How many use Acid 4 with Vegas?

MNJ wrote on 10/18/2003, 3:33 AM

I was in Fry's Wednesday and bought "Screenblast" Acid 4 (on a whim..its hard to walk out of Fry's without something!) . Now I'm trying to decide if it's worth going through the process of learning this, or rather to find buyout music for the video scoring I'm doing. Is there a big user group among Vegas users that use Acid for video scoring? [Aside: I have SPOT's book, but was dissapointed that there nothing about Acid in the book except for a tiny reference on p. 350 regarding Acid loops for DVD background...I was hoping for a lot more....great book otherwise]

Background info: I use Vegas 4+DVD and my friend who's a wedding photog wants me to develop a DVD with his wedding photos set to music, with transitions, etc, etc. I thought about using buyout music (so many choices), or SonicFire Pro (looked at demo but not sure if is somewhat limiting) The nice thing about Acid is as a Vegas user I "get" the interface, even though I'm not much musically inclined.

Comments

TheHappyFriar wrote on 10/18/2003, 8:53 AM

I use Acid with Vegas (and Premiere at work). I like it. I've done jingles for station Id's and movie promos. I've also used the free version of Smartsounds that came with Premiere 6 at work, but it's hard to find a selection for specific instances.

Spot|DSE wrote on 10/18/2003, 12:35 PM

I do! I do! I'm a MONSTER fan of ACID.
I didn't include an Acid section because :
a. The book is about Vegas, and it was already hard to fit within the budgeted 400 pages that the publisher allowed.
b. There is a great Sam's book on Acid written by Michael Bryant and Gary Rebholz.
c. Acid is VERY easy to figure out and learn.

kentwolf wrote on 10/18/2003, 12:45 PM

>>c. Acid is VERY easy to figure out and learn.

Don't you have to be pretty musically inclined?

All I ever hear is how hard it is to use Acid.

Vegas No Problem. Adobre Encore, no problem. Sonic Fire Pro no problem, it's just that the Sonic Fire Pro songs get pretty expensive ($20 per song download, $100 per 15 song or so 44 Khz CD) ... EXCELLENT to use for quick, beautiful masterpeices...just be sure you bring your wallet. Their (SmartSound) support is absolutely aweful as well...repeatedly. Bad customer relations.

Summary: Don't you have to be pretty musically inclined to benefit from Acid? I am open to being swayed... :)

Thanks for any input.

Spot|DSE wrote on 10/18/2003, 1:06 PM

Nope, no musical acumen for learning Acid. It's not as 'easy' as Sonicfire, no doubt. But it's a whale of a lot more flexible. There are many ways to use Acid. There is the 'musicians' method, using Midi, changing keys, shifting pitches, etc.
Then there is the 'other guy' way of using Acid.
Just throw loops on the timeline and arrange them like building blocks.
Think of loops as words in sentences, and you are arranging what you'd like the sentence to say. Acid keeps everything in the right key, and so it's merely a question of arrangement.
No foolin, I've taught kindergarteners to use Acid. I'll admit, you do have to have a sense of 'this music goes here' and can at the least hear pitches, but most people can. You need zero acumen for music creation, particularly if you are creating music beds to go under video. All the thinking has been done for you by the loop creators, so all you have to do is select the 'words' that you'd like to say.
DON'T use Acid 4 Pro if you are simply doing music for video. Use one of the style formats instead, unless you need video on the timeline.

kentwolf wrote on 10/18/2003, 2:19 PM

SPOT:

Thanks for the info...We'll see.

By the way, I have your ClassOnDemand Vegas DVD set and it is excellent!

Thank again!

mark2929 wrote on 10/18/2003, 2:39 PM

I have been using acid 3 for drumbeats ect and using a keyboard to make up a tune. So easy To easy it makes me feel guilty.

MNJ wrote on 10/18/2003, 2:42 PM

SPOT or others -

Yes, creating music isn't difficult, but it will take some time/experimenting to get decent at it. However, going through the loops, most of them seem mostly for techno music. I want to do some romantic music to go with the wedding photos - can you create romantic music with loops???? For those you are thinking "oh yes, you can!", can you direct me to which of Sonic's sound libraries that you'd recommend . I'm looking through the catalog (skipping over the 90% which is techno-oriented) and listening to the samples, but if there's one or two that you use or know of that would fit the romantic style, I'd appreciation the "sign-post".

MNJ wrote on 10/18/2003, 2:44 PM

>>DON'T use Acid 4 Pro if you are simply doing music for video. Use one of the style formats instead, unless you need video on the timeline.

When you say style formats, are you referring to the "Style Stations" loops in the catalog??

JHendrix wrote on 10/18/2003, 4:49 PM

These guys have a great cd rom on acid

http://kagimedia.com/TrainingVideos/Production.html

rique wrote on 10/18/2003, 5:03 PM

Romantic isn't as easy to find as techno but these might help.

American Piano
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/loop_libraries/ShowLoop.asp?PID=828

On the Jazz Tip
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/loop_libraries/ShowLoop.asp?PID=44

Sound Genius Studios: Jazz Trap Kit
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/loop_libraries/ShowLoop.asp?PID=838

Total Spanish Guitar
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/loop_libraries/ShowLoop.asp?PID=545

Jazz Solos and Sections: Vince Andrews Horns & Woodwinds
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/loop_libraries/ShowLoop.asp?PID=172

Orchestral Series
http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/loop_libraries/ShowLoop.asp?PID=550

MyST wrote on 10/18/2003, 10:37 PM

Acid STYLES means versions of Acid that have fewer features than Pro.
These are no longer available from this site. They're replaced by Screenblast Acid 4.0.
You might be able to get them from other sources.
Acid Techno, Acid DJ, and others. Basically the same version of Acid with different styles of loops included.

M

je@on wrote on 10/18/2003, 11:19 PM

I use Acid a lot and love it but I must respectfully disagree w/Spot and say that I think a knowledge of music is essential for effectively using Acid. Sure you can slap loops onto a timeline and make some noise but that's a long way from a nice music track for your production. With Acid, sometimes I get better soundtracks than I deserve. I'm a mediocre musician but I can't imagine where one would start Acid without a basic knowledge (or inate sense) of structure and rhythm. Some folks just don't get music. I've recommended SmartSound/SonicFire to anyone who professes to know nothing about music.