There are two audio related features that are in Avid's Media Composer in ScriptSync and PhraseFind. But why hasn't Avid added these as options to Pro Tools?
What Is PhraseFind?
PhraseFind is designed to save hours and accelerate editing with powerful dialog search to help you find the right clips quickly by simply typing a word or phrase. PhraseFind automatically analyses all clips in your project and phonetically indexes all audible dialog, so you can spend less time searching for the right media.
Avid Media Composer PhraseFind Option Features
- Catalog volumes of dialog-driven clips and get search results faster than ever before
- Get more accurate results and better indexing of unclear audio with support for shorter phoneme phrases
- Eliminate the need to review, log, and triage hundreds of hours of footage to find what you’re looking for
- Search project material stored across local and shared storage—no need to know where the media is housed
- Support for a variety of languages, including English, Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and more
What Is ScriptSync?
ScriptSync is designed to speed up script-based editing for film, TV, and documentaries to help quickly match every take to your script to find the best ones. ScriptSync phonetically indexes all text and audible dialog in your project automatically and then syncs each source clip to its associated line in the script. Once synced, you can quickly locate all relevant clips in seconds based on a scene number, page number, or word or phrase search, enabling you to compare performances in the context of your story.
Avid Media Composer ScriptSync Option Features
- Match all clips to your script faster than before with the more powerful phonetic indexing engine
- Undo and redo tasks, add notes, and view clips in their native frame format, including 4x3 and 16x9
- Edit text in the script to match what was actually said in the synced clip
- Index and sync all text and dialog in your project—no matter where the clips are stored
- Audition each take from your search results in context with the scene to find the best one
- Edit dialog together from different sources to create that perfect performance
- Support for a variety of languages, including English, Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and more
Media Composer PhraseFind And ScriptSync Pricing
- PhraseFind 2 - $199
- PhraseFind 2 Upgrade - to upgrade from a previous version of PhraseFind 1.x to PhraseFind 2 - $149
- ScriptSync 2 - $499
- ScriptSync 2 Upgrade - to upgrade from ScriptSync 1.x to ScriptSync 2 - $349
- PhraseFind and ScriptSync 2 Bundle - $599
- PhraseFind and ScriptSync 2 Bundle Upgrade to upgrade from version 1.x of this bundle to the PhraseFind 2 and ScrptSync 2 bundle - $419
- PhraseFind and ScriptSync 2 Bundle for Education - If you're a student or educator, select this bundle to get a discount on the bundled version of PhraseFind 2 and ScriptSync 2 - $49
Am I Alone In Wanting These In Pro Tools?
I cannot believe it is just me that would like to see these features available in Pro Tools. Granted working in radio these are so much more relevant because all the editing is done in Pro Tools, whereas in film and TV the bulk of the editing of the narrative is done in an NLE like Media Composer. But the pricing of these options is not stupid either, especially for an Avid video product.
I Am Not Alone!!
In checking the Pro Tools Ideascale I find I am not alone. There are two threads on the Ideascale one for PhraseFind and one for ScriptSync, that were both started back in March 2011, over 6 years ago!!
In the comments, an anonymous Ideascale community member says...
I cannot express my deepest and utmost support for this idea. Avid, if you are listening.... I have been lobbying for this feature for a few years now. Here is the reality... dialogue editors, supervising sound editors, (some) Re-recording mixers, major studios, smaller studios, and just about every assistant editor at every studio will spend hundreds on this product if you create it. This is, quite possibly, one of the most forward-thinking products and game changers for Pro Tools that Avid can invest in. I have been in talks with some higher ups at Avid and, again, I am 100% certain that ROI on this product goes without saying. I am THAT confident. EVERYONE will buy it in the moving picture business... even down to smaller multimedia projects. This product is an absolute no brainer. PLEASE IMPLEMENT!
Another comment says...
Good god, I can't believe this software exists...and is NOT part of ProTools! Surely they know they're sitting on a goldmine there.
And another comment...
I share the same sentiment from the moment I heard of this for MC. Boy would it seriously help speed up my dialogue workflow. Digging into dailies has always been a time-consuming process, even more so in situations where the dailies were not named properly and the only way to find the right daily is by auditioning it. If I could vote +10 on this I surely would!
Surely since Avid has bought the company that created this technology why cannot they offer this to Pro Tools? Or are we back to the limitations that come from Pro Tools backwards compatibility and legacy code, or is the code in Media Composer completely different making it impossible to implement in Pro Tools?
What do you think? Would ScriptSync and PhraseFind help you in your Pro Tools based workflows? Let's at least discuss it here and if you do want these features then hop over the the Pro Tools Ideascale and vote for PhraseFind and ScriptSync.