Logic Pro 8 music with video

[ERNY]

A very "long shot" and another try at finding some info without having to go to university again. After an absence of 8 years from the music recording world (yes Atari st still works brilliantly) I have started again but this time with the added complication of videos. I am running two bits of software on an up to date (2 year old) PC - (an old logic platinum 5.0.1 for music and "Power Director Express" by Cyberlink for video which was bundled with a JVC camcorder). Is there any way that I can get the logic files to upload into the power director ? (It doesn't accept the old .LSO files). Solving this problem will save me a hunk of cash as I have no desire to go out buying more software for what seems a simple glitch.
I also solved the problem of the JVC .mod files so I should be able to manage this as well.

ern

 

[Eddie Sullivan]

music wth video

I doubt that Power Director supports native Logic Files- do you mean you simply want to import audio to sync to the video?

You would have to fire up Logic and bounce your tracks to audio then bring them in to Power Director using whatever native file format Power Director supports. Also, apparently JVC has some sort of proprietary video format which does not seem to be currently supported, and who knows if standard audio file formats will work properly, I Googled Power Director and am noticing that users are very frustrated with the way it handles audio.

As a side note- the only reason in my opinion to hang on to an old system is if one is fluent in it and can get work done easily. If you cannot even use an old system like this I think you should consider spending the money for a modern system and start from scratch... You'd probably get more mileage out of a Mac Mini, Garage Band and iMovie...

 

[ERNY]

Thanks for reply. If the Logic and the Director are never going to be compatable (compatible ?) I might download a simple to use freeware such as Audacity (which does not accept M.I.D.I. input) if one exists. Does anyone know of such a freeware that is reliable, will accept m i d i , and not bombard the PC with viruses ??

Ern

 

[Eddie Sullivan]

Now you lost me

Is it MIDI information you wish to import into Director? You realize that MIDI files do not contain any sound on their own- they are like sheet music, merely directions for playing electronic musical instruments.

I say get a Mac Mini- it's got Garage Band and iMovie, perfectly compatible modern softwares for working with MIDI, Audio and Video. Later on you can upgrade to Logic Express or Logic Pro.

 

[ERNY]

Thanks for the reply and "staying on the case". If its ok by you I will expand a little with more info. Having worked in music all my life (I am now retired !) I know that m i d i files are not actual "music"; just digital directions to whatever m.i.d.i. instrument you are using. I would therefore presume that if the .LSO files (or any other file type) did import into the Power Director video editing "suite" they would then play the PCs internal soundcard. This would not be a problem as all the work on the music file has already been done before it is imported.

What would be interesting to know though is whether an .LSO file will "change" into an audio file (such as wav, aif, .aifc, .aiff .asf, .au, .mp2, .mp3, .mpa, .snd, .wav, and .wma). The only audio that I have managed is the "audio" on playback mode. This of course is not a "file"

The Mac system unfortunately would not be an option as I would then have two different systems to cope with - all the music files , video files and still photos are on the PC and therefore (as far as I know - and I don't know much !) would not import into a Mac as it's a different operating system. I also have a Windows laptop for "on the road" as I do a lot of filming and stills away from home and introducing a Mac to that situation would also be too complicated. The GarageBand already loaded into a new Mac sounds about my level (I only record one instrument usually). It's a pity that Windows don't bundle a similar one in their OS.

Since this problem arose about a month ago (the problem of putting music to video on a budget) I have searched the web for free music software which will accept m i d i . After a month I am still searching. It may be me that's looking in all the wrong places or being too cautious I don't really know. For example there are many websites offering free download versions of Cubase, Pro Tools or Cakewalk which have no connection to any of these manufacturers; I would not touch them for 2 reasons a) they are probably illegal sites (copyright etc etc) b) the software would have a load of viruses bundled with it set to appear in a couple of months and destroy a whole load of valuable files.

I thought actually that I had "cracked it" the other day when I downloaded Audacity - it came well recommended (Sunday Times PC page), its an original site (as in manufacturers original) and was made by students doing music research. So I connected the digital piano, pressed record and . . . . . not a boffin.

What makes me so crazy is the question why go through all that work and produce a music software programme WITHOUT m.i.d.i. ? ? ? ? I might as well make a piano (I make, tune, repair, rebuild pianos) and leave out the keys.

Thanks for your patience.

Ern

 

[Markdvc]

What would be interesting to know though is whether an .LSO file will "change" into an audio file (such as wav, aif, .aifc, .aiff .asf, .au, .mp2, .mp3, .mpa, .snd, .wav, and .wma).

No. Logic's .lso is a proprietary format which only works with specific logic versions. Audio files recorded in Logic are not found in the lso. Midi data which is part of a logic project is included in the .lso, but can only be extracted by opening tre project in logic and exporting as a standard midi file.

The Mac system unfortunately would not be an option as I would then have two different systems to cope with - all the music files , video files and still photos are on the PC and therefore (as far as I know - and I don't know much !) would not import into a Mac as it's a different operating system.

Macs support a lot of media formats, including Wav, AIFF, mp3. They also support planty of photo and video formats - I work with photoshop 7 on PC and CS3 on Mac, never had a problem with cross platform compatibility.

I also have a Windows laptop for "on the road" as I do a lot of filming and stills away from home and introducing a Mac to that situation would also be too complicated. The GarageBand already loaded into a new Mac sounds about my level (I only record one instrument usually). It's a pity that Windows don't bundle a similar one in their OS.

Along with Garage Band for audio, you could use imovie for (not just) basic film capture and editing. You could consider getting a Mac mini, a new one would come with the current versions of garage band and imovie and not set you back very much. Garage Band is built on Logic technology.

Since this problem arose about a month ago (the problem of putting music to video on a budget) I have searched the web for free music software which will accept m i d i . After a month I am still searching.

Have you tried reaper? I never used it myself, might be worth your while having a look at.

kind regards

Mark

 

[ERNY]

Mark

Thats really useful info. Thanks. I've looked at the reaper website and it looks honest and business-like. On the download info it lists three alternatives 1.windows 2.windows x64 3. OS X Universal. Which should I download or all three ?

Ern

 

[Markdvc]

Which OS are you running? Surely that will tell you which one you need?

kind regards

Mark

 

[Eddie Sullivan]

Thanks for the reply and "staying on the case". If its ok by you I will expand a little with more info. Having worked in music all my life (I am now retired !) I know that m i d i files are not actual "music"; just digital directions to whatever m.i.d.i. instrument you are using. I would therefore presume that if the .LSO files (or any other file type) did import into the Power Director video editing "suite" they would then play the PCs internal soundcard. This would not be a problem as all the work on the music file has already been done before it is imported.

What would be interesting to know though is whether an .LSO file will "change" into an audio file (such as wav, aif, .aifc, .aiff .asf, .au, .mp2, .mp3, .mpa, .snd, .wav, and .wma).
Ern

This is not really possible because since MIDI files are merely directions for electronic musical instruments, you still need electronic musical instruments that will follow those directions. When you have assigned an electronic musical instrument to play a MIDI passage you then need to record the audio output of that instrument into an audio file. There is no magic conversion possible because MIDI still relies on a human being to make sense of it, just like sheet music. Your soundcard could work for this, with a little work - but you would have to have an audio recording software that could capture audio generated from that card- something neither of your softwares can do I don't think.

The only audio that I have managed is the "audio" on playback mode. This of course is not a "file"

The Mac system unfortunately would not be an option as I would then have two different systems to cope with - all the music files , video files and still photos are on the PC and therefore (as far as I know - and I don't know much !) would not import into a Mac as it's a different operating system.

well in it's current state, at your level of frustration, your PC is not much use to you either...
Ern

I also have a Windows laptop for "on the road" as I do a lot of filming and stills away from home and introducing a Mac to that situation would also be too complicated. The GarageBand already loaded into a new Mac sounds about my level (I only record one instrument usually). It's a pity that Windows don't bundle a similar one in their OS.
Ern

There are two very nice commercial software packages that can approximate the function and user interface of Garage Band:

Mixcraft by Acoustica: http://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/index.htm

Sequel by Steinberg: http://www.sequel-music.net/whats-sequel.html

The closest thing to iMovie I could find for the PC is Pinnacle Studio:

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSi...+Products/Home+Video/Studio+Family/Studio.htm

It would cost you somewhere around $100 USD to get a modern music and video production environment for the PC...

Since this problem arose about a month ago (the problem of putting music to video on a budget) I have searched the web for free music software which will accept m i d i .
Ern

Free software is usually utilitarian in nature, if you want complete software solutions for the workflow you suggest on the PC, you'll probably have to spend something.

After a month I am still searching. It may be me that's looking in all the wrong places or being too cautious I don't really know. For example there are many websites offering free download versions of Cubase, Pro Tools or Cakewalk which have no connection to any of these manufacturers; I would not touch them for 2 reasons a) they are probably illegal sites (copyright etc etc) b) the software would have a load of viruses bundled with it set to appear in a couple of months and destroy a whole load of valuable files.

I thought actually that I had "cracked it" the other day when I downloaded Audacity - it came well recommended (Sunday Times PC page), its an original site (as in manufacturers original) and was made by students doing music research. So I connected the digital piano, pressed record and . . . . . not a boffin.
Ern

You'll probably have to give us some more details on what other hardware you have and what steps you have taken to properly set up the hardware so that Audacity recognizes program signal flowing into your computer.

What makes me so crazy is the question why go through all that work and produce a music software programme WITHOUT m.i.d.i. ? ? ? ?
Ern

Audacity is not really a 'music' software program, although it could be handy for musicians. It is an audio editing software that many folks doing podcasts and audio batch processing and the like can use for all sorts of audio related tasks. You can't really be complaining if a 'free' piece of software does not do what you think it should do, many people use Audacity for what *they* need it for...

I might as well make a piano (I make, tune, repair, rebuild pianos) and leave out the keys.
Ern

Not a good analogy because Audacity is useful for all sorts of audio editing and processing, a piano without keys is not useful at all, unless you are John Cage or something...


Thanks for your patience.
Ern

Hey we try to be as helpful as possible to each other here : )

 

[ERNY]

muchos grachios

Many thanks to Eddie and Mark for your comprehensive and helpful replies. I will probably be absent for a couple of days now as I work on all the info you've sent me !

Ern