The Audio Design Desk, a digital audio workstation, has officially debuted into the media and entertainment scene to introduce a new approach that could shake up the sound design industry. With the domain name “add.app”, the software optimizes artificial intelligence (AI) by enabling identification of the most appropriate sound to incorporate into a video clip. In addition, it can identify at which point of a scene should these sounds be embedded. This is made possible as each sound clip is associated with rich metadata or detailed information that helps place it in the right context.
User-Friendly on Several Counts
The platform boasts of a library with over 20,000 sounds to choose from. While that mass sounds intimidating to be scoured through, add.app has engineered its search engine to effectively help you find the sounds you are looking for. It also ensures that users access its other techniques in simple ways. Describing one aspect of its solution, Audio Design Desk said: Users can also easily adjust replacement criteria such as intensity, complexity, genre or feel. Audio Design Desk’s Sonic Intelligence instantly turns a single composition into infinite alternates without losing sync.
Gaining Praise and Accolades
The brand new audio creation tool has been earning praise from sound editing experts. Recently, it was named as part of the nominees for the 2020 SXSW Innovation Awards in the Music & Audio category. Matt Cooke, an Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker, said Audio Design Desk is a software that “revolutionizes the way I am able to produce content.” He shared: Cooke added:
Integrating with leading NLEs
add.app has also been integrated with top non-linear editors (NLE) such as Adobe® Premiere® Pro, Apple® Final Cut Pro®, Apple® Logic, Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve, Avid® Pro Tools, and Avid Media Composer. Such integration allows users to easily export their compositions as an XML or AAF and open their sessions within the NLE of their choice – placing all the sounds in the timeline exactly as designed. add.app also collaborates with hardware controllers like the Elgato Stream Deck, making the process of adding sound effects via keystrokes even easier.
The Founders of Audio Design Desk
Audio Design Desk is the brainchild of Gabriel Cowan, a multi-platinum recording artist and award-winning filmmaker. Cowan teamed up with creative partner Sam Music, also a multi-platinum recording artist and acclaimed sound designer, who has created sounds for blockbuster trailers such as Spider-Man, World War Z, Rogue One and many others. The duo put on board Ryan Francesconi, an accomplished musician and software engineer who was a core contributor to AudioKit and streaming technologies underpinning the likes of YouTube. The three make up the main founders of the Audio Design Desk with the mission to address challenges in tedious tasks in sound editing and help sound design professionals focus on the part where creative minds are called for.
