Best DAW for film scoring on Windows?

[evancoley]

I have been using Ableton for the last 7 years but I want to start to score some videos, enter competitions, etc. I also do a lot of YouTube videos, etc and write a lot of metal, etc. what DAW would really cover all my bases?

[tehlord]

They vast majority of them use Logic or Cubase for a reason. And seeing as you're on Windows, decision made.

Ultimately you can use anything that works for you though.

[antic604]

https://new.steinberg.net/nuendo/

[Passing Bye]

Cubase/Nuendo

[evancoley]

That’s great. I used to use Cubase (4 I believe) about 9 years ago? I liked it but was into electronic music when I bought Ableton.

[antic604]

That’s great. I used to use Cubase (4 I believe) about 9 years ago? I liked it but was into electronic music when I bought Ableton.

Lots of people nowadays do electronic music in Cubase, so basically it's only if you want session view then it's obviously missing that.

For video scoring, you should probably start with Cubase and only after you found it suits you, crossgrade to Cubase. Cubase Pro 11 is aleady pretty expensive (you can crossgrade from other DAW, like Ableton BTW) and Nuendo is 2-3x more costly still.

[pixel85]

Cubase definitely. Nuendo is for Post-Production, and you'll not need its features except if you want to do fancy surround formats (Cubase has some too + VR/Ambisonics).
Cubase always had excellent advanced tools for midi/scoring, and C11 got even more. You can also create your own macros and change keyboard shortcuts to speed up almost any operation or set of operations.

Cubase has one feature that I'm using all the time, and I can't imagine making audio for videos without it:
https://steinberg.help/cubase_pro/v11/e ... ase_c.html
It helps a lot in putting audio or midi events perfectly synced with video.
Maybe other DAWs have it too, but I don't know.

One important note about Cubase limitations: it has only one export video format: mp4 H.264. Resolution/FPS are based on the imported video. You can't do much with video, just basic move/cut options.

I would also add ProTools, but in the midi department, it lacks so much that it's only for hardcore users who love to suffer

BUT... if you don't use midi and only record audio, then any DAW with the ability to import and play video will do the job.

[Trensharo]

You shouldn't need Nuendo for scoring. Cubase Pro is enough.

[syntonica]

Digital Performer is the other, other choice for film scoring and is worth a spin to see. It has some features, like chunks, that allow quick and easy arranging, especially if the cues are changed.

Otherwise, Cubendo.

[Mathematics]

Cubase is the definitive choice for composing. Blind buying it...you'd have no regrets.

Coming from Live, it's a huge breath of fresh air. You'll easily fall in love with it if you've used Live primarily, like I did. Arrangement view is similar but better on Cubase. Take this all with a grain of salt.

I have also used Digital Performer for years and it has many strong features like chunks and VRacks for use in scoring for movies. It's got a really slick layout that's easy to adapt to BUT it's rather finicky on PC. DP runs better on Mac. I'm using DP9. I haven't found enough reason to upgrade to 11 because I also use Live, Pro Tools, and Cubase for mission specific projects. So, I don't know how much they've improved stability for PC.

Danny Elfman and Disney composers use DP but I also see a lot of Hollywood composers using Cubase. A lot of VSL patrons use Cubase more often than I've read them using DP, but there is a fair amount of DP users for the aforementioned reasons.

Those two are my definitive suggestions. Demo them both extensively. Get a video clip and compose something on both. See which feels better. Both developers offer competitive upgrade discounts.

[Danilo Villanova]

https://www.orchestraltemplateforreaper.com/

[Trensharo]

I don't find DP intuitive at all, and I'm not even sure why anyone would recommend REAPER over Cubase. Price should not be an issue, here. Your libraries and hardware will overtake the cost of any DAW with ease.

Get the best DAW for the job, not simply the cheapest. REAPER is not a frontrunner in this category.

I would actually use Cakewalk over REAPER.

[THE INTRANCER]

I chose Studio One to compose film music, it was just far better at providing all the tools and features for it than Reason 7 which I had at the time. Video player, drag and drop, flexible mixer and track views...

Was hoping Surround Sound was going to appear but instead had to come up with my own solutions like multi-layering of tracks to simulate surround sound.

This had four trackers merged together...

https://soundcloud.com/scott-moncrieff- ... _o_p_h_i_a

[enroe]

I don't find DP intuitive at all, and I'm not even sure why anyone would recommend REAPER over Cubase.

Nope, that's not so absurd.

Reaper is quite suitable for film scoring: there is sophisticated marker
editing - and you can even edit the film itself very well. And if PC
performance is a problem, Reaper is even more suitable than Cubase.
But of course not everyone can use the Reaper GUI.

[Old Nick]

What video editor do you use? I do the occasional video using VEGAS synced to Cubase via a software midi port, so I don't need to worry about Cubase's video functionality.