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AN INTERVIEW WITH Axel Rohrbach (Founder) OF BOOM Library by Thorsten Meyer

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BOOM Library

AN INTERVIEW WITH Axel Rohrbach (Founder) OF BOOM Library
by Thorsten Meyer

Axel from BOOM Library did take the time out off his busy schedule to provide some insights and background information about BOOM Library and high end, ultimate sound effects for media and audio professionals.

Thorsten Meyer: Axel, first of all, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule. Would you be so kind and tell us a bit about yourself and how BOOM Library started out in the business?

Thanks Thorsten for the opportunity of this interview! My name is Axel Rohrbach and I founded the Boom Library in 2010 together with Pierre Langer and TIlman Sillescu. At that time I was Lead Sound Designer at Dynamedion (founded by Pierre and Tilman) and we wanted to try something else on top of Dynamedion’s work for hire business. Initially it was planned as a side job for less busy times but it turned out to be at least for me a full time job now.

Tell us a little more about the team behind BOOM Library?

When I started at Dynamedion Michael Schwendler was already Sound Designer here. Around the time we started the Boom Library, David Philipp was an intern at Dynamedion. Those two guys together with me are the main three Sound Designers at Boom Library. Even though I do Boom Library work full time and Michael and David are also still heavily envolved in work for hire work. Besides that, Benjamin Drumeaux, Patrice Börding, Byron Bullock and Felix Diekhake do both, Boom Library and Dynamedion work. Benedikt Huster is doing all marketing related things plus customer support.

Your products have been used in games, trailer, TV and film score. Would you be so kind and name a view recent ones? (12 Months)

MOVIE / MOVIE TRAILERS
Justice League
The Martian
Dr. Strange
Ghostbusters
Captain America – Civil War
Warcraft
Independence Day – Resurgence
The Purge – Election Year

GAMES / GAME TRAILERS
Total War Warhammer
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands
World Of Tanks
Overwatch
Destiny – Rise Of Iron

MUSIC
Drake – Views
ZEDD – True Colors

How and where do you capture and record the sound you offer?

It mainly depends on the topic. Some things can be recorded in our studios, for other things we need a larger recording room and rent a studio. But mostly we record outdoors around the world. Of course mainly close to our place or in the UK, where David and Byron are located, but we also recorded a lot in the US, we recorded for example the “Historical Firearms” library in South Africa.

What are the challenges when producing your latest sound library MEDIEVAL LIFE?

Most sounds have been recorded in a rather close perspective to get a bit more punch, probably more flexibility and details as well as a better noise floor. The issue with that is, that we have really hard times to create background sounds for diverse settings. We tried to record things from a certain distance so that it smoothly blends into a scenery without being “in your face” or without having too transients. The challenge however is to find places that are quiet enough to do so, especially with all this traffic noise pollution we have here in Europe, but also concerning animals, wind and so on. This is even harder when recording people which plays a major role in such background ambiences – it is very hard to find a place that not only has no modern vehicles close by, but also no ringing cell phones and no music playing. The second important challenge was to find places that do have some kind of distant room to it, but no real reverb that would make it a lot less flexible and probably not suiting a lot of sceneries.

How did you find all those sounds that belong into medieval places?

Before we go out and record things, we make a list of sounds that we need to be included in a library. Then we search of ways to record those topics. We asked around for example if anyone has some animals, we asked blacksmiths, farms and even historic museums. There is a lot of planning and scouting involved in this process and in the end, we still can only hope that a recording goes as planned. Some things cannot be foreseen, for example we were at a friend’s farm but a construction side (modern road work) just started right that morning when we were on our way to the farm. It was so loud, that we had to drive back home – one day wasted. That is what makes such topics so difficult to fill up with content that works in this context. We also did another approach by collecting tools like saws, hammers, metal pieces etc. and recorded those at night on a remote place. Recording animals is always very difficult, because unless you hire an animal trainer you never know how the animals react to someone they don’t know and the little fur thingy called a windshield for the microphone. So this basically is try and error all the time.

Would you be so kind and share your experience on what to look for when recording your own samples?

The most important thing to begin with is finding an interesting source. So what every you want to record, it should already sound good. Not only concerning what the source does, but also how it sounds in the environment you want to record it in. For more expansive and complicated sessions, keep track of weather conditions. Of course picking the right equipment (recorder, choice of microphone etc) is important as well. But unfortunately the most important thing is to built up your own experience by simply recording a lot of things and analyzing why it either sounds good or why it does not sound right.

For new and upcoming sound engineers: Is there any microphone on a budget you would recommend?

For field recording starters Zoom or Sony handheld recorders are definitely worth a try. Not only can they produce good recordings, but it is also nice to have backup or additional recorders in the future when the personal equipment grows. If there already is a recorder available, I recommend to start with an MS setup, we use either Sennheiser MKH8050 hyper cardioid or MKH416 shotgun combined with a figure eight MKH30 microphone. MS setups are easy to handle and probably the most flexible setup. Again, from there compare how for example a XY setup work in different situations to the MS setup or if an omni A/B configuration might make sense.

When the sound is captured which tools, software and hardware is part your postproduction process?

A lot of them. After renaming the recordings in a useful way I import them into the host (might be any host, in my case ProTools HD) and roughly cut out not usable material. After that I do very basic gaining (no compression or limiting) and EQing. Next step is denoising if there is anything to denoise and I use iZotope RX for that. These are the steps for our “Construction Kits”, we do want to offer rather raw recordings here to make sure the files are still very flexible for the users (and for us). If we would be talking about the process for the “Designed” counterparts, a whole bunch of things might come into play. Basically all available plug-ins from diverse brands are used as well as some outboard gear when suiting the topic.

Could you let us in on your favorite and most used tools in your studio, both analog and digital?

I personally love my two Kush Audio “Tweakers”, a hardware compressor. Michael has a pretty big chain of hardware stuff from different brands for different purposes. I think he does not really have a most favorite here. As for plug-ins Fab Filters Pro-Q 2 and Pro-C 2 are always in my sessions. I love the Sonnox Oxford Limiter as well as the Avid Pro Limiter. Other than that I do have a ton of plug-ins installed that do very specific jobs, so nothing that I use on such a regular base as those four mentioned above.

Could you share some insights about your next project you’re most excited about?

The thing I am most excited about is unfortunately something I can not talk about yet. This is still unannounced and will also still take a while to finish – but it will be different from what we did so far. So stay tuned 😉

Let’s talk about Cinematic Metal – Impacts, Cinematic Metal – Construction Kit, Cinematic Darkness Designed, Cinematic Trailers Designed. Those products are now part of a special bundle that is available for a limited time. (Sound FX Cinematic Bundle (Affiliate Link) is available for 99 USD)

What is in for the buyer and how do you see those 4 products being used?

The “Cinematic Trailers” library can be seen as a basic trailerish sound pack, featuring hits, whooshes, rises etc. The “Cinematic Hits” features numerous more typical trailer impact sounds as well as the “Cinematic Metal – Impacts” which concentrates on impacts with metallic elements in it. This one is based on the “Cinematic Metal – Construction Kit” which only features metal sounds, mostly impacts which can also be used to layer to the other two libraries. So this basically gives you a whole bunch of sounds for trailer usage, but also when every you want to powerfully highlight anything. That works not only in trailers, but also for in-game sound effects, cut scenes, movies, image films or logo sound design.

What is the difference between the Construction Kit and Designed products?

The “Designed” versions are always fully designed, partially heavily processed sounds which can be used as is or as layers. The counterpart, the “Construction Kits”, is what the “Designed” collection are made of. Those are as raw as possible and only as processed as needed to make them useful. The “Construction Kit” sounds give you more freedom, but you also need to put some work into it, basically the same way as if you would have recorded them yourself. But you can really create your own sounds out of it. The “Designed” already have the typical Boom Library character, it is our creative work – that will help to work faster and also gives nice ideas what to do with the “Construction Kits”, but also are a bit less flexible in terms of usage. A more detailed description can be found here: http://www.boomlibrary.com/boomlibrary/index.php/news/149-bts-ck-vs-ds

Which advice would you give to composers who still want to incorporate your sounds into the scores is it for a trailer or a film score?

A lot of composer actually do this, but you should use them carefully and only when the music has some space left for such sounds. It has no effect if there are constantly boomy impacts in a track, it only works if they really highlight certain spots.

Could you share your secret weapon when it comes to composing?

I am no composer, so it would be bold to give any composing tips here 😉

What are your techniques that help you get started on a new score/song?

Would you share some of your tricks to achieve an epic, cinematic sound?

The overall frequency response is a bit different to other audio material. It is mostly heavier, les “sparkling”. Also modern trailer sound is all about working on spot on sounds to create more impact and to push the listeners eyes to the right action and leading his emotional reaction. But it also is about carefully selecting frequencies, leaving space wherever possible to get a cleaner, bigger and louder sounding result without really being loud.

Are there incredible talents you worked with that you would like to point out?

I think our team isn’t that big and they are all extremely talented, mostly in specific fields. To be honest, no, I don’t want to pick one out of that. It always is teamwork to get something done in a quality we want to achieve. Everyone plays a part, even if those might be really different.

Is there a sound or style that you did see lately as an upcoming trend?

Staccato strings and “hu-ha” choirs with an orchestral style song featuring fast percussions might be 2000. 2020 is more accent driven, more marching in its music rather than running with bigger emotional themes. Concerning sounds it is kind of the same, sounds get more and more in sync with the music, something that wasn’t too much the case 10 years ago. That also means sounds tend to become shorter, more emphasizing, cleaner.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much for inviting me!

 

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Review of DEBIRD by BOOM Library: The AI-Powered Tool to Remove Bird Sounds from Your Recordings

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DEBIRD Review The AI Powered Tool to Remove Bird Sounds from Your Recordings

If you’ve ever tried to record nature sounds, you know that birds can be a real nuisance. Their chirping and tweeting can easily drown out the sounds of wind or water that you’re trying to capture. Until now, the only solution was to spend hours editing your recordings in an audio editor, trying to remove every bird call.

Review of DeBird by BOOM Library

But thanks to DeBird from Boom Library, that’s no longer necessary! This powerful app uses deep learning algorithms to detect and remove invasive bird sounds from your recordings automatically. In this review, we’ll take a closer look at how DEBIRD works and show you how easy it is to use!

DeBird is a new app from Boom library. This simple but powerful tool uses deep learning to detect and remove invasive bird sounds from your recordings automatically. DeBird opens as a stand-alone app, which feels very refreshing visually. Seeing the spectrograph over the full size of your monitor is a great way of visualizing the audio and offers the user a detailed analysis of a sound file.

Ambient with birds
Ambient with birds in DEBIRD App

Established Removing Of Bird Noises

Conventional methods of removing bird sounds from recordings often involve painstakingly going through the entire recording and silencing each call individually.

This time-consuming process can take hours, or even days, to complete. However, new software solutions are now available to automate the removal of bird sounds from recordings. These solutions use artificial intelligence to automatically identify bird calls in recordings and silence them.

This can save audio professionals considerable time and allow them to focus on more creative tasks. In addition, using artificial intelligence for sound removal is likely to become more accurate and efficient over time, as the technology continues to evolve.

Extracting Bird Noises with Machine Learning

Deep learning is a powerful tool that can be used for a variety of tasks, including removing bird noises from audio files. DeBird is a software that uses deep learning to automatically identify and remove bird noises from audio files. There is no need to manually edit the files or use invasive methods.

DeBird can clean up your audio file and leave your source file unaltered in just a few seconds. You can also choose to keep some of the bird sounds if you desire, by marking and excluding them from the removal process.

You no longer have to plan recording sessions at night or use other methods to scare off birds. With DeBird, you can quickly and easily remove bird noises from your audio files, without any hassle.

If you live in an urban area, chances are you’re familiar with the sound of birds chirping. For some, it’s soothing background noise. But for others, it can be a source of annoyance, particularly if you’re trying to sleep or concentrate. Fortunately, there’s now a way to remove bird sounds from your environment using machine learning.

The algorithm, called DeBird, is designed to filter out bird sounds without affecting other desired sound frequencies. It works by “learning” on the job and continue improving over time. The team behind DeBird is constantly feeding new recordings of birds into the system to improve its performance.

If you’re struggling with unwanted bird noise, DeBird may be worth a try. And if you have recordings of birds that the algorithm isn’t able to handle effectively, you can help improve it by sending them to the team. With machine learning, we may finally be able to enjoy peace and quiet – even in the midst of nature.

DeBird App

The app is very user-friendly – simply drag and drop your files into the window, and DeBird will get to work. The results are impressive, with DeBird successfully removing bird sounds from my test recording with minimal impact on the surrounding audio. DeBird is a valuable tool for anyone who works with audio.

DeBird is a powerful new tool for removing unwanted bird sounds from your recordings, but it can also be used in interesting and unexpected ways. For example, if you want to preserve the sounds of specific birds, you can use the boundary box or brush features to instruct DeBird to leave those sounds in.

As anyone who has ever tried to record audio outdoors knows, birds can be a real nuisance. Their constant chirping can easily drown out any other sound, making it next to impossible to get a clean recording. But now there’s a solution: DeBird.

DeBird is a standalone application that automatically recognizes bird noises in audio recordings and removes them with a single click. Whether you’re trying to capture the sound of waves crashing on the beach or the wind blowing through the trees, DeBird will make sure that all you hear is the sound you want to hear.

Or, if you want to create a recording solely of bird sounds, you can use DeBird to solo and extract those sounds from your other recordings. In either case, DeBird provides a flexible and easy-to-use solution for dealing with bird sounds.

DEBIRD for Audio Professional

If you’re an audio professional, then you know that time is often of the essence. You need to be able to work quickly and efficiently to meet deadlines, without sacrificing quality. This is where DeBird comes in.

It’s a seriously powerful tool that can help you save time on cleaning up recordings to focus on more important tasks. It can also salvage recordings that would have previously been unusable, without the heavy clean-up.

This means that you won’t have to waste time trying to fix problems that can’t be fixed. Boom Library DeBird, is a powerful and precise audio tool for removing bird vocalizations from recordings.

It is specially designed to identify and remove bird vocalizations quickly and easily, with minimal effort. The speed, ease of use, and powerful functions make DeBird a fantastic addition to Boom Library suite of audio tools. For many audio professionals, DEBIRD will be an absolute godsend!

With its simple interface and straightforward controls, even beginners can achieve great results with this tool. In just a few clicks, you can remove pesky bird sounds from your recordings, and get on with the rest of your work!

How to Use Debird

If you’re tired of birds ruining your recordings, DeBird is the perfect solution. Select the sound you want to clean up, and DeBird will remove all the birds in real-time.

You can see the removed bird sounds in the lower spectrum display and adjust the built-in filters and sensitivity to your liking. DeBird is the perfect way to get clean, bird-free recordings every time.

Conclusion

Debird is a powerful new tool for removing unwanted bird sounds from your recordings. It is simple to use and can be quickly adjusted to suit your needs.

Whether you’re an audio professional or just someone who wants to get rid of the birds that are constantly ruining your recordings, Debird is the perfect tool for you. With its user-friendly interface and easy-to-use controls, Debird is the perfect solution for all your bird sound problems.

Rating: Five out Of Five Stars

DeBird is a powerful new audio tool from Boom Libraries that makes it easy to remove birds from recordings. The speed, ease of use, and powerful functions make DeBird a fantastic addition to Boom Libraries suite of audio tools.

For many audio professionals, DEBIRD will be an absolute godsend! With just a few clicks, DeBird can automatically identify and remove bird sounds from recordings, saving hours of manual editing time. In addition, the software is highly configurable, allowing users to select the level of bird removal they need.

Whether you’re an audio professional dealing with problematic bird sounds daily, or a hobbyist who wants to clean up their recordings, DeBird is an essential tool.

As its name suggests, DeBird is a plugin that is designed to remove bird sounds from recordings. It uses artificial intelligence to identify and isolate bird calls and then remove them from the recording.

The plugin is highly effective and can even remove sounds that have been heavily obscured by other noise. This makes it an invaluable tool for anyone who needs to remove bird sounds from their recordings, such as nature documentary filmmakers or sound designers working on movies in remote locations.

The plugin is also relatively expensive, limiting its appeal to hobbyists and casual users. However, for professional studios and serious sound designers, DeBird is worth the investment.

If you’ve ever tried to record nature sounds, you know that birds can be a real nuisance. Their chirping and tweeting can easily drown out the sounds of wind or water that you’re trying to capture. Until now, the only solution was to spend hours editing your recordings in an audio editor, trying to remove every bird call.

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Boom Library’s Enforcer Sale: Your All-Sub-Bass Power House

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Boom Librarys Enforcer Sale Your All Sub Bass Power House

Do you need some serious low-end power in your life? If so, then you need to check out Boom Library’s Enforcer! This easy-to-use bass plug-in adds an irresistible punch, powerful body, and a rigorous low-end bass impulse to your samples.

Boom Library’s Enforcer Sale: Your All-Sub-Bass Power House

Boom Librarys Enforcer Sale Your All Sub Bass Power House 1200x627 1
Boom Library's Enforcer Sale: Your All-Sub-Bass Power House 41

You can heavily beef up sounds or add only a hint of weight. You can use it as a kick-drum synth, exchange kick drum tails and tune them easily using semitones or you can completely exchange given source sounds. If you are a musician or a mixing engineer and, in particular, a sound designer you will love this product!

ENFORCER is a powerful and versatile audio tool that can be used to enhance any sound source. It offers unmatched precision and control, allowing you to add sub-bass, low end, or punch to any sound.

Whether you’re layering a kick drum or enhancing live drums, Enforcer can help you achieve the perfect sound. It’s also great for adding weight to footsteps or any other percussive sound. With its versatile controls and high-quality sound, Enforcer is the perfect tool for any audio engineer or music producer.

Enforcer to Enforce

ENFORCER is the perfect tool for anyone who wants to add power and punch to their audio. Whether you’re looking to add low-end to a kick drum or enhance live drums with well-defined punch, ENFORCER has you covered. With its wide range of controllable and tunable parameters, ENFORCER is the Swiss Army Knife for punch, low-end, sub power, kick… you name it.

So if you’re looking for a way to add steady weight to every single footstep or layer a kick drum with controllable and tunable low-end, look no further than ENFORCER.

“BOOM Library is manifesting with ENFORCER a new generation plugin to push those subs, make sound effects bigger, create something new and in your face or create low-end sub sound shaking the audience.”

Boom Librarys Enforcer Sale Your All Sub Bass Power House 970x250 1
Boom Library's Enforcer Sale: Your All-Sub-Bass Power House 42

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Cinematic Expressions – BOOMLibrary’s Orchestra of Sound: Expand Your Sonic Palette with Growling Sound Effects

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Cinematic Expressions Bundle Sound Effects BOOM Library 1

CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS are designed to expand your sonic palette. With newly recorded BRAAMS, STINGERS, TAILS, WHOOSHES, and PINGS with a Construction Kit and a vivid Designed edition. There are over 19 GB worth of smooth yet growling sound effects that are perfect for any production – be it Film, TV, or Games.

Designed to help build up the tension over long periods of time, with this library you can accentuate those feelings of suspenseful expectation and curiosity that pull the viewer into the story. Divided into three categories – Dark, Light, and Neutral – it’s easy to find just the right sound for the feel you’re looking for.

What’s more, each track is loopable, so you can create a continuous atmosphere of unease that will keep your audience on the edge of their seats.

CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS is a unique sound library that offers a wide range of cinematic sounds. From dark echoes to slashing whooshes, this collection has everything you need to add an extra layer of tension and suspense to your films.

Orchestra of Sound

One of the things that makes cinema so special is its ability to transport us to new and exciting worlds. And one of the key elements of this magic is sound. A well-crafted soundtrack can make us feel excited, scared, happy or sad without a single image on the screen.

CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS is a library of sounds that cinema professionals can use to create truly immersive experiences. It includes everything from traditional orchestra instruments to more unusual sounds like metal scrapes and squeaky toys. With such a diverse range of sounds at their disposal, filmmakers can really let their imaginations run wild.

So next time you settle down to watch a movie, take a moment to appreciate the hard work that went into its soundtrack. It might just be the thing that takes your film viewing experience to the next level.

A New Sonic Eloquence for Cinematic Sound

Trailer sound design is an essential part of the filmmaking process. A well-designed trailer can draw audiences into the world of the film, setting the tone and creating an immersive experience. CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS specifically extend the range of your trailer sound effects palette, it’s the impact without the impact.

It uses untold otherworldly sounds, transfusing the voids between hits and heavy impacts with spirited atmospheres and dynamic character.

If you’re looking for high-quality, cinematic sound effects, look no further than the Trailer Sound Library. This 19 GB library includes all the sounds you need to make your next trailer really pop.

From BRAAMS and STINGS to WHOOSHES and PINGS, it’s got everything you need to add atmosphere and tension to your trailer. The sound effects are all richly rendered and beautifully edited, so you can be sure that they’ll sound great in your final mix.

With its powerful sound design tools, CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS can help you create a truly unique trailer that will leave audiences eager to see your film. Whether you’re working on a big budget Hollywood blockbuster or a low-budget indie film, the Trailer Sound Library is essential for any trailer editor.

Cinematic Expressions Designed

From intense action sequences to suspenseful horror scenes, a well-designed soundscape can greatly enhance the cinematic experience.

This collection of cinematic sound effects is packed with an array of powerful and evocative sounds, perfect for setting the mood in any number of film or video projects. From dark reverberations to distant cries, each sound is designed to create an impactful and immersive experience.

Cinematic Expressions Designed
Cinematic Expressions Designed

And because everything is listed by key, it’s easy to find the right sound for your project and ensure that it matches the pitch of your other audio elements. Whether you’re working on a blockbuster hit or an independent film, these sound effects will help you bring your vision to life.

Cinematic Expressions Construction Kit

Cinematic Expressions Construction Kit is designed to help build up the tension over long periods of time. Divided into three categories – Dark, Light, and Neutral – it’s easy to find just the right sound for the feel you’re looking for.

The library includes a variety of sounds that can be used to accentuate those feelings of suspenseful expectation and curiosity that pull the viewer into the story. Whether you’re looking for a sound to add an ominous feeling to a scene or you want to create a sense of anticipation, this library has what you need.

Cinematic Expressions Construction Kit
Cinematic Expressions Construction Kit

Cinematic Expressions Construction Kit is an essential tool for any video editor looking to create a more immersive experience for their viewers.

Conclusion

When you’re working on a film or video project, it’s important to have a sound design that supports the visuals and narrative. Cinematic Expressions understands this and has created a sound library with a focus on the tonal qualities of production. All of the included sounds are labeled by key, making it easy to find the right sound for your project.

Whether you need a braam to accent a big moment or a riser to build tension, you’ll be able to find just what you need in this comprehensive sound library. So if you’re looking for high-quality, key-specific sounds to take your project to the next level, look no further than Cinematic Expressions.

When you’re working on a film or video project, it’s important to have a sound design that supports the visuals and narrative. Cinematic Expressions understands this and has created a sound library with a focus on the tonal qualities of production.

All of the included sounds are labeled by key, making it easy to find the right sound for your project. Whether you need a Braam to accent a big moment or a riser to build tension, you’ll be able to find just what you need in this comprehensive sound library.

From that point on, sound design in movies wouldn’t be the same. Nowadays, we take for granted the range of sounds and music that can be used to create a sense of tension, excitement or drama in a trailer.

However, it was CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS that established this sonic language, paving the way for the modern trailer soundscape. By drawing on a wide range of musical genres and sound design techniques, CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS was able to create a unique and powerful sonic identity that has since been imitated by many others. In doing so, they redefined what a trailer could be, and set the standard for trailer sound design that is still being followed today.

Cinematic Expressions Bundle Sound Effects BOOM Library
Cinematic Expressions - BOOMLibrary's Orchestra of Sound: Expand Your Sonic Palette with Growling Sound Effects 51

You have two choices: You can select the CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS CONSTRUCTION KIT or CINEMATIC EXPRESSIONS DESIGNED or a bundle of both.

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