Perfect for today’s ever-changing creative landscape, Jotter is, according to NUGEN Audio, “a timecode-linked annotation tool that allows engineers and mixers to collaborate between each other, and directly with clients, to and from anywhere in the world.”
NUGEN Audio’s new note taking and collaboration software was, initially, offered as a “stealth” product for NUGEN subscribers who responded to the company’s annual survey. The resal-world test confirms that Jotter is already proving to be an excellent tool for music producers and film sound editors alike. In addition to the fully licensed plug-in solution that can be integrated directly into Pro Tools or other DAWs, the Jotter software is also available as a free standalone version that includes the same management tools and can be used by clients and other collaborators.
“In audio, it’s easy to get lost in the ideas you have for editing, timing and automation,” says Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe, Product Specialist, NUGEN Audio. “With Jotter, you can stay organized with notes and to-do lists inside your DAW, right on the project timeline. Whether you need a more straightforward way for clients to share suggested changes or you’d simply like to keep your workflow more organized, Jotter can help.”
Included among the collaborative tools is the ability for a client to load the latest mix of their song into the standalone Jotter app, add their notes throughout the file and then export the notes to send to the mixing engineer. This file can then be imported into the engineer’s instance of Jotter―whether the standalone app or the plug-in version―where they can easily see the client’s detailed feedback, locked to the exact positions on the project timeline.
The notes can be accessed either in Waveform or List view and can additionally be exported as a CSV with notes from each session for a more traditional approach. With the Waveform method, the user can zoom in or out on the audio track to add, find, delete or move the individual notes, with easy-to-use buttons. In List view, users can click on a timecode note to jump to that position in the Waveform and toggle a “checklist” to help track completed changes. This feature can also be filtered by status to better maintain the workload.
With this release, NUGEN Audio is also rolling out the brand’s first accessibility features for users with visual impairments, such as screen reader support and keyboard shortcuts. Screen reader support reads aloud anything the user is interacting with and announces options for actions with those components. With the keyboard shortcuts, users can bypass the interface completely as it links most functionality to shortcuts that correspond to buttons on the screen. These accessibility functions will provide blind or visually impaired users with the ability to navigate the Jotter plug-in more easily. NUGEN Audio plans to release these features in future updates to its existing solutions.
NUGEN Audio will showcase this latest plug-in, along with its full suite of audio solutions, at back-to-back shows this year ― the 2023 NAMM Show (Booth 15900) and NAB 2023 (Booth N1016).