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(SOLVED) Before I finally give up on using Auria & iPad for video soundtrack stuff...
I wanted to ask something before I finally give up on Auria and the iPad for doing a specific task.
First, I’ll explain what I CAN do on my laptop/desktop that I would like to be able to on the iPad. In Logic I can load a video movie, either use it’s audio track, or strip it out. I can then set up tracks, play synths into tracks as I watch the video playback in realtime, or import audio samples into a track and position them where I want them to occur with the video playback for reference for playback. I can then export either my new mix only, or a video that has the new mix embedded in the new video file.
I know you can kind of do this in Auria, but ONLY via iTunes file share or Dropbox to get the video into and out of Auria.
Only have the regular Auria. I wasn’t willing to pony up the extra $40 for PRO when I’d already paid $50 for the app originally. And it already does all that my needs require of it, so no real need to upgrade regardless. I DID buy the $5 video import add-on though.
So this is the problem. If I’m out of the country, traveling only with my iPad and no laptop with iTunes, or fast wifi for dropbox, there doesn’t appear to be any way to do what I’m describing, ie. get your video source into Auria, edit your audio tracks, add FX, etc. then output/export back to your Photo/Video gallery.
I don’t understand why if I have an HD video on my iPad, and I want to simply import that video into Auria, add some custom tracks, then export that back onto my iPad without having to use dropbox or iTunes. There are many apps in the app store that allow you you import an HD video, edit and add audio tracks, then export/save back to the device’s photo gallery. So, it doesn’t appear to be a limitation of Apple’s closed system.
There are some other video editing apps that allow this, but none allow me to do audio editing and play synths into it, import samles, etc. while viewing the video image for reference and placement. The only one that even comes close is Auria with the video add-on, but the ONLY way I’ve got it to work at all is by waiting forever for just a 60sec video to transfer to dropbox, then waiting forever to reimport the same video back onto my iPad and into Auria. Then, after I’ve added my synth pieces and audio samples, the ONLY way to get the finished video out is by sending it back to dropbox. Or, iTunes fileshare.
Is there any other way to do this that doesn’t involve having to use dropbox and/or itunes file sharing? If not, does anyone know of another app to do this with as an alternative to Auria?
Comments
The solution would be a video player app with an "open in" function, so you could just select "Auria" as the destination.
First, I think I have all of the video apps and none of them show Auria via "open in". Second, after you've finished your video/audio mix... and mixdown, the ONLY option for export out of Auria is either itunes filesharing (local) or dropbox. You can't simply export the finished edited video back into the Photos gallery app.
If I'm wrong about this, and there is another way, I'd love to hear about it. I checked the Auria site forum and it appears others have the same problem. I'm going to ask there too, but I don't have an active account there and have to wait until the admin approves my registration. Just figured I'd ask here in case someone else has solved the problem.
Just take your laptop with you.
It's larger, heavier, doesn't last as long on a full charge, etc. and if I was going to do that... I would simply not bother with the iPad at all.
Ultimately though, it may just be that the iOS software/hardware environment hasn't matured enough to do this sort of work yet. I thought perhaps it had, but I may be wrong.
I've actually asked a similar question before... as recently as the last couple of months while I was backpacking in Mexico. What I wasn't aware of is that even after you jump through all the wifi/dropbox hoops and get your video source out of the ipad, transferred to dropbox, then transferred back out of dropbox into your ipad and Auria for importing into a project... that even after you've done all that, made your audio mix, and mixed it down, you have to go back out to dropbox as well, then import that file back into your iPad Photos gallery from dropbox.
Seems insanely idiotic to me. I figured it was Apple's fault for being so closed, but other apps allow import of HD video, editing, then exporting right back into your Photo/Video gallery no problem. So, it's obviously NOT an Apple closed-system limitation.
By the way, I know this might be coming off as some kind of "rant"... but it's not my intention. Although, given all of the amazing things the iPad and many of the most sophisticated apps are capable of, it seems like what I've described would not only be possible, but easy to implement.
It could be that you can't do this on the iPad right now. I messed around doing what I'm describing via Logic yesterday, and used the iPad as a source into my tracks via lightning cable. And it appears that I can even use my new Korg nanoKey studio to play my iPad synths into my Logic tracks without even having to use it's bluetooth capability.
Pretty awesome actually. Exactly what I want to be able to do. Works great. When there's someone falling in slo-mo into a giant underground cenote in my Yucatan video, I can play some Mitosynth synth FX right into it's own track on the timeline while viewing the video playback as reference. Then, if I didn't hit the timing just right, I can just move the recorded audio over a bit for perfect timing. When I'm all done and like what I see, I can export just the mix by itself, or a fresh HD (non-recompressed) video with the new audio mixdown embedded
If it turns out that this is the only way I can do this, I'm cool with that.
However, it it turns out that there IS a way to do this out in the field with an iPad, it'd be spectacular. Not essential though. Figured I'd try one last time before throwing in the towel for now.
I tried all this via wifi/dropbox using only the iPad and Auria yesterday. The slow-poke Auria requirement to only allow you to do this via dropbox for in/out or iTunes filesharing, is a dealbreaker. Waaaay too much hassle to bother with.
You can currently send audio files to the Auria file manager with 'Open In' without going through iTunes or Dropbox. So I would guess the only thing needed to make this possible for video files is for Auria to let iOS know it can deal with those formats so it shows up in the list. Have you requested something like this on the Auria Forum?
If iOS had an open file system...man it'd change so much. sigh I guess the hoop jumping will have to go on!
I was going to ask about it on their forum, but I'm not registered there and have to wait for admin to activate my account. Will ask there too, but there are other's with similar queries there who have not got an acceptable answer yet. I don't suppose I'll have any more luck. Thought maybe someone here might have found a back door I hadn't discovered yet.
Well, like I said... I don't think this is an Apple file system problem, because there ARE iOS video apps that allow you to import an HD video with audio, edit the video, apply FX, add audio samples, then export right back out and save to the Photos gallery. So, what I'm asking about is most certainly possible within the Apple iOS environment.
Unfortunately, the only app I've found that allows you DAW capabilities while working with audio for video and the video source visible as reference, is Auria with the video import add-on.
I just tested getting sneaky by renaming a video file as .wav then using 'Open In' to send it to Auria. Works fine, but there's no way to rename the file back to .mp4 in the Auria file manager.
Really, this doesn't sound like it would be a tricky feature to add. I'm guessing it's just the weight of every other eagerly requested thing in the pipeline that has kept Rim from adding it.
Does it still allow you to open as a video once you've renamed it and imported into the Auria file system?
The other half of the problem is exploring the video with edited audio back out to your device without having to use iTunes file sharing or Dropbox.
I'm with you, this shouldn't have been a hard thing to implement.
Perhaps he did it specifically this way so that he could increase revenue by selling the video import as an IAP?
I don't have the video add-on in Auria, so I couldn't test it. But my guess would be no, since Auria is treating it like a audio file in the manager.
I'm sure there are other options, but I used FileBrowser (which is fantastic by the way) to do the renaming, moving, etc. if you want to test yourself. I navigated to the Photo Library/Videos folder in FileBrowser, copied the file into FileBrowser's 'My File's folder (it wouldn't rename anything while the file was still in the Photo Library), then renamed the file and did an 'Open In' to Auria. Again, I'm guessing it's unlikely that Auria would correctly interpret the renamed file, but it might be worth a shot.
I don't have FileBrowser but I have Air Sharing that may have similar function. I already tried the route, but not renaming the file. Will try when back home. Out walking with iPhone only at the moment. Thanks for the suggestion but I agree that it likely won't work sine Auria will likely just treat it as an audio file. Couldn't hurt to at least try though.
Hey Skip
I was reading some thread recently regarding a USB thumb drive that has a lighting connector built it, and the posts had to do specifically importing video to Auria. May have been here or on the Auria forum, and while it's not exactly a cure to your challenges it seemed the OP was happy with the result.
As I've respected you based on your posts, I mean no disrespect; but as an "old guy" that spent so many hours in the very early days of making audio work on PCs, and as a guy that turns a coin on staging professional events - I've come the conclusion that the old adage "the right tool for the right job" is not one to be ignored. Regardless of what marketing says, the iPad just isn't the same as what a desktop/laptop is. Guys like Rim are jumping through os and hardware limitations that seems so much like what devs in the early 90s were going through. And Logic really is on par with(and once was) a $600+ DAW. I just hate to see someone so frustrated when a yankee screwdriver won't get a job done as well as a nice Makita adjustable torque power driver.
To me, guys like Rim have have put so much into making a vision work it's unfair to expect from them the same that a company bought by Apple, and having Apple size budgets since 2002 seems unreasonable. Again, with all respect, it's a whole magnitude of scale between Rim and Apple. And IMHO, if scoring to video is your goal then Logic is the right tool.
I agree with much of what you're saying wigglelights, but at this point in iOS's development the functionality really is in place to make this happen. (I'm pretty sure in this case it likely doesn't require much more than updating some xml settings...)
And I do lots of video work as a secondary function of my job, and for many technically simple tasks I actually prefer whipping out something quickly in Pinnacle Pro on my iPad Pro than firing up Premiere on the desktop. It's just a much more pleasant experience, and my Pro is more than powerful enough to handle it.
I respect your even-keeled response. And yes, I agree the right tool, etc. to be honest, I thought I was going to have to go round trip from FCPX to LPX to do what I want to do. That doesn't work flawlessly either still.
When I saw that you can bring your video for soundtrack work right into LPX and do exactly what I've dreamed of doing for a couple years, I was elated.
No offense to RIM intended, but I know you can bring an HD video file into an iOS app from the Photo/video gallery, edit audio/video then export it back to the Photo/video gallery. There are so many lesser apps than Auria that do just that, as if it's now commonly routine. Why RIM couldn't also manage it within the framework of Auria is a bit baffling.
Absolutely guys. My line of thinking is like if you you are remodeling the house, redoing the kitchen and adding a porch - each contractor has basic skills to handle each, right? But the kitchen guy knows the ins and outs of hanging cabinets straight and the porch guy knows how to set the foundations solid. Same ballpark, but in reality it's really worth hiring two separate companies - presuming you are hiring small companies. I see Rim and the Pinacle folks as that - specialists. Were they selling code to each other, sure, it might be easy to expect video in Auria and midi in Pinacle, right? Otherwise, the month of work Pinacle spent getting access to Videos, was a month Rim spent on dealing with IAA.
I agree the resources are there guys, but the real resource in question is time. Did Rim have another month or so to sort the ins and outs of whatever SDK Apple offers for sharing video.?
Again, I'm looking at this from a certain point of view, and Skip I just want you to have a clear creative path. I totally get you respect Rim's efforts, I just honestly believe it's way harder than it may look.
Ok. Thanks for the lovely architectural metaphor (or, or that more of an abalogy?) no matter.
I'm not quite as precious with the underlying intentions and motivations of developers in general as many here seem to be. I see them as often skilled programmers either coding for the love of it, or coding with hopes of getting a hit and making a few bucks as a business proposition. Nothing more and nothing less.
My guess is that RIM's customer base doesn't really care about video at all. So, unless he can profit somehow from tweaking his code to benefit the few of us who are interested in using his software for video work, then he's not going to bother wasting time on it, no mater how easy it might be to implement.
If that in fact is the reality, so be it. That's business.
He does sell the video import as an IAP so he evidently knows at least some of us save a need. It's just most likely there aren't enough of us interested and potentially a profitable enough proposition for him to bother with.
He likely feels that the return on his time investment is better spent catering to his core buying audience, and not with wasting a moment bothering with making his video import IAP actually useful.
Who knows? It's clear though, as you suggested, I'm much better off at this juncture not wasting any more time trying to get this sort of functionality out of an iPad and just sticking with a laptop for now... no matter if it's hypothetically doable on an iPad or not.
Yea, it would change ios to as unsafe environment as android is
The video editor is useful if you use it as intended.
I can't speak for Rim, but I'm guessing he has a full plate of stuff that needs fixing and stuff people want added. He's one guy handling one of the biggest apps in iOS. He found some time to make a feature so we can score to video and charged a meager 5 bucks for it. It may not even be generating much revenue at all. DropBox is already implemented in Auria, so that's the import/export mechanism. Most users are expected to be working online. So... maybe it's not at the top of his priority list to even look into it right now.
Your best bet is to get on the Auria forum and make your voice heard by the only person who can actually do something about your issue. Unless he gets quite a few requests for video import/export with, say, the Camera Roll, how high do you expect it will be on the to-do list?
Yes, I know all of this and have more or less stated pretty much the same info in my posts in this thread.
I will be posting on the Auria forum when & if he gets around to approving/activating my account.
Not holding my breath for RIM to actually make the video IAP useful at all. That's a dead horse.
I posted here mostly looking to see if anyone has found an alternative so that I can finally give up on Auria and move on to something else that will suit my specific needs.
Auria was ultimately an expensive mistake for me. I know some of you like it as a DAW only, but I originally bought it for the video import functionality married with a full DAW. We're taking several years ago now and he's done nothing to improve or update the original video import IAP, so it doesn't have anything to do with not having enough time. It's has to do with he's obviously not interested.
And don't give me that BS about expecting users to be online. I AM freakin online with high speed access.
I did a test run with Auria yesterday using just one 60sec 1080p clip and adding 3 simple synth sounds to it. The time it took to transfer a short clip that was already on my iPad Air 2, to Dropbox, then pull it back into Auria, add 3 simple synth sounds, then mix down, then transfer/recompress/export back out to Dropbox, the finally transfer it back to the same iPad it started out on... it's just plain idiotic and absurd.
Yeah, I get the dev doesn't care. He likely shouldn't be selling an essentially useless POS IAP if he's not going to update or maintain it.
But that's beside the point. It ain't happening anytime soon for Auria and it's time to abandon the effort for hopefully a better suited app that more elegantly handles this sort of thing. Or give it up and just settle for having to use a desktop/laptop for this sort of stuff and forget about it on the iPad.
Just seems absurd that Auria is so damn close and yet so achingly far away.
Yeah, your best bet is to go find another iOS app that does what you need right now. Is there any?
Auria does a ton of stuff as a DAW, and you apparently bought it for one use that is a minor feature. The video scoring works for small projects, and it's a small expense as an add on. That's what it is. Maybe it'll get updated someday if enough people request it. The point was that Rim has been and is working on a very big app. You make it sound like he's intentionally disregarded the video editing to take extra long naps or something.
I understand how the lack of added functionality would be frustrating, but I'm not aware of any other DAW on iOS that has any video capabilities whatsoever. Anyone doing this sort of work on iOS is very much an 'early adopter'. It seems strange to rip the one app that, despite its limitations, offers functionality that nothing else (even programs from MUCH larger companies) provides.
This, @tovokas and @lovadamusic. The video IAP IS useful for me, and I use it moderately. But i do all the file management from iTunes/Photos.app. It just fits my workflow. Even though I'd like it had direct access to the camera roll, like iMovie and other vide apps, or at least to iCloud drive (Dropbox is slow as hell), I cannot disagree more with the "POS IAP" thing, which is definitely not true and is unnecessarily rude btw.
I sympathise with the need to vent about your frustrations with this feature, but it would be better to do it in a constructive manner, and to do it in the appropriate place - the Auria Forum. Not that you cannot do it here - just I won't do any good, besides entangling you in pointless arguments with people who like the feature, the app and the developer.
Hope you find a workaround - there must be a way to move a file around, difficult as it is.
Meteor has video capabilities too.
If it can access the camera roll, perhaps it's the app @skiphunt is looking for. Do you have it, @BiancaNeve?
Thanks for the heads up BiancaNeve!
It can load video from the camera roll, and then it can save a new video to the camera roll incorporating any audio added.
Best way to use it seems to be open new project.
Import video
Copy video soundtrack to audio pool and then paste it ( this helps mark the length of the video, otherwise it only seems to play 5 bars).
Work your magic
Save to camera roll.