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True to its title, Instant ACID will get you started with Sony?s ACID loop creation software right away, even if you?ve never used it. But this comprehensive book extends from the basics into advanced techniques that even experienced ACID users will find valuable.
Co-authors John Rofrano and Iacobus are ACID power users whose understanding of the subject helps them to explain ACID clearly without lapsing into laundry lists of features. Rofrano goes by the name JohnnyRoy on the Sony forums and the DMN forums, where he hosts the ACID forum. A musican/songwriter, Rofrano is also an accomplished videographer and computer architect. Likewise, Iacobus is a musician and composer, and he is co-partner in an original music company called RodelWorks. He?s a winner of ACIDplanet?s Static-X remix contest and a regular on the Sony forums under the user name mD.
Their 240-page book, published by CMP Books in association with VASST Training, is peppered with real-world ACID applications, with screen shots on nearly every page to illustrate the points being made.
Instant ACID starts with the basics, identifying the sections of the main interface and what they do. For a novice ACID user -- even one who?s familiar with other audio applications -- these first 10 pages are required reading. Developing good efficient work habits at the outset can save lots of time later on.
For instance, ACID is different than many other audio programs in that each track can contain only one audio or MIDI loop, even if it?s just a couple of seconds long. When the track count rises as more loops are added, scrolling up and down the screen becomes tedious. As the authors point out, the solution is to use the new Folder tracks feature in ACID 5, which allows groups of tracks not currently being worked on to be collapsed into folders. Sure, you can use the program without making folders - but it?s a heck of a lot easier if you do use them.
The book moves from there to Chapter 2, "Fundamentals of Looping." Here?s where the "Instant" part of the book's title comes in. In a section called ?Our First Project,? the book goes step-by-step from opening a new project, browsing loops and painting in the Timeline to basic editing, tempo and marker functions. And, of course, saving the project with its loops.
Anyone who reads these first two chapters will have a firm grasp of ACID looping techniques. But there?s much more to the program -- and the book -- than that. ACID has strong tools for soundtrack creation, for instance, and can draw from an extensive library of commercial ACIDized loops on the market. Scoring to a video track with ACID is fast and streamlined because of the program?s workflow, which allows you to preview loops in a library, drag them up to an open track and paint them in to see how they work. For video users, a preview window appears by default in the lower right hand corner and can be floated anywhere on the screen. The book details how to change the video thumbnail?s default Frame Numbers to Media Format for cues that need to be frame accurate (other choices include Time Ruler Format and None). Then time markers that represent the true time from the beginning of the project can be added in absolute sync at the desired soundtrack start/stop times.
Related Sites: Digital Producer , Digital Post Production , Digital Pro Sound , Presentation Master , Oceania , CEN - Consumer Electronics Net , CEN - AV Software , CEN - Audio , BN - NAB
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