Apple Pro Training Series: Soundtrack Pro [Paperback]

Mary Plummer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321357574 | ISBN-13: 978-0321357571 | Publication Date: December 31, 2005

Soundtrack Pro, Apple's exciting sound design software, is the newest member of the Final Cut Pro Studio digital video suite-And whether you're musically impaired or musically gifted, the Soundtrack Pro guide will help you get up to speed quickly. In this Apple-certified book/DVD combo, readers will find a complete, self-paced course in all aspects of Soundtrack Pro. Author Mary Plummer guides you through the secrets of editing, repairing, mixing, and arranging multi-track audio files, as well as how to create original soundtracks, score to video, add effects, and more. Step-by-step exercises and lesson files will have readers taking advantage of Soundtrack's thousands of audio loops to create perfectly synched scores in no time. Also included are dozens of advanced sound editing tips for professional users who want to take their video, DVD, and Web projects to the next level.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Plummer is a professional musician, composer, and video editor who's edited music videos, documentaries, and independent feature films. An Apple Certified Trainer, she is the co-owner of In Vision Digital and Media Arts Inc., an Apple Authorized Training Center located at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. She is also the author of several books, including Apple Pro Training Series: Soundtrack and Apple Pro Training Series: Getting Started with Motion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press (December 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321357574
• ISBN-13: 978-0321357571
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #699,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Soundtrack Pro Book, February 12, 2006

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Solo Goodspeed (Granada Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Apple Pro Training Series: Soundtrack Pro (Paperback)

Mary Plummer, whose fun book on Apple Soundtrack helped walk users through the features of what was once a relatively limited utility, has upgraded the curriculum for the revamped Soundtrack Pro, a tool some have called "the Photoshop of audio". Now, as a Photoshop user myself, I wouldn't say Soundtrack has quite the depth to yet make that claim ... however, Apple has indeed rebuilt it from the ground up into what is leaps and bounds beyond the clip/loop manager it had been before. And Ms. Plummer, who has seen it grow each step of the way, has penned the best (if not only, at this time) source with which to learn its awesome capabilities.

After a quick first chapter on getting familiar with the interface (a working knowledge of Mac OS-X is essential), the reader gets up and running with projects involving sound design for a video trailer and a suspense scene, performing in depth waveform surgery (one of the key new features of Soundtrack Pro), editing audio tracks, recording and mixing audio, performing refinements and adding effects to a multi-track recording, and finally integrating it with the other tools of Final Cut Studio. That covered all the bases with this user and, as with her previous volume, kept it fun and inspired creative experimentation. It is always refreshing to learn from an author who is both an expert and an artist herself.

If you have been working with Apple's Pro Apps for any amount of time, learning Soundtrack Pro on your own isn't really rocket science, and if you just use it for loops and sound design with Final Cut Pro/Express you probably don't even need this book. But it is capable of a lot more on its own, and if you find yourself wanting to get deeper into its uses and exploit Soundtrack Pro for all it's worth, you'll find this Apple Pro Training title a well-written, invaluable, enjoyable and fast-moving route to audio enlightenment.

Thanks again Mary!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Plummer Starts the Soundtrack Pro Vehicle, March 26, 2007

By 

Reg 59 "book addict" (Charlotte) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apple Pro Training Series: Soundtrack Pro (Paperback)

Think of this book as driving instruction. Mary Plummer starts the car and now, you get to do the driving. The easy to follow comprehesive lessons in this book are more than enough to get you through the application. And once you have learned to operate the essentials, the rest of the drive is up to you. Turn left, turn right, speed up slow down, well, you get the picture. If you are the imaginative sort, this application can do things to enhance any of your video projects. This program even works for the rythmically challenged!

Bear in mind though, Mary's book is not intended to take you into the depths of award-winning audio post-production. If thats what you're looking for you probably need to seek an internship or hang around your local Guitar Centar. But if you want to learn how to be creative enough with Soundtrack Pro to keep your video viewing audience on the entertainment edge then this well-written book is a must.

I have used Soundtrack to score TV broadcast commercial IDs. Local commercials and proms are next. Shhhh! No one knows except me. Being paid for simply playing around. For more hot and interesting loops, see Douglas Spotted Eagle's book Using Soundtrack: Produce Original Music for Video, DVD, and Multimedia.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Primer, in some respects, March 24, 2007

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CMOS (US) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Apple Pro Training Series: Soundtrack Pro (Paperback)

A word to those who are looking for a comprehensive reference and how-to book for Soundtrack Pro: this is not that book, nor is it intended to be. Instead, this book is a lesson-based primer that quickly takes you through many common tasks that anyone who is starting out in the world of audio Post-production will need to know at some point. The operative word being "quickly". This is NOT an in-depth look at Soundtrack Pro's most important functions, in terms of what they do, how they work and when you want to use one type of functionality over another.

Also, since the one person who took the time to write a real review mentioned it, if you're thinking about owning Soundtrack Pro and looking to see what kind of literature is available first, don't make the mistake of thinking STP is the "Photoshop of audio post-production." It's not, though it shares some common points with the progams that are. If you want the whole ball of wax, Logic Pro or Digital Performer from Motu are the tools you'll want to look at. Like Photoshop, they can perform a huge number of audio post-production and recording taks, but they're also hugely complex. Just depends on what your needs are and how much time you're able to dedicate to learning the toolset.

Overall this book is helpful in understanding how the Soundtrack Pro interface is laid out, and where the basic functional components are located and what they do. However, it's not the kind of book where you can look up a single important topic like "Voiceovers" or "eliminating ambient noise" and find 15 pages throughout the book on ways to accomplish those tasks. IOW, this isn't a reference work you set on your desk and find lots of answers as you go through the program trying to learn new things.

It's more like a 2 day class that covers a variety of basic lessons, compressed into a book.