Most video editors can get by with the audio editing tools that are built into their NLE. But if you want that extra audio finesse, then you really need some dedicated audio applications and plug-ins. 2014 is closing out nicely with new offerings from Sony Creative Software and iZotope.
Sony Creative Software – Sound Forge Expands
Sony’s software arm – known for Acid, Vegas and Sound Forge, to name a few – has expanded its Mac audio offerings. Although Sony’s audio applications have traditionally been Windows-based, Sony previously ventured into the Mac ecosystem with its 1.0 version of Sound Forge Pro for the Mac. This year version 2.0 was released, which includes more features, power and support for 64-bit plug-ins. All Sound Forge Mac versions are architected for OS X and not simply a port from Windows.
As before, Sound Forge Pro continues to be a file-based editor and not a multi-track DAW designed for mixing. It supports high-resolution files up to 24-bit/192 kHz. Although file-based, it can handle up to 32-channel files and is capable of recording, as well as editing and mastering. The Pro version includes a number of Sony and iZotope plug-ins designed for mastering (EQ, reverb, multi-band compressor, limiter, imager and exciter), post processing (sample rate and bit depth conversion) and restore/repair (declicker, denoiser and declipper).
A new addition is the inclusion of the iZotope Nectar Elements plug-in. The Nectar series is a channel strip, all-in-one filter that combines a number of the processes that a recording engineer would place in the signal chain when recording vocals. However, it can still be used on music and mixed tracks without issue. Nectar Elements is the “lite” version of the full Nectar filter and is being bundled with a number of the Sony applications, including Vegas Pro. Another included filter is the Zplane élastique Pro time stretch and pitch shift plug-in.
The Convrt batch tool – a freestanding utility for mass file conversions – comes with Sound Forge Pro Mac 2. Load your files, set up the script and the rest is automated. If you purchase Sound Forge Pro as part of the Audio Mastering Bundle, you also get SpectraLayers Pro 2, an audio spectrum editing tool. Even without it, Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 now enables data interoperability between it and SpectraLayers Pro 2.
Loudness compliance is of big concern to broadcasters, so Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 now includes CALM Act compliant metering. Unfortunately, the read-out is by numbers and meters without the visual eye candy of an Insight or Radar-style meter; however, it does provide true peak values.
Mid-year, Sony also released Sound Forge for the Mac App Store. It doesn’t have all of the bell-and-whistles as the Pro version and due to the App Store’s sandboxing policies has other minor differences. Convrt and the iZotope plug-ins are not included; however, most of everything else is. Both versions support 64-bit AU and VST plug-ins. Both include real-time previewing. Both have generally the same tech specs. One extra that comes with Sound Forge is Wave Hammer, Sony’s own mastering compressor. It is not included in the Pro version. Lastly, both versions come with a large amount of downloadable sound effects content, which is available to users as a separate download, once they’ve registered the software.
There are a lot of audio tools on the market, but I find Sound Forge or Sound Forge Pro Mac 2 to be definite must-haves for the video editor serious about audio. The Sound Forge interface is clean and customizable and the operation is very intuitive. With nearly every spot I cut in FCP X, I’ll bounce the mix out to Sound Forge Pro for a mastering pass. Same if I need to modify a TV mix for a radio spot.
iZotope – Nectar
iZotope is one of the top audio plug-in developers and you’ll find their products bundled with a number of applications, including those from Sony and Adobe. One cool plug-in is the Nectar product, which is marketed in three versions: Nectar 2, Nectar Elements and Nectar Production Suite. These are compatible with most audio and video hosts that support AAX (Pro Tools), RTAS/AudioSuite, VST and AU plug-ins.
Nectar 2 is an all-in-one plug-in that combines eleven tools: plate reverb, pitch, FX, delay, de-esser, saturation, compressors, gate, EQ and limiter. It functions a lot like a very sophisticated channel strip in a mixing console, except with a lot more processes. Although designed with vocal recording in mind, it can easily be used for music and/or mastering. The interface presents you with an overview and easy controls for all tools, but then you can open each individual tool for more precise adjustments. It includes over 150 presets. You can switch between tracking and mixing modes for low-latency processing.
Nectar Elements is a reduced-feature version of Nectar 2. The controls tend to be more specific for vocal recording and the needs of home enthusiasts. On the other side is Nectar 2 Production Suite, which bundles the filter with a Pitch Editor and Breath Control plug-in for Nectar 2.
iZotope – RX 4
The biggest iZotope news is the release of the RX 4 audio repair and enhancement tool – the latest in iZotope’s RX series. RX 4 comes in a standard and advanced version and both include the RX 4 standalone application, as well as a set of RX 4 plug-ins that are compatible with a wide range of hosts. Built-in tools include declip, declick, hum removal, denoise, spectral repair, deconstruct (advanced), dereverb (advanced), leveler (advanced), EQ match (advanced), ambience match (advanced), time & pitch (advanced), loudness (advanced), gain, EQ, channel operations, resample and dither. Most, but not all of these, are also installed as RX 4 real-time plug-ins. Third-party plug-ins can also be accessed and used in the standalone RX 4 application. The breadth of what RX 4 offers makes it the biggest gun in the arsenal of most dialogue editors and sound designers, who are tasked with cleaning up challenging location recordings.
A powerful, new feature is RX Connect, which is a special “conduit” plug-in. It sets up a roundtrip between your host audio application and the RX 4 standalone application. For example, if you edit in Pro Tools, Audition or Sound Forge, highlight a range or a set of audio clips and select the RX Connect plug-in. (Where and how you select it will differ with each application). This opens an RX 4 window where you choose to send the selection to the RX 4 application. There you can process the clip as needed and send it back to the host application. In this way, you can use the individual effects as real-time plug-ins inside your audio host, or use the advanced processing power of the standalone application via the RX Connect roundtrip.
In addition to loudness processing, RX 4 Advanced also includes the Insight metering suite. This is iZotope’s extensive set of audio analysis and metering tools. It can be used for troubleshooting or to assure broadcast loudness compliance. Two other Advanced tools – EQ Match and Ambiance Match are ideal for the dialogue editor. EQ Match is exactly what the name implies. Here you send both a reference clip and a clip to be processed to the RX 4 application. The second clip is then analyzed and “matched” to the sonic qualities of the first. A common video editing practice is to cut out unwanted audio in your dialogue tracks, such as director’s cues, background noises, etc. This leaves gaps of silence in your track that need to be filled with ambient sound. In Ambiance Match, RX 4 samples areas of background sound between the spoken dialogue and creates a sound print from the quiet areas. RX 4 uses this to fill in gaps “automagically” between clips.
Finally, the standalone RX 4 application comes with built-in batch processing. There, you can set up a series of processing steps and the output location, naming and file formats. Add a set of files, apply the batch steps and process the files. iZotope’s RX 4 repair suite is a unique tool that is hard to beat when struggling with difficult audio that you want to make pristine. It’s a product that keeps getting better and, with the addition of the new RX Connect plug-in, provides better interoperability than ever before.
Originally written for Digital Video magazine / CreativePlanetNetwork
©2014 Oliver Peters
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