When Mike Matzdorff writes to you saying you should check out a new piece of software, you know it is going to work well. He's been using an audio noise reduction plugin from Klevgrand called Brusfri
Mike has got a pretty good track record when it comes to finding new software to work with FCPX. He liked Simon Says so much, they ended up offering him a job!
He very kindly sent us this email:
I have been doing some experimentation with working on a Podcast and trying to do the whole thing on my iPad. I have been successful in this endeavor, and in the process discovered some really awesome inexpensive tools, among them a noise reducer. It’s named Brusfri and made by a company named Klevgrand. I think I found it on some blog about other people trying to also work on their iPads.
Honestly I don’t remember where!
Anyway I decided to demo the version of the same for software on my Mac, and because it is an audio unit, it shows up in Final Cut Pro 10, as you know my weapon of choice.
I think this is a worthy tool to introduce to the FCPX community, as a great alternative to the other popular noise reducers. And it works great on an iPad as well, for those editing audio there. I am currently using Ferrite to do that.
Tobias Engström from Klevgrand also got in touch:
We are a software company that focuses on mainly producing sound plugins/tools for the music industry. (Also gaming industry actually but those tools are not open to the public )
We have a number of plug-ins that are lately getting a lot of great response among "film/post production"-people :) - where our noise reduction plugin "Brusfri" is the most popular one.
We have lately had a lot of bigger orders from production companies here in Sweden but also international players.
Apparently Brusfri is really great in quickly removing background noise in dialogue etc without effecting the quality of the sound.
This had made me want to explore the possibilities in this area/post production/film more, hence my contact with Mike.
So a few things that spring to mind here. First is the competitive pricing of Brusfri at $59.
Second is the annoying habit of a similar popular noise reduction plugin not working with the latest Mac OS. Could this fill the void left by a software developer not keeping pace with updates?
With Brusfri, there's a watermarked demo version available on the website if you would like to try it out. Please let us know in the comments below if you've tried it out.
Whilst browsing their comprehensive range of effect plugins and instruments, we came across Wizibel, an audio visualiser. If Klevgrand made that into an FCPX plugin, they would have a winner on their hands!
I am the Editor-in-Chief of FCP.co and have run the website since its inception ten years ago.
I have also worked as a broadcast and corporate editor for over 30 years, starting on one inch tape, working through many formats, right up to today's NLEs.
Under the name Idustrial Revolution, I have written and sold plugins for Final Cut Pro for 13 years.
I was made a Freeman of Lichfield through The Worshipful Company of Smiths (established 1601). Though I haven't yet tried to herd a flock of sheep through the city centre!
Current Editing
2020 has been busy, the beginning of the year was finishing off a new property series (cut on FCP) for Channel 4 called The Great House Giveaway. I also designed and built the majority of the graphics as Motion templates. It has been a great success and the shows grabbed more viewers in the 4pm weekday slot than any previous strand. It has been recommissioned by C4 for 60 episodes, including prime-time versions and five themed programmes. The shows have also been nominated for a 2021 BAFTA.
Although both were postponed to later in the year, I worked again on ITV's coverage of the Tour de France and La Vuelta. 2020 was my 25th year of editing the TdF and my 20th year as lead editor. The Tour was the first broadcast show to adopt FCPX working for multiple editors on shared storage.
BBC's Snooker has played a big part in my life, I've been editing tournament coverage since 1997. I'm proud to be part of a very creative team that has pioneered many new ideas and workflows that are now industry standard in sports' production. This is currently an Adobe Premiere edit.
Covid cancelled some of the regular corporate events that I edit such as trade shows & events. I was lucky however to edit, from home, on projects for Amazon Kindle, Amazon Black Friday, Mastercard and very proud to have helped local charitable trust Kendall & Wall secure lottery funding.
As for software, my weapon of choice is Final Cut Pro and Motion, but I also have a good knowledge and broadcast credits with Adobe Premiere Pro, MOGRT design and Photoshop.
Plugin Design & Development
I'm the creative force behind Idustrial Revolution, one of the oldest Final Cut Pro plugin developers. It hosts a range of commercial and free plugins on the site. One free plugin was downloaded over a thousand times within 24 hours of release.
I also take on custom work, whether it is adapting an existing plugin for a special use or designing new plugins for clients from scratch. Having a good knowledge of editing allows me to build-in flexibility and more importantly, usability.
FCP.co
Now in its 10th year and 4th redesign, running FCP.co has given me knowledge on how to run a large CMS- you are currently reading my bio from the database! Although it sounds corny, I am pretty well up on social media trends & techniques, especially in the video sector. The recent Covid restrictions has enabled live FCP.co shows online. This involves managing a Zoom Webinar through Restream.io to YouTube and Facebook.
The Future
I'm always open to new ideas and opportunities, so please get in touch at editor (at) fcp.co. I've judged film competitions, presented workflow techniques to international audiences and come up with ideas for TV shows and software programs!
