This is a long introduction and teaser video showing the most prominent features of Synfire Pro. It is intended to pick up visitors that have viewed a short ad clip on YouTube, or found their way to the Cognitone homepage from elsewhere.
What is Synfire?
Synfire is the ultimate composer program for all music styles and uses midi files as basis for his arrangements.
Start with importing a midi file and show .. how it work in general
Important is also to show some showcases of arrangements build in SF, because all the features don't impress less than a piece of music made in synfire ..i think
I think the timing and pacing of clips are great. I REALLY want to hear you're voice. Introduce yourself, and 2-3 sentences about your motivation for creating SFP. It really lets the potential user identify with the product..
Indeed Bob Moog became a celebrity from his hardware. When he first started he lugged it around studios in NYC, and let engineers, artists use if for a few sessions.. He could also be abrupt. His strength and charm were reflected in the products he built. Let the world want to meet Andre Schooner. Many inventors of a new product become celebs in their own right..
Let people get to know you through your video's. it adds a personal touch.. Indeed I consider you a 'friend' . Cause of your interactions here. Emagic was like that, When Apple took over, the program became more powerful, but lost it's personal touch. It might as well have been a Microsoft product.. You're voice is fine fine for the videos, in fact i would much prefer it over anyone elses..
Explainations and dialog are needed of course. Explain and show a few more examples of when SFP imports a MIDI.
So the user can see the different imported phrases and the ability to put them where he want.
That will really peak people's interest, the ability to create a part in the flavor of their favorite artist.. i have a couple of Chick Coreal Midis and am thrilled to hear what sounds like Keith playing on my song.. Professional MIDIS are making a comeback.. And a lot of them are note for note accurate... Imagine kbd players laying down blistering electric guitar riffs and horn parts, they could never do on their own..
Do a bit more with re-creating music under a audio voice track - that is very impressive.
To me you could have shortened the harmony section by an example.. All of this of course is subject to what you have to say.. That is going to be a whole project in itself.
Probably one or two less classical passages, more contemporary. Pop, Carribean flavor, dance. Remember you want to appeal to a wide audience and the individual user. Tease enough and let them imagine what they can do with this miraculous software.
The actual examples are fine.. Remember all it has to do is sound good and get the point accross. What you;ve done so far is very good.
Yamaha uses the same guy for most Tyros demonstrations. He's a great player, but his material is corny and smaltzy, I could give a crap about it.. But he does get the point accross, that I will be able to do what I want to do.
Show and explain some prebuilt sketches, so people can quickly take their work in hear it in a certain kind of combo way or acoustic feel. Thus new users, can play with these tools and not be frightened off by the complexity of SFP. This is a piece of software where your imagination is the limit.
Have you checked out what Stephan Kay has done with the Karma software?. Karma software has been in Korg products for quite a while, They put it into a PC box alone, and I think another kbd. He has created a large number of videos showing dozens of aspects. In fact..And he is all over his website, must spend at least a few hours a day personally answering questions.. He has created a few CD's of software that generate material in a specific genre, and these are auxiliary product he sells. They are reasonably priced, and helpsthe new user, get into the thick of it quickly.. I'd much rather spend $40 than plow thru a manual for a few days, trying to figure out the myriad of process one must go thru to get a desired style.
The Karma software is extremely complex, and more obtuse than SFP in a way. but you might get some insight or ideas of checking out. This guy too is definetly a genious in his own right. Although he tries very hard to make Karma easier to understand.. I got overwhelmed by it and bought a Tyros, cause it did what I wanted, with a minimum of fuss - created realistic sounding parts, with realistic sounding instrumeents. Synfire Pro takes that to a whole new level
http://www.karma-lab.com/main.html?p=index.html
There is a market for sountrack work. Most people are buying these 'Lego block' sound libraries and laying tracks on top of each other, fading in/out to create this semi classical huge sound.. You could have several sketches that generate that kind of idea, that would interest them.. They also have to be sound designers too, which SFP lends itself to very much.. Perhaps an example in non westerm scale, would appeal to some. These guys are used to spending bucks to get the libraries they need to stay ahead of the game.
You're definetly on the right track Andre.. You need to sell more SFP products, so hou can hire an assistant or two, and relegate work to them, so you can stop being a jack of all trades, and focuse on bringing your dream to full fruition.
