I’ve migrated the Sound Equalizer patch to the new system: PR 105613
Update in Sound status in Blender
VSE in Blender has been typically a second class citizen. In the last years It
has received a little of love, but nothing compared to the rest of Blender.
And Sound is only used in VSE. Blender source code includes Audaspace, which is a very capable audio library.
My feelings are that Blender developers don’t have time to think about sound. It
is not enumerated in the “modules” list, but as section in VFX & video (a
section without a project), whose responsible is not even in the Blender
Foundation. At least, in the GSoC 2023, there is an idea proposed to improve
waveform drawing. When I tried to tag my branch, I couldn’t find a “sound” tag.
When Tintwotin (who I could never thank enough for his support and information)
or I tried to get some opinions or responses from the main developers, we only
got vague answers, not even a “loud and clear NO”.
But users don’t care about sound in Blender, neither. A simple search in
blenderartists gives that most of the topics about sound are game engine related
(which is no longer included in Blender). If you see presentations in Blender
Conference, there are 2 or 3 a little related to VSE, and no mentions of Sound,
so how can we blame them! My impression is that sound is only used for synchronizing images with sound.
Anyway, there are people who use VSE as a video editor. ISS, the current
developer of VSE, has devoted a lot of effort in dealing with external files,
re-timing, variable frame rate,… which means that Blender developers consider VSE as some kind of video editor, with future.
Tintwotin created a tool to synchronize Blender playback with Audacity, but it does not
longer works.
I tried to create a modifier for sound strips. As they stated in the developers
wiki, I avoided the inclusion of external binaries, which would be an excellent
point to support VST plugins. I had to create a
framework for the modifiers, as there was no support for them, currently. I
thought that some simple modifiers could give Blender more use cases, affecting
the least to the rest of the application. And it could be the seed to add more
useful features, like Mixer, VUMeter, Sound bands, … who knows!
I got contacted by other people who were interested in them, even in creating
some of them. But they have just quitted. Official
Blender developers didn’t look like they knew what to do about that. Some UI
concerns, some running issues, some compiling flags,… Some of them, at least,
took the time to try it. Even, the core code got included in the Audaspace
source code, so who ever wants, would be able to create a simple sound
equalizer. But I think that I can no longer pull the car, or there is no car to
pull 
But this is not about blaming people. It is about getting something useful. So,
we, as users, as creative people, what can we do? I know that some people out there uses VSE as
a video editor. How do you edit the sound? What applications are better
companions for Blender? Audacity or Ardour are well suited for the purpose?
And how do you synchronize the timeline? can we do something with
OpenTimelimeIO? Any example working today with Blender 3.5?
9 Likes
I once proposed a vse sound node editor that will contain at least the common audio fx/vts (amplifier, equalizer, compressor , reverb, chorus, echo etc).
As I’m used to do my audio editing in FL studio I also used it for my audio sounds.
If I could, I would create a new node editor addon (as I create my addon for vse strip composition in real time compositor i.e viewport composition).
Instead your work and time spent on it to be wasted I suggest you to create an addon. So whoever need it will download and used it. And if possible make it a node that will be add from vse modifier as geometry nodes do
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The baffling part of all of this is that the BF ambition apparently is an integrated audio solution, but in reality neglects a hardworking contributor, who offer them that very thing.
Thank you for your efforts and contributions to the project.
The module defines the targets and roadmap, in coordination with the other Blender modules and projects. The latest planning is available at VSE Workshop May 2022 Report — Developer Blog.
Contributions and proposals that fall within that scope get active support from module members, within their availability.
This feature did not get integrated quickly because it only partially falls within the scope.
There are a couple of ways to make sure that contributions are accepted more efficiently. For example, pick up or help on existing tasks (communicating with module members), or create a design proposal and have it reviewed and approved by the module before starting to code.
3 Likes
Please guys stop finding false excuses. Before he worked on the project he made a proposal and you accepted it. Now that it is done you are discouraging the contributor.
You even did not give his implementation a chance to be experimental in main branch and let the community appreciate it.
What a pity shame on you guys. I’m not happy with you
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Looks like Retiming Tool met the same fate. It was not only developed fully, but merged into the main, and removed today for ambiguous reasons. I’m downloading todays build to have the version with it, it’s heartbreaking what is happening to VSE.
In pull request is says revert is happening not to introduce this feature with current UI. Altough I don’t understand what current means, or what is future UI. But I also got comment that code wasn’t something they were cool with, its very confusing and I’m having a hard time believing it’s not a political decision.
Tool was in perfect working conditions, I was already using it and its creator was adding features to it. He created pull request for new features and fixes just couple of days ago, and today out of nowhere this. It’s not that they don’t have time for VSE, or sound, its not even somebody else doing it, it’s something that was already done, tested, implemented, but just before release they pull it out. I don’t want to speculate or create any conspiracy theories but what is happening with video editing and painting doesn’t seem to be just development decisions
Imho, is every release of Blender without any new VSE feature a lost opportunity to make Blender users aware that the VSE even exists. The VSE traction on Twitter and YouTube has been dropping like a stone these months. There isn’t anyone recommending it anymore or making tutorials for it. If the module leaders neglect the VSE, so will the users. Considering how long this has been going on, with super vague plans, non-existing designs, inability to make decisions sending every submitted patch into dev limbo, and basically being totally absent, the obvious conclusion is that the BF needs to find new leaders for the VSE, since the current ones are not doing their job.
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Then please don’t.
There is a more complete statement about this in the pull request #108870 - VSE: Remove retiming tool - blender - Blender Projects
3 Likes
That statement makes things even more unclear. Pull request says revert is because of UI design. Comment says they’re not comfortable with the code. It hints there might be temporary revert. It says they need to talk to people about design who approved this tool.
Reality is tool was in working condition and could be added. And that was the decision from developers, it was merged and worked on until one day it changed. Reasons are not clear at all. It could be added at this state and improved in the future. Thats how Blender development works in general as far as users can see.
Developers just dont spend months working on a feature and revert it in one day. Thats not happening anywhere except VSE module. Module that already rejected audio modifier idea and is blocking improvement for drawing strip handles because of right click select.
I dont know what real reasons are but what it seems from outside is that some people are commited to see no improvements in video editing aspect of Blender and that has been the case for last couple of years. I also would rethink the leadership of VSE module, but who am I
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You do realize that there’s actual people working on this? Blender is not some nebulous ominous ‘them’. It’s just a group of people trying to decide on how to allocate the available manpower in the most beneficial way and not write themselves into a corner in the process.
Yes, the VSE could use some love. But it is quite a difficult beast to unify (ui-wise) with the rest of blender so it’s not strange it’s kinda hard to do it right. And there is someone actively working on the VSE right now.
12 Likes
I too wasn’t too happy with reverting the retiming tool, but honestly it was barely usable in state it was. It was much better than speed effect, but it is really missing ability to work with multiple strips which you could do with speed factor property. Perhaps for more context you can check https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/109044
Retiming tool is still available in alpha builds.
I am not aware of such decision. Currently there were issues with libraries at least on windows, and I didn’t have oportunity to find solution, but I am planning to resolve this in 4.0.
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Library issues on windows? Tell me more…
I’ve talked about that in PM on blender.chat - I wasn’t able to build the patch due to errors with FFTW library. Not sure if there has been any changes, it’s been a month so I should give it another try. I am quite helpless when it comes to libraries though.
I was going to say that the problem is that FFTW in Blender is only double precision version but, according to #104895 - Library changes for Blender 3.6 - blender - Blender Projects , It looks like the “float version” is included.
I would like to comment several aspects related to sound which appeared lately:
- GSoC 2023: Improve Waveform drawing speed It’s great to see the advance of this GSoC. It’s never fast enough! And It demonstrates that sound can be improved.
- Move a sound strip in the VSE, in units smaller that “one frame”. I hadn’t realized that problem until one user mentioned it. One of the only reasons to keep sound in VSE is the “perfect synchronization”. A clap, a smash, a bomb,… really need perfect synchronization. And it looks only an UI problem, because the “Sequence” internal struct uses float to measure the position, so it supports 0.22 frames, for example
- At my work, all our video files in the archive have 8 audio tracks, and not always the first audio track is the “right one”. I thought that we were the only ones in the world, but recently another Blender user complained that he had files with several audio tracks and he wanted to select one or other track. At the Audaspace source code, it can deal with the different tracks of a file, but everything is hardcoded in Blender and the Audaspace interface in order to simplify and select the first and only one audio track. What a pity!
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On @pistolario’s #3 bullet point from the VSE chat:
Reading this: How to import a video file with multiple tracks? - Blender Stack Exchange
At some point, it should be considered to add an option(to the File Browser) to, during import, split audio files with multiple audio channels into individual strips with correctly panned positions.
Under Source in the sidebar there could be a channel selector. And Pan function should have a more intuitive interface: ⚙ D12114 VSE Surround: Expose Pan Presets in Sound Strips menu.
Another thing to consider, in relation to waveform drawing (bullet point #1), if the waveform drawing get optimized enough, maybe it could be considered to add waveform thumbnails in the File Browser and Asset Browser?
(Btw. looking at the VFX & Video module meeting resumes, I wonder why the VSE is even in that module, since none of the meeting resumes displays any interest in the state of and development of the VSE. To me, yet again, this simply stresses the fact that the VSE lacks leadership).
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By surprise, the patch Graphical Sound EQ has been included in the Main Blender. Thanks to the efforts of @iss .
Now, it would be time to agree to the best suitable GUI for the modifier.
I think that modifying the python code, in order to let the user change the ranges of the graph would be enough to start.
5 Likes
yes, and what happens if there is intersections in ranges and how can intersections be beneficial? this must be discussed
@pistolario No need to thank me. I want good code to be merged.
As far as GUI goes, I would say, that first step would be to make scale logarithmic and draw a grid with values, so user can interpret whole curve at once. Then perhaps custom range may make sense, but IMO would be quite unnecessary.
In any case, that is my opinion. I would probably make design first and have it signed off.
Do you want to continue this development?
1 Like