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www.postmagazine.com 24 POST SEPT/OCT 2020 Undertone plug-in helps with background replacement Audiokids (www. audiokids.it), a new com- pany based in Rome, Italy, has released Undertone, a new AudioSuite plug- in for Pro Tools that works as a semi-random ambience and texture genera- tor, sound multi- plier and drone maker, based on granular and convolution synthesis. The plug-in is designed for dialogue editors looking to easily create realistic and living backgrounds without artifacts or the constant and static tones typical of other synthesis methods. According to supervising dialogue editor Davide Favargiotti, who developed the tool with Mattia Persico and Fabrizio Cheloni, the plug-in helps overcome the struggles he's faced with background creation while editing dialogue. "No existing method really worked for me," he explains. "They felt too static or lifeless. It took too much time to get good results or simply they felt synthetic." Using just a few hundred milliseconds of sound, Undertone can create con- stant tones and dynamic backgrounds, including those matching rain, wind and traffic, or even constant or evolving noises. In addition, multiple sound sources can be used at the same time to create even more complex back- grounds and textures. Undertone is suitable for any range of work, from mono to 7.1.2. The plug- in requires an iLok account and an iLok 2 or 3 dongle. It is a Pro Tools-only (Version 11 or greater), 64-bit AudioSuite plug-in, and supports MacOS 10.12 or greater. A Windows 10 version is in the works. Michael Maroussas, a supervising dialogue editor who has worked on Chernobyl, Black Mirror and Darkest Hour, says Undertone is an essential part of his toolbox "for creating clean fill, fill with movement in it, for continuing background noises, such as planes, or car noise, which is often hard to fill. For elongating screams...You name it." Helen Luttrell, a dialogue supervisor whose credits include Jojo Rabbit, The Tree of Life and X-Men: Days of Future Past, is also fond of the plug-in. "It is currently saving me huge aounts of time and anguish. I use it almost on every scene, plus, it is getting me out of some very tricky editing situations." Audiokids is offering Undertone for an introductory price of $163 (regularly $233). A 15-day trial is available too. Nugen Audio releases Paragon convolution reverb software Nugen Audio (www.nugenaudio.com) in Leeds, UK, has introduced Paragon, the latest addition to its lineup of software tools. A true convolution reverb, Paragon offers full control of the decay, room size and brightness via state- of-the-art re-synthesis. It also provides a wide range of tweakability, with zero time-stretching, meaning no artifacts. Additionally, Paragon features spectral analysis and precise EQ of the impulse responses. "The Paragon reverb software has been Nugen's best-kept secret, and we're excited to now unveil it to the world," notes Paul Tapper, CEO of Nugen Audio. "With Paragon, gone are the days of enormous IR libraries. This soft- ware not only enables users to reduce the sheer volume of recordings, it also encourages a greater level of creativity. We're grateful to all of our developers and beta testers who helped make this possible and look forward to hearing feedback from the industry." Paragon is well suited for surround applications, including Dolby Atmos bed tracks, and can operate in up to 7.1.2 chan- nels of audio. The Audio Toolbox Sound solutions for audio post workflows BY MARC LOFTUS W hether you are a sound designer, sound editor, mixer or composer, there's undoubtedly a cache of tools that you keep at the ready. Audio pros can be faced with unpredict- able issues that are brought on by production shortcomings, creative requirements or even stressful time crunches. This month, Post rounded up a number of new audio products that are de- signed to ease some of those burdens, inspire creativity and speed up work- flows. Read on to discover some of the latest tools that might not already be on your sonic radar, and hear from a few pros regarding the solutions they've found particularly helpful.