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Audio Performance Transfer (APT) Process

User Comments

"Revoice Pro allows me to reference the pitch and pacing of a recorded piece of on-set dialog and then impress these timing and pitch features upon a dialog recording from another take or a clean wild line, void of troublesome distracting sounds."

Jonah Guelzo– Sound Supervisor: Peter Berg (Director of ‘Lone Survivor’), Damon Lindeloff (Writer of ‘Lost’) and Ryan Gosling (Actor)

"I use Revoice Pro to create double vocal parts and harmonies. It saves me lots of time and energy, which can be spent elsewhere."

Val Garay– Grammy Award-Winning Producer: Marvin Gaye, Elton John and Dolly Parton and films including Spielberg’s ‘Little Giants'.
The APT Process transfers user-selected timing, pitch and level characteristics of a good "Guide" audio signal to one or more audio signals - automatically.

 

Applications for the APT process include:

Vocal and instrumental double tracks: Tighten the timing, pitch and vibrato of “stacked” tracks while keeping them natural-sounding.

Dialog replacement: Lip-sync dialogue (ADR) and vocals by the same or different performers, even when there are noisy guide tracks.

Transfer a performance: Change the inflection in dialog (ADR, voice-overs etc.) with the desired pattern changes provided by recording the director or dialog editor's voices.

Fix corrupted live vocal recordings: Replace and sync problematic vocals with clean retakes.

 


Description of the APT Processing

Revoice Pro 4 and APT Controls
Revoice Pro 4 and APT Controls
Revoice Pro 4 and New Process Controls
Revoice Pro 4 and New Process Controls

The user loads or transfers the Guide and Target (Dub) audio to be processed into the Revoice Pro program from DAWs or audio files. The Guide signal should have the "perfect" features: either timing, pitch or both.

However, if your Guide audio needs further time or pitch modifications, you can use Revoice Pro's new built-in Warp function to quickly and transparently adjust the Guide's (or lead harmony parts') timing and pitch.

In Revoice Pro, you can insert APT function blocks wherever you want them in dedicated "tracks" under each audio track that show where the processing starts and stops. You also chose the initial settings.

The APT process first determines the timing relationship between key features of the Guide and Target (Dub) audio signals using state-of-the-art pattern recognition algorithms based partly on Synchro Arts' VocALign technology.

Next, the APT process measures performance-related features (such as timing, pitch, vibrato and level) of both the "Guide" (which usually has certain preferred performance characteristics) and one or more Targets (Dub) signals.

User-selected Guide performance features are transferred to the Target audio to create a new Modified Target signal with the selected Guide features.

The transfer process usually includes the timing alignment, so Guide features are incorporated at precisely the correct places along the Target. However, this is an option.

If satisfactory, the processed Dub(s) can be instantly transferred back to the DAW via a number of methods including Revoice Pro Link plug-ins, drag & drop or copy & paste.


Important features:

Revoice Pro 4 APT Controls
Revoice Pro 4 APT Controls
  • The "tightness" of the transferred feature can be controlled to allow natural acceptable differences to pass through unchanged.
  • Optional user-inserted "Protected Regions" allow selected sections of the Dub signals to be left unchanged in timing or pitch by the APT process.
  • The automatic APT processing can be followed by (or replaced by) manual editing of the output features.
  • APT Pitch (and other feature's) processing settings can be made time-varying (automated).
  • "Process-based" solo switching, via single keys, provides instant audition to compare inputs and outputs one or two signals at a time.
  • The effects of any changes made to APT control panel parameters will be immediately visible (after rendering) in the displayed output graphics of pitch, level and waveform traces.
  • Multiple Dub signals can use the same Guide and be efficiently processed at the same time.

  • A comprehensive Preset system allows saving and reusing settings

 

Case Study - Replacing Noisy Dialogue

When José Luis Díaz found himself with location dialogue ruined by the sound of vehicle noise he turned to Revoice Pro to rescue the project.

“I had a take with some words ruined by the sound of moving vehicle noise. At first I tried to clean it with the top audio "cleaning" product but it was not possible. Then I searched in alternative takes and discovered one where those words were clean, but the reading was different and the pitch of the voice was too low. So it was not possible to simply replace the noisy words with the clean words. Nobody speaks in that gymnastic way.

I then tried Revoice Pro, and used the original noisy dialogue as the guide and words from the alternative take as the “dub”. After a few attempts I had clean location dialogue that had both matching time and pitch. This was not previously possible without Revoice Pro.”

Doubler Process

Revoice Pro 4 Doubler - mono out
Revoice Pro 4 Doubler - stereo out

The Doubler instantly creates natural-sounding mono and stereo double tracks - for voice and instruments

Applications for Doubler
  • Creating realistic double tracks from vocal or instrument recording when no double track is available.
  • Create a wide range of special modulation effects

User Comments

"I often use the doubler on vocals and even on instruments, like electric guitars. You can get some pretty cool effects with it"

Ryan Nasci- Producer/Engineer: Tony Maserati, Jon Castelli, Isa “Machine” Summers, Tyler Johnson

"The automatic doubling process is saving me half a day per song!!"

Michael Hagel- Composer, Producer: Roger Whittaker, Vicky Leandros

"Doubling is the secret weapon for the modern pop and hip hop vocal sound, and Revoice Pro crushes in that area."

Howie Miura- Producer

Process Details

  • Inputs can be mono or stereo signals.
  • Doubler automatically creates natural-sounding mono or stereo double tracks in seconds.
  • Provides controls for modifying timing variations, formants, and vibrato.
  • Supports extreme parameter variations to create special effects.
  • Comprehensive user Preset system

Revoice Pro 4 Doubler - mono out

Warp Processes

Revoice Pro 4 Make Warp Region
Make Warp Region menu
Warp Processes: Manually adjust Timing, Pitch and Level
Simple, fast adjustments with maximum quality- for voice and monophonic instruments

In Revoice Pro 4, manual Pitch and Time Warping of audio is intuitive, making it easy to select and manipulate timing and pitch whilst providing the highest audio quality. The controls allow selection over any range and cursor tool changes to show what will move. Automatic snap to pitch option, plus play loops and undo functions make adjustments fast and easy.


User Comments

" I am getting the job done just as fast, if not faster than using the two most popular tuning programs with better results. I like the way your software tracks the performance and I don’t get the crappy artefacts I sometimes get with the other software"

Jesse Zito

"The interesting thing is the authenticity issue - pitch correction and all the issues and press that surround it. One authentic take and then just tune it a little bit rather than just putting it together and patching together this word and that word. Just because they're in tune, that's probably a less authentic version in my opinion. So in a way, ReVoice Pro can actually give a more authentic vocal.."

Steve Williams- Lisa Stansfield, Sting, The Human League, Gary Barlow
Applications for Warp processes
  • Improving or altering the pitch and/or timing of tracks that are used as Guide tracks in APT or Doubler processes.
  • Correcting or altering the pitch of a harmony track before using it as a Dub input to an APT process that will have only its timing aligned to the Guide. The output of this APT process can then become a harmony Guide track for automatically aligning the time and pitch of double tracks of this harmony part.
  • Manually adjusting the pitch and time of a solo vocal or any voice recording.
  • If required, making minor adjustments to the features in the output of an APT process.
  • Modifying signal levels.

A powerful advantage of keeping time and pitch adjustments within Revoice Pro 4 is that any additional time and/or pitch changes to Guide or Input tracks will be passed automatically into the outputs of all processes using these inputs.

This means that dependant audio tracks will always be in time and in sync instantly.

Warp Processing Details

There are now three new methods for manual Timing and Pitch Warping audio in Revoice Pro. However, the tools availble in all of these are operated similarly.

The quick-access cursor tool's function changes simply by moving the cursor position around the note selection blocks. This way, pitch traces can be shifted, squeezed, tilted and even inverted instantly by dragging the note-box sides or corners.

Time and level can be manipulated similarly and easily.


 

Moreover - there is a Correct Pitch function for a quick snap-to grid process which will automatically adjust a large proportion of out-of-tune notes to more acceptable tunings.

Revoice Pro Warp Page - Bass Guitar

However, in any processing, the most important element is sound quality - which in Revoice Pro 4, remains natural and transparent for moderate changes.

For working with low or high pitched instruments or voices, the pitch processing ranges can be extended down to bass instrument ranges or up to flute ranges- to maintain the highest quality processing.

The WARP REGION Process
  • Adjustments are made to a single audio region in same track as the input audio Region and the adjusted output is heard replacing the input audio.
  • This is meant for making large and small corrections or creative changes to the timing and pitch of voice and monophonic instruments to create perfected lead, harmony, ADR or voice over parts.
The WARP Process
  • Like the APT or Doubler, the Warp process can (from part of a region or even from multiple regions) and allow creative adjustments and corrections to be applied to the input audio. But in this case, the Warp Process results are sent to an Output track - i.e. not in the same track as the input audio.
  • The Warp process takes its input from any length of audio in one track, from part of one region to spanning multiple regions. The output of the Warp process is sent to a designated output track where the adjustments are made. The input track is left unchanged.
Revoice Pro 4 - Three Warp Points inserted and moved
Three Warp Points inserted and moved
Warp Points
  • Warp points can be used to time stretch the signal between two points.
  • Vibrato Warp Points allow you to time stretch or compress signals containing vibrato without modifying the vibrato rate.
  • You can also use speed points to gradualy change the rate of time stetch.

DAW Integration

Revoice Pro is a stand-alone program which uses multiple methods for integrating with DAWs.

Revoice Pro does some things nothing else does. Because of this, we have had to make it work a little differently from anything else you'll have used.

However, we've done our best to make it work with your favourite DAWs and, once you understand a few basic concepts, you'll find it very easy and fast to use.

More importantly, even though have to move audio into and out of Revoice Pro - it will still save you hours of time and get your productions sounding how you want.

Why is Revoice Pro a stand-alone program?

Revoice Pro DAW Integration

Revoice Pro has been deliberately developed as a stand-alone program, because there are significant speed and operational advantages over the restrictions of pure plug-in environments. These advantages include:

  • The ability to implement and load audio into multi-input processes and process many tracks at the same time.
  • A novel and effective “region-based processing" approach to audio processing in which inputs to processing modules are inserted where required along the timeline in Process Control Tracks and can have different settings along the same track.
  • Simple, one-key controls of a “process-based auditioning” for rapidly auditioning combinations of input and output signals to check the quality of modifications.
  • Modifications to Guide tracks can be automatically passed on to all tracks related to those Guides
  • Support for a multi-track and multi-process environment with no limits on timecode positions and over 100 tracks - giving you maximum flexibility and speed of operations.
  • Revoice Pro also allows multiple sessions to be open or one session open in multiple windows. For example, you can have multiple processing sessions open simultaneously and multiple views of any of those sessions.
  • A consistent working environment inside Revoice Pro regardless of audio source.

How do you get audio in and out of Revoice Pro from your DAW?

In Revoice Pro's installer, you get several Revoice Pro Link plug-ins as one type of option for conveniently getting audio into (and, for some DAWs, out of) Revoice Pro.

Some DAWs have better integration with Revoice Pro than others - but we are constantly trying to work with DAW manufacturers to improve the workflow experience.

Revoice Pro DAW Integration Page - Quick APT
Revoice Pro Plug-ins
  • Audio Suite Link, Quick APT and Quick Doubler plug-ins for Pro Tools 10 and below.
  • AAX Audio SuiteLink, Quick APT and Quick Doubler plug-ins for Pro Tools 11 and up:
  • VST3 for Cubase, Nuendo, Studio One, and others
  • AU for Logic Pro and other DAWs using AU plug-ins.
  • VST3/ARA2 for Studio One
Audio Transfers Using OS File System
  • Fast Copy and Paste or Drag and Drop:- for some DAWs including Cubase, Nuendo, Logic Pro, Studio One, etc.
  • Import / Export .wav files for all DAWs
Revoice Pro DAW Integration

DAW-specific information

  • More details are given in the Revoice Pro User Guide and Video Tutorials.
  • You can choose the methods that work with your DAWs that make your workflow as fast and easy as possible.

Audio Transfer Options from Revoice Pro to DAWs

Working method will depend on capabilities of DAW.

  • Instantly Drag and Drop processed audio from Revoice Pro into your DAW
    • Select the audio you want to export and drag and drop into your Audio Editor or computer file system
  • Use Audio Suite / AAX plug-ins (Pro Tools only)
  • Export multiple tracks from Revoice Pro
    • Contains timecode stamps - Audio files can be dragged into most Digital Audio Editors instantly and positioned to timecode
    • Optionally use Playback Region to select range of exported audio
    • Automatic track name formation
    • Optionally export all selected audio tracks into one multi-channel audio file

Key Environment Features