I've been using PreSonus Studio One for a while, but now I'm fed up with its less-than-stellar video functions. I do mostly film/video scoring, so video integration is extremely crucial.

any score composers in here who can suggest some ideas on what DAWs to switch to? (NO FL Studio)

I have somewhat of an idea on what to try, but I wanna get some opinions first.

*running Windows 7 64-bit

At 9/21/13 04:12 PM, RealFaction wrote: But why not FL Studio? I use it and it's great, you mainly have to get plugins not from FL to make it work well, depends on the sample packs you have. It's good if you know how to use it well and it's easier than the other stuff I've seen.

I've been an avid FL user for years. in fact, I made my very first orchestral piece in FL. but as soon as I took the leap towards scoring to picture, I found myself in dire need of a change. the workflow in FL feels super constricted, compared to the likes of Logic, Studio One, Sonar, etc.

FL works great for a lot of things, but scoring to picture in that program is like making pizza deliveries on a skateboard.

At 9/21/13 04:47 PM, JacobCadmus wrote: FL works great for a lot of things, but scoring to picture in that program is like making pizza deliveries on a skateboard.

So... totally awesome?

At 9/21/13 04:50 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote:

At 9/21/13 04:47 PM, JacobCadmus wrote: FL works great for a lot of things, but scoring to picture in that program is like making pizza deliveries on a skateboard.

So... totally awesome?

lol in a sense, that would be badass. but only because it is extremely difficult. =P

At 9/21/13 03:30 PM, Bspendlove wrote: Cubase... I have worked with it since day 1 and loved it... Great to work for Scores especially with real time midi...

I'll take a look into Cubase. been fascinated with it for a while. does it import video directly? or does it have to sync with an external player?

At 9/21/13 05:30 PM, Bspendlove wrote: Its brilliant with a video, you import the video and choose what external player to use.... If you have a dual screen, its really good if you move the video to one screen...

excellent! I do indeed work with dual monitors, so that'll be perfect.

I've used pro tools for film scoring. I'm not a huge fan of the program, but that's maybe because I wasn't used to it, but it worked well for that purpose, and I hear many/most film composers use it.

Cubase and Nuendo seem to be the pro standard at the moment.

Reaper is great for its video and post functions but not the best for working with MIDI.

FL is out of the picture, the video player is glitchy (try a tempo automation I dare you).

Studio One is actually one of the better options, I'm curious what issues are you experiencing with it in regards to video and/or syncing?

Pro Tools is currently having video issues although usually its okay. MIDI is a bit cumbersome to work with in there but theres a plus to knowing the program in some work areas.

Logic is a great alternative to cubase and the MIDI workflow is nice. Price point is a bit cheaper than cubase but cubase has more advanced functionality with scoring.

Ableton works, but nothin fancy scoring-wise.

I hear Digital Performer has some percs for scoring but I know nothing of those.

Also have heard mentioning of Samplitude for it, again Im not sure of its percs.

In summary, I'd go for either Cubase or Logic personally.

If you want to get serious go with ProTools I guess. Just read into assigning hot keys for all the functions you want to use most frequently so you can work quickly. Cubase can work too.

I say this only if you aren't adept at being a total FL wizard (and you don't want to use FL which is understandable). This would be my first choice at any rate.

At 9/21/13 07:04 PM, Breed wrote: Studio One is actually one of the better options, I'm curious what issues are you experiencing with it in regards to video and/or syncing?

yeah Studio One has one of the smoothest MIDI workflows I've ever come across. it's actually right up there with Logic. I'm not sure what is wrong with the video. S1 syncs to Quicktime video, so the only thing I could think of is that maybe it's my operating system? I'm running Windows 64-bit, and I always run the 64-bit version of S1. last I read, Quicktime has only a 32-bit version for Windows. so, could that be the problem??

ah and yes, I'm looking at Digital Performer right now. I'm actually quite impressed!

Is money any object in the matter?
Reaper is a fraction of what Cubase costs.

For what it's worth, I switched away from Cubase in way of Reaper.

I wouldn't be put of by FL for any reason a lot of very big producers use FL (none making scores that i can think of tho tbh)

I've heard Pro tools is pretty good with live instruments though unless you're gonna be using VST's plugins etc..

Good luck man sorry if this aint helpful

At 9/21/13 09:11 PM, JacobCadmus wrote: Quicktime has only a 32-bit version for Windows. so, could that be the problem??

It could be but its not too likely. Studio One has pretty fresh coding I doubt they'd miss that one.

What exactly is happening? I'm in contact with their engineers. You can PM me it if you want.

At 9/22/13 07:54 PM, Breed wrote: What exactly is happening? I'm in contact with their engineers. You can PM me it if you want.

oh man, how did I miss this?? haha well no need! my problem with Studio One's video was that the controls would lag about 10-15 seconds everytime I pressed play. then it got worse, to the point to where the whole DAW would insta-crash just from loading a video. I ran some diagnostics and the problem was my operating system, which I'm unable to fix. so I found an alternative: ReWire Reaper as a slave into Studio One. I find that Reaper's video functions are much smoother anyway. best of both worlds!

At 9/21/13 03:15 PM, JacobCadmus wrote: I've been using PreSonus Studio One for a while, but now I'm fed up with its less-than-stellar video functions. I do mostly film/video scoring, so video integration is extremely crucial.

any score composers in here who can suggest some ideas on what DAWs to switch to? (NO FL Studio)

I have somewhat of an idea on what to try, but I wanna get some opinions first.

*running Windows 7 64-bit

I use Cubase. And all I can say I am happy with it. I have been scoring in FL studio. Its very constricted for video and articulations. Cubase have something called Expression mapping, which is phenomenal. I've not touched the video functions, but I know you can time stretch the tempo of the song to correspond the video! Also, Hans Zimmer is using Cubase, so it kinda tailored for that kind of music. Cubase works very good on all genres too! Listen to my 2013 collection (Cubase) prior to my early stuff (FL Studio). Good luck man.

At 10/5/13 02:44 PM, Misanthrum wrote: honestly does not matter what DAW you use. it's how you use it.

I hear this all the time but it's actually not true. For instance, I would never use automation so much if I didn't use Ableton, because Ableton makes automation soo easy to do. On the other hand, I don't use the piano roll in Ableton so much as compared to FL studio, because FL studio makes it easy to use the piano roll and Ableton makes it a much less pleasant experience.

At 10/5/13 02:44 PM, Misanthrum wrote: honestly does not matter what DAW you use. it's how you use it. I know that's been said already, but it is true, which would explain why it's been said more than once... people seem to think that the DAW and all the cool newest features are what make a better musician. it's fine to change equipment if you're not liking what you have. but searching for new equipment in hopes of improving just from using it is pretty damn stupid. i really believe that every DAW can do just as much as the other.

at what point did anyone ever state that this thread was about changing DAWs for the expectation of being a better musician? I considered the change simply because a very important function to my workflow (the ability to score to video) had malfunctioned completely, which in my book warrants a necessary change.

anyway guys, this thread should probably be done with, as I had stated above that I found a way around my mishap without having to switch programs.

At 10/5/13 03:04 PM, Bspendlove wrote: That is great!

Just wondering, what CPU do you have?

When working with Videos on Cubase my CPU is completely shit... But when I change the Movie player to quicktime, it tends to take less memory than 'Direct Video' and 'Windows Video' (I think they are my options)

oh man, I'm embarrassed to say that I work with a Pentium dual-core... it's unbelievably frustrating. once I get the funds, my first priority will be upgrading my machine.

At 10/5/13 03:20 PM, JacobCadmus wrote: oh man, I'm embarrassed to say that I work with a Pentium dual-core... it's unbelievably frustrating.

High-five!

At 10/5/13 03:11 PM, Misanthrum wrote: I wasn't targeting anyone directly, even though it pretty much seemed like I was attacking you. my bad for that.

it's all good. just making sure we're all on the same page here.

At 10/5/13 03:27 PM, Bspendlove wrote: I guess I can handle working with it for another year or less then I will be sure to upgrade to a i-5 (Hopefully I can get enough to buy a custom setup with an i-7 within the next 5 years) xD

that would be heaven! I would love to be able to work on a film project without worrying about my computer getting buttfucked by my sample pool.