Creative Cloud for teams comes with 20+ industry-leading apps for design, photography, video and web as well as digital document experiences. And now you can use favourites like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop across desktop and mobile devices. To re-dock a floating or undocked panel in Adobe Audition is very easy, although not intuitive. When a panel becomes floating in a separate window, a white bar appears at the top of the panel with the close button at the top right corner. You can drag this white bar of a undocked panel to move it anywhere around the workspace. Control Surfaces aren’t currently supported in Premiere Pro, but they are in Adobe Audition, FCP 7, and Logic Pro. You can easily spend $200 on a dedicated control surface, but there is a cost effective alternative: use your iPad. AC-7 Core ($7.99) is a control surface that runs on your. Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about Adobe Creative Cloud. Download Adobe Creative Cloud and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Take Creative Cloud with you to manage your files, install fonts, view tutorials, and discover apps on the go. I'm a recent convert to the Mac and I very much miss two PC-only Adobe programs: Audition and Encore. I do not like their Apple equivalents very much at all. Using bootcamp, I often find myself rebooting to Windows to do audio work in Audition. Check out the Soundtrack Pro forum.
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Instead of a mouse, use your iPad to control your faders and other controls in Adobe Audition (mute, solo, automation). Using a control surface frees you from the keyboard!
The iPad is quickly turning into a powerful tool for filmmaking, with new apps appearing each month. To see some of the latest apps and post productoin tools check out HandheldHollywood.com, a site focused on iPad/iPhone filmmaking apps and gear.
Adobe Acrobat For Ipad Pro
I spend a bit of time in Adobe Audition working with audio, and using a mouse feels cumbersome at times. I personally prefer the tactual touch of a fader or virtual fader over using a mouse, and this is where control surfaces come in. Control surfaces are devices that control the faders and other controls (mute, solo, automation) in Audition or other Digital Audio Workstations (DAW).
Control Surfaces aren’t currently supported in Premiere Pro, but they are in AdobeAudition, FCP 7, and Logic Pro.
You can easily spend $200 on a dedicated control surface, but there is a cost effective alternative: use your iPad. AC-7 Core ($7.99) is a control surface that runs on your iPad. I previously mentioned this useful application in my 10 filmmaking apps under $10 article.
As an editor who also does audio (and wears multiple hats), I find the AC-7 good for basic post-production audio work. It enables a quicker workflow and in many ways is easier to use than a mouse.
The other big plus of using a control surface is that it frees you from your computer. You can perform basic functions like recording a voiceover from across the room!
Getting Up and Running
To start using AC-7 Core in your post production workflow you’ll need to set it up. The installation and configuration are surprisingly easy (takes 5-10 minutes) First, download the app from iTunes.
It works on both Mac & Windows iPads running (iOS 4.2 and later) in a variety of apps, including FCP 7. There are written directions and a video tutorial for both Mac & Windows installation.
It might be necessary to manually reconnect your iPad if it was turned off after a session. Go to Utilities > Audio Midi Setup. Then double click on Network, then select the iPad and click Connect. If you will be using this workflow a lot it’s a good idea to put “Audio Midi Setup” on your dock (for Mac users).
Surprisingly the AC-7 Core dosen’t have latency issues (delay) when you move a fader and works with no hiccups wirelessly over a Wi-Fi connection.
If you prefer using an iPhone or iTouch there is also a AC-7 mini.
Basic Operation in Audition
You have a choice of Modes, to emulate the settings in various DAWs. The Generic Mode works with Audition and generally any device that uses Mackie Protocol.
You can pick a skin, which gives you a light or dark interface. The faders are responsive and clicking the meters button lets you see the audio volume for each track.
You can select tracks, mute and solo them. You have transport controls to play, record, jog and shuttle. One of the most useful features for me is the ability to record audio keyframes in Adobe Audition, which we’ll dig into a little deeper now.
Audio Automation in Audition (Recording Keyframes)
Often when you have music in your video edit you want to dip it down when someone is speaking, and then bring it back up when they stop. This is called “riding the levels” or adjusting gain. Instead of doing this manually you can record keyframes when you move the fader using Automation.
The most common workflow for editors is to send your finished edit from Premiere Pro to Audition. If you need a refresher on getting from Premiere Pro to Audition I previously wrote about editing clips & sequences in Audition.
In Audition you need to be in a multitrack session to use automation.
By Default each track is in Read Mode. To record keyframes change this to Write. You can do this in Audition or click the Write button on the AC-7. Click the Play button and drag the fader to record key frames, and press the Stop button when done.
To see the keyframes you recorded, click the twirly beside the mode. After you stopped recording, the mode changed to Touch. In this mode key frames aren’t recorded till you move the fader, and when you let go, it returns to the previously recorded keyframes. Latch mode will stay where the fader was when you let go. You can click the eraser icon to clear all your recorded keyframes.
For $7.99, I think the AC-7 Core is a no brainer if you have an iPad and spend a bit of time in Audition or other DAWs. It does well what it is designed to do – speeding up and streamlining your Adobe Audition audio workflow.
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We’ve paired up Custom Keypad with DaVinci Resolve to create an iPad controllable color grading surface – but how does it measure up?
I have to admit I’m intrigued by the possibilities of using an iPad as a control surface/controller. I previously wrote about using CTRL + Console with Premiere Pro & Final Cut and AC-7 as a control surface for Adobe Audition.
Now there is a controller for DaVinci Resolve 10, created by Esperimento Cinema, an independent digital production studio in Italy. It is not designed to replace a professional color control surface, but rather be easier to use than a mouse/keyboard.
The Resolve 10 Layout is a free download, however it does require the app Custom Keypad ($3.99) to work. Custom Keypad is an app that lets you create custom keyboards to control your computer.
Setup the DaVinci Resolve iPad Surface
- On your iPad, purchase the Custom KeyPad app.
- Connect KeyPad to your computer (works on Mac, PC, Linux). To do this, you need VPN software on your computer. Follow the KeyPad support instructions for your type of computer. I’m on a Mac, so I used the built-in VPN capabilities of “Remote Management”. This is fairly straightforward and takes about 5 minutes.
- Download the Resolve 10 Layout, and choose “open in Custom KeyPad”.
- In Custom KeyPad choose the “Esperimentocinema_Resolve_10_v1.layout”
- Launch Resolve and you are ready to work.
- Make sure that your iPad is set to not sleep, or you will lose your connection. Similarly, make sure it is powered or it will run down.
Using the iPad Controller in DaVinci Resolve
Since I just have the Trackball Panel (third below) I wanted to see if the app could function like a mini version of the either 3 panels.
Note: Tangent sells a virtual version of the Element Panels for $150.00, but at this price point I don’t see many folks trying this.
I did a test session with the app and this is what I found:
Edit Page: I found it handy to use it to control playback and set In and Out. Playing the footage, looping, and marking clips all worked without any lag. You can add Markers and Flags, but you can’t clear them from the Layout which is annoying. Hopefully that is added in.
When I need to cut clips, I liked using the mouse to navigatg and cutting the clip with the Razor button in the App. The razor also works during playback. I also like being able to Zoom the Timeline (Zoom to Fit) with one click on the layout.
Color Page: I found it quicker to use the iPad to control my stills (Grab, Play, Previous, Next). You can then use Wipe On/Off to toggle off when needed. The Previous Still button didn’t work for me, but I could cycle through the Stills with Next Still.
Working with Nodes: In my opinion working with nodes on this control surface is quicker and easier than going to the Menu in Resolve. Enable/Disable works, but not Enable/Disable all. I found I used Serial Node, Add before Current, Outside Node, and Append Node often.
Qualifiers: When using Qualifiers, I preferred using the app to turn on and off Highlights. That way I can adjust the settings and just toggle the view with my left hand.
Adobe Audition How To Use
I would like to see an update to the Resolve Layout. It is a great start, but could use a lot of finesse and tweaking for a smoother user experience. I’m looking forward to NAB and hopefully we will see more apps like this one this year.