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An introduction to soundtrack, What is soundtrack, Preface – Apple Soundtrack User Manual

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An Introduction to Soundtrack

Soundtrack gives you the tools you need to create
high-quality soundtracks for your video productions.

Music projects that until recently would have required an array of professional studio
equipment can now be completed in a home or project studio, using a personal
computer and readily available resources. A computer with a fast processor and
enough RAM can serve as a workstation for recording, arranging, mixing, and
producing complete music projects that can be played back on the computer, burned
on a CD or DVD, or distributed over the Internet.

For digital video editors, this development allows unprecedented opportunities for
increasing creative control over the music for video projects. Currently, most video
projects either use stock music clips from music libraries or rely on outside music
production houses to create original scores. Now, using digital music tools and
applications, video editors, including those with no musical training or experience, can
create high-quality soundtracks for their video projects with the same computer they
used to assemble and edit their video.

What Is Soundtrack?

Soundtrack is a music application built specifically for Mac OS X. Using Soundtrack,
even non-musicians can create professional-sounding, royalty-free soundtracks for
Final Cut Express video projects.

Soundtrack lets you build musical arrangements using prerecorded audio files called

loops.

Loops contain rhythmic patterns that you can extend to fill any amount of time.

In a Soundtrack project, you can combine and arrange loops and non-looping audio
files, add professional-quality effects, mix your music in stereo, and export the final mix
to a standard audio file that can be played on any multimedia-equipped computer or
imported into Final Cut Express.