If ever there was a candidate for a new audio plugin for Final Cut Pro, this should be it. Removing vocals from music or mixed soundtracks with a few clicks.
Sadly at the moment this is just a web service, but what an amazing one and it sends the mind spinning trying to comprehend how this audio magic is achieved.
Lalal.ai allows a user to upload a music track to their website that has vocals in the mix. Then the clever AI 'source separation neural network' splits the audio into two stems, the track minus the vocals and then the vocals on their own. You then download the two stems.
If you were like me and thought that this separation would be a pretty impossible task, then head over to their website and listen to the examples. Better still, upload your own track (with vocals of course) to try out. You can split three tracks for free.
I uploaded 'This is what you came for' by Calvin Harris featuring Rihanna and after a few seconds of processing, got a preview of the track without featuring Rihanna and her vocals separated out. Both sounded good.
There is a demo video, but it shows the process, not a before and after stem separation example.
If we could program, we would digging in the API to try to wrap this technology up in to a plugin. You would still have to connect to the remote service, but being able to remove vocals from music tracks would be a great advantage when editing. Providing the music company allows you to!
But here's where it gets even more interesting for video editors. The service can also remove vocals from movie soundtracks. So with the caveat of us not actually trying this out, you should be able to isolate the speech from movies. Which would come in very handy should you want to cut trails or more mundanely, have to snick out or mute swearwords without access to a split master.
If you have tried the service, please leave a comment below, we are very keen to see how Lalal.ai works with some challenging real-world examples.
If you would like to know a bit more about the process and Cassiopeia, the neural network that powers the stem removal, then take a read of their blog post here.
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!
