I placed a snapshot on the track to lower the music volume when a specific loop sound is playing. Is there a way to stop the snapshot when the volume of this loop sound reaches -80 dB or when it causes voice virtualization?
Of course, I usually use AudioVolume or create collision boxes or triggers to play and stop the snapshot, but I hope to do everything within FMOD.
Is this possible?
Yes and no. Technically there’s no way to detect the volume of the instrument or whether the instrument has been virtualized and use that information to stop a snapshot. However, it is possible to stop a snapshot or control its intensity based on the strength of a signal running through a track, which should get you the behavior you want.
The key to acheving this is the sidechain modulator. This type of modulator can be linked to a sidechain effect anywhere in the same event, and reacts to specific strengths of that signal by adjusting the value of the property to which it is attached.
To adjust the intensity of the snapshot, you’d need to add a sidechain to the signal chain of one of your event tracks (probably the master track or the Audio track containing the instrument whose audibility you want to control the snapshot), add a sidechain modulator to the snapshot instrument’s “Intensity” property, and set the latter’s “input” property to the former. Then, you’d need to set the modulator’s “amount” property to +100% and its threshold to something low (say, -79 dB to -78 dB). Oh, and you’d want to set the intensity of the snapshot to 0%.
This will result in the snapshot’s intensity being 100% when there is an audible signal playing through the audio track or master track whose signal chain contains the sidechain, but in the snapshot’s intensity dropping to 0% when the signal becomes so quiet as to be inaudible.
If you want the snapshot to actually stop instead of merely playing at 0% intensity, the process is similar: Instead of adding the sidechain modulator to the snapshot’s intensity, you’ll need to add a parameter trigger condition to the snapshot’s list of trigger conditions, and add the sidechain modulator to the parameter’s value. From there, he process is very similar: Set the sidechain modulator’s properties such that the parameter’s value triggers the snapshot instrument when there’s an audible signal playing through the track whose signal chain contains the sidechain, and that it untriggers the snapshot instrument when the signal is so quiet as to be inaudible.
Wow… I really need to study harder. I couldn’t have thought of that, but these tips are incredibly helpful. Thank you so much!
