Blue Cat Peak Meter Pro under new Vegas?

dvddude wrote on 10/16/2007, 12:10 PM

Hello, all. I wonder if anyone out there can answer a question from first-hand experience.

Over a year ago, I purchased the Blue Cat Peak Meter Pro plug-in specifically for doing "ducking" in Vegas. Because of the kind of 'narration over music' work I do, I rely very heavily on this plug-in.

I've purchased the upgrade to the new version of Vegas, but just as I was going to install it, it occurred to me that I don't know for sure that this vital plug-in will work after the upgrade.

I'm hoping someone in this group can warn or reassure me from first-hand experience. I searched the forum but found no mention... hopefully that's a sign that there are no issues, because I know others in this group use the same plug-in.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Comments

FuTz wrote on 10/16/2007, 6:10 PM
Did you ask on the Vegas Audio and Sound Forge forums too ? You might get more input, who knows ?
First time I hear of this plugin, gonna check it out... curiosity ! ; )
Coursedesign wrote on 10/16/2007, 6:37 PM
Instructions for "Vegas 7 and above" can be found at http://www.bluecataudio.com/Tutorials/Tutorial_DXiInSonyVegas/?
[r]Evolution wrote on 10/16/2007, 10:50 PM
Wow... these Plug-ins look nice.
So, your're happy with the quality?

I'm curious as to how this helps you for 'Ducking'?
I'm off to learn more.
ScorpioProd wrote on 10/16/2007, 11:51 PM
I'm also curious to hear how you use it for ducking. I used to use the SideKick sidechain compressor VST plug-in for ducking, but I couldn't get it to work after Vegas 7.0c.
dvddude wrote on 10/21/2007, 11:32 AM

Thanks, all!

I use Peak Meter extensively for program material with narration over music or other sounds.

You add this plug-in to the narration track, adjust the settings to taste, and then set it's output to "inverted envelope" (I think that's what it's called). Then you need tp play the entire track in real time.

As it's playing, it adds a volume envelope to the track and drops control points that are an inverse of the amplitude of the narration track.

When it's done, you highlight the entire envelope (using the point selection cursor), CTRL-X to cut to the clipboard, and paste it onto the track with the background music (or whatever). You now have a volume envelope on that background track that automatically "ducks" whenever the narrator speaks, "making room" for that overlaid audio, so to speak. It's just as if an invisible hand was riding the gain. It's a fantastic way to maintain clarity of both audio tracks and keep the overall levels high.

It's a little bit of a laborious prcoess, especially having to play the track in real time, but I've found no other way to duck in Vegas. If I'm missing something obvious I'd love to hear about it!

But, yes, the plug-in has worked quite well for me for more than a year now. It comes with a few different versions (mono, stereo).

I have been holding back on upgrading Vegas for fear of an incompatibility!
Tom Pauncz wrote on 10/21/2007, 4:16 PM
Hey dvddude
You got me interested.
Downloaded the trial, applied it to a voice track, started playing it ...
What exactly should I be seeing?? It didn't insert any envelopes on the track.
I am trying this with VP8.0a.
A screenshot would be great if you can post it or send it to me.
TIA,
Tom
Bill Ravens wrote on 10/21/2007, 7:34 PM
Only the DX plugs work. Don't try it with the VST plugs.
Tom Pauncz wrote on 10/21/2007, 8:23 PM
Bill,
Tried both. Neither one seems to work for me... Perhaps it's because I'm using the trial version?
Tom
Bill Ravens wrote on 10/22/2007, 6:12 AM
Did u expand the plugin and select the envelopes u wanted to generate? after u do that, you have to play the video and u can see the volume envelopes jumping up and down with the volume?

Also, it's not necessary to buy the "pro" version of the software. U can use the freeware version and invert the generated envelope within Vegas, itself.
farss wrote on 10/22/2007, 6:21 AM
What's even funkier is you can use the envelope to control a video track. Only things that you control via an envelope such as composite level.

Bob.
Tom Pauncz wrote on 10/22/2007, 7:31 AM
Bill,
I did all that and can see the waveform on the BCPMP monitor, but no volume envelopes are added to the Vegas audio track. Or am I missing something very subtle here?
Thanks,
Tom
Bill Ravens wrote on 10/22/2007, 8:09 AM
It's pretty straightforward.
1-Open audio track FX
2-Select BlueCat Audio stereo plugin
3-Expand to show automatable FX, select Envelope L and Envelope R
4-Play timeline. You should see the envelope being generated.
Tom Pauncz wrote on 10/22/2007, 8:27 AM
Bill,
It's #3 I think - I can't see where/how to select Envelop L/R...
Tks,
Tom
jetdv wrote on 10/22/2007, 9:12 AM
Tom, when you open the FX dialog, look in the upper right-hand corner. You'll find the icon/button to click on there.
Tom Pauncz wrote on 10/22/2007, 9:45 AM
Hey Ed,
Did that - opens up a page with a lot of empty checkboxes, but nowhere can I see to select Envelope L or R. After I checked them all and played the event, all sorts of envelopes were added, but harking back to the beginning of this thread, I'd like to understand what dvddude does.

I have Peak M Pro 2 installed. Great looking interface, but totally unintuitive.

I also must add that using Excalibur to duck audio for narration/music is way more cool and a heck of a lot easier to understand and use. Great work.

Tom
jetdv wrote on 10/22/2007, 11:33 AM
I also must add that using Excalibur to duck audio for narration/music is way more cool and a heck of a lot easier to understand and use. Great work.

Actually, Excalibur can also use the Blue Cat envelope to duck music. It actually uses the "Out::Envelope" - I used the mono version so I didn't pick "left" or "right".