How to integrate music into your design workflow

Making video content can be creatively rewarding. But boy, is it hard work. And annoyingly, what should be, in theory, the most fun part – finding a soundtrack for your visuals – can, in practice, be a time-consuming and often frustrating activity. So what if you could seamlessly integrate music discovery and editing directly into your design workflow?

In this third instalment of our series on the use of music in modern design, we'll explore how creatives can harness the power of Epidemic Sound's innovative tools. In the process, we'll look at how to streamline your workflow, boost your creativity and produce stunning audio-visual content more efficiently than ever.

The challenge: speed vs quality vs cost

As content creation demands continue to rise, creative teams face a common dilemma: how to maintain high-quality output while meeting tight deadlines and budget constraints. And this challenge becomes particularly acute when incorporating music into videos.

Because let's get real. Finding the right track, making sure you have the proper licensing rights, and editing it to fit the visuals can often become a massive pain in the butt, which often feels disconnected from the overall design workflow.

Enter Epidemic Sound, which tackles these common pain points head-on by integrating music discovery and editing tools directly into popular video and audio editing software.

Streamlining your workflow

Epidemic Sound's approach to integrating music into the design process is built on three key pillars:

1. Smoother working
2. Useful tools
3. Simplified workflow

Let's dive into each of these areas and explore the tools and features that make them possible.

1. Smoother working

One of the biggest challenges designers and content creators face is the constant need to switch between platforms when working on audio-visual projects. Epidemic Sound addresses this issue by offering plugins for industry-leading software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition.

These plugins allow you to access Epidemic Sound's vast library of tracks and sound effects directly within your editing environment. This integration eliminates the need to leave your workspace to search for, preview and import music, saving valuable time and maintaining your creative flow.

Here are some key features that take the pain out of finding music and sound effects for designers.

• Semantic search: Gone are the days of relying solely on generic keywords to find the right track. Epidemic Sound's semantic search engine understands the nuances of music description, allowing you to use natural language to describe the mood, style or emotion you're looking for.

• Search by video: This innovative feature analyses your video content and suggests music and sound effects based on its mood, pacing, and visual elements. It's a bit like having a music supervisor right inside your editing software.

By streamlining these processes, you can focus more on your creative vision and less on the technical aspects of finding and importing music.

2. Useful tools

Epidemic Sound doesn't just make it easier to find music; it also provides tools that enhance your creative control over the audio elements of your videos. These features allow you to fine-tune your audio-visual storytelling with a helpful degree of precision.

Two standout features in this category are:

• Segments: This tool allows you to split tracks into different sections based on musical structure or popularity. You can quickly audition different parts of a track (intro, chorus, bridge) and import the section that best fits your video at the exact point you need it.

• Track edits: With this feature, you can edit any track to the exact length you need, ensuring it fits seamlessly with your visuals. You can also effortlessly loop any section, giving you full control over the musical structure of your video.

These tools empower you to treat music as a flexible, integral part of your design process rather than an obstacle that you have to work around.

3. Simplified workflow

Epidemic Sound's platform is designed to work seamlessly with your existing workflow, integrating smoothly with industry-standard software. This means you can maintain your current processes while enhancing them with powerful music discovery and editing tools.

The platform's user-friendly interface makes it easy to find what you need quickly, whether you're looking for a specific genre, mood or instrument. And with features like drag-and-drop functionality and the ability to import tracks directly at the playhead, you can work with music as fluidly as you do with visual elements.

Tips for integrating music into your workflow

Now that we've explored the features of Epidemic Sound's platform let's look at some practical tips for making the most of these tools in your daily work:

1. Start with the mood: Before diving into specific tracks, use the mood filter to narrow down your options based on the emotional tone you want to convey. This can help you find suitable tracks more quickly.

2. Use video search for inspiration: Even if you're not sure what kind of music you want, the video search feature can provide surprising and inspiring suggestions based on your visual content.

3. Experiment with segments: Don't settle for the first section of a track you hear. Use the segments feature to explore different parts of a song – you might find that the bridge or outro works better than the intro for your video.

4. Fine-tune with track edits: Remember that you have full control over the length and structure of the music. So use the track edits feature to create the perfect fit for your visuals, whether extending a section, creating a custom loop or crafting a unique arrangement.

5. Build a sonic brand: Just as you maintain visual consistency across projects, consider developing a consistent audio style. Use Epidemic Sound's curated playlists or create your own to maintain a cohesive sound across your content.

6. Collaborate with sound: If you're working in a team, use Epidemic Sound's collaborative features to share tracks, playlists and edits with your colleagues. This can help ensure consistency across projects and save time in the approval process.

7. Stay updated: Epidemic Sound regularly adds new tracks and features. Make it a habit to explore new additions to the library and stay informed about platform updates to continually enhance your workflow.

Looking to the future

Epidemic Sound is committed to continually improving its platform to meet the evolving needs of designers and content creators. Here's a sneak peek at some exciting features on the horizon:

• Search with References: This upcoming feature will allow you to find similar tracks based on a reference track, making it even easier to find the perfect sound.

• Next-level music adaptations: Expect more advanced tools for customising and adapting tracks to fit your specific needs.

• Expertly curated playlists: Look forward to an expanded selection of playlists curated by music professionals, making it easier to find cohesive sets of tracks.

• Individual track stems: This feature gives you even more control over the music, allowing you to isolate or remove specific instruments or elements from a track.

And that's not all! Epidemic Sound is also expanding its plugin portfolio this autumn, with plans to release a plugin for DaVinci Resolve in October.

Conclusion

Integrating music into your design workflow doesn't have to be a chore. With Epidemic Sound's innovative tools and seamless integrations, you can transform this process into an enjoyable and creatively fulfilling part of your work.

By leveraging features like semantic search, video-based suggestions and powerful editing tools, you can find and customise the perfect soundtrack for your videos faster and more efficiently than ever before.

As we've seen throughout this series, music plays a crucial role in enhancing visual content, evoking emotions and creating memorable experiences for your audience. By making music an integral part of your design process from the start rather than an afterthought, you can create more cohesive, impactful, and engaging content.

So why not give it a try? Explore Epidemic Sound's plugins for Adobe Creative Cloud and discover how seamlessly you can integrate music into your design workflow. Your audience will thank you for it.