Audio Design Desk, new audio software with quick workflow for adding sound effects to video, announced the free version of the app, Audio Design Desk Create. An update to version 1.2 with new features has also been announced along with the official launch of the app. Audio Design Desk’s CEO Gabe Cowan walked us through the app in our Virtual Show video interview.
Audio Design Desk (add.app) is a new Digital Audio Workstation that changes the way how filmmakers work with sound design. Its workflow is aimed at significantly reducing the time spent on adding music and sound effects to picture. Simply put – the sounds are being added to the timeline by pressing assigned buttons on a keyboard.
Audio Design Desk comes bundled with 20,000 sounds embedded with Sonic Intelligence, using AI-assisted content creation tools. For more information about the app, make sure to check our previous article: Audio Design Desk – Simplifying Sound Design for Filmmakers. My colleague Graham talked with Gabe Cowan, the CEO of Audio Design Desk, about the app itself, new updates, and the free version of add.app.
Audio Design Desk Create – Free Version of ADD
The company just launched a free version of the add.app simply called Audio Design Desk Create. Because it is free, it has, of course, some limitations. It includes over 500 sound design elements plus an additional 2000 sound effects and music compositions to get started.
The free version comes with add.app’s programmable triggers, replacement tools, AI creative engine, and sync technology. The triggers, for example, are limited to three. Export options are also limited to Stereo AAC and Watermarked Movie.
Audio Design Desk – Update V1.2
Another news is that the add.app gets a new update v1.2 with some new features and improvements. The software now includes volume automation plus the following new tools and updates:
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Replace Without Losing Sync: Pressing the new replace button above the timeline, users can turn one composition into infinite alternates and can refine their results by using keywords, intensity, complexity, genre, album, composer, or playlists.
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Create Triggers Faster and More Easily: The triggers menu is now in the main window and has been redesigned and streamlined to give users more options while simplifying the process. Users can search for sounds and drag them to this window to create trigger playlists. They can refine their playlists at any time and save trigger sets for future use.
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Create a Timecode Offset in the Transport: Autoset to match incoming video by default, users can now also adjust the timecode manually. This is especially helpful when working in reels or when no timecode is present and users want to set it manually, or if an edit has changed while they were working on sound.
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Fine Tuned Looping Controls: Users can now loop any selection by pressing option command L, and they can freely move the loop by pressing shift or command and dragging the loop points.
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Updates to Metadata Editing: Now, sync markers can be immediately changed and updated in the audio editor, and a new command exists in the metadata window that allows users to change any piece of metadata from any library.
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Perfect the Sync with Slower Playback Speeds: Audio Design Desk now enables playback at 1/3 the speed, in addition to half-speed, making it even easier to perfect sync while performing.
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Updated Metadata Guessing Algorithm: This algorithm, as well as the sync marker guessing algorithm, has been updated to speed up the importing workflow.
It is with noting that the team behind add.app is creating tutorials and tips to help users get started with their software. They are available at Audio Design Desk Youtube channel. In the video interview, Gabe also gave us a demonstration of how fast the workflow really is. It looks impressively quick especially in fast-paced action scenes.
Price and Availability
The Audio Design Desk (including the new V1.2 update) is available for download right now from the add.app Download Website. When it comes to price, there are three versions with different pricing models:
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Create – available for free.
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Produce – $15 per month.
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Professional – $30 per month.
The limitations of each version are neatly presented in the following table.