stuff, and it works. The program determines which blocks are appropriate for openings, endings, and the material in between, and which varieties of blocks go together well with which other blocks. This flexibility makes it easy for video producers to customize the music to lengths varying from a few seconds to a half-hour with proper-sounding beginnings and endings, and worthwhile stuff in between, that exactly fit the duration of your video clip, usually with six or more variations of each of the thousands of selections from the SFP library. SFP 4 with Mood Mapping takes soundtrack customization to a phenomenal new level. The preset choices make it a snap to create a satisfying music bed, and the added ability to control the individual instruments allows the editor to adjust the soundtrack to fit the video piece like a glove. read more...
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