Part of the Spotlab Suite · Built by a film and television editor

Spot the script.
Brief the scenes.

Import a screenplay. SoundMap breaks it into scenes, then helps you build a layered sound brief — BG, AMB, SFX, FOLEY, MX — for every one. Export PDF briefs, CSV spotting logs, or .soundmap projects you can pick up tomorrow.

Buy — $69 See how it works ↓

Includes SFXScout · 14-day full-featured trial · One-time purchase

SoundMap — WAR_ep03.soundmap
Scenes · 42
WAR — Episode 3
Search scenes…
SC 01 · INT · DAY Maya wakes to rain on skylights
SC 02 · EXT · DAY Cab ride to the airport
SC 03 · INT · NIGHT Hotel lobby — jazz trio
SC 04 · EXT · NIGHT Snowfall over the city
SC 05 · INT · DAY Breakfast at the window
Sc 03 — Hotel Lobby, Night
00:04:12:08 → 00:05:47:21 · 23.976
BG Marble-lobby room tone, cold air handling, distant elevator ding
AMB Low murmur of evening guests, glasses, soft footfalls on stone
SFX Revolving door cycle, bellhop trolley wheels, phone at the desk
FOLEY Maya's heels on polished stone, wool coat movement, handbag clasp
MX Live jazz trio — upright bass, brushed snare, piano walking
Built by a film and television editor
Fountain + PDF script import
Reads your SFXScout library
Bring your own API keys

The backstory

Spotting a script is a slog.

I've been editing film and television for over fifteen years — features and episodic, for Netflix, Fox, The CW, AMC+, MGM+, and Paramount. Every project, the sound pass starts the same way: you finish a scene, you know exactly what it needs, and then you spend the next hour hunting for it.

Multiply that by forty scenes. Multiply that by a full season. It's not a small problem.

Import a Fountain or PDF script, SoundMap parses into scenes, and you move through them with a two-panel workspace — scene list on the left, brief generator on the right. Claude gives you a layered starting point for each one, and you edit from there.

It's a tool for thinking about sound before you touch a DAW. When you're done, export PDF briefs for the mixer, a CSV spotting log for the cutting room, or a .soundmap project you can reopen tomorrow.

The workflow

Script to brief, in an afternoon.

SoundMap follows the spotting session a real post team would run — just faster.

1. Import

Drag in a Fountain or PDF screenplay.

2. Parse

Claude breaks it into scenes with headings and descriptions.

3. Brief

Generate layered BG/AMB/SFX/FOLEY/MX briefs per scene.

4. (Audition)

Optionally generate reference audio per layer via ElevenLabs.

5. Export

PDF brief, CSV spotting log, per-scene TXT, or .soundmap file.

What it does

The spotting session, reframed.

Every feature earns its place. Nothing gets in the way of the work.

Fountain + PDF script import

Drop in a .fountain or text-based PDF. SoundMap parses scene headings, locations, time of day, and action — no copy-paste, no manual scene splitting.

Layered scene briefs

Claude generates a starting-point brief across five layers: BG, AMB, SFX, FOLEY, MX. Reorder, edit, delete, or add your own — nothing is locked.

Genre-aware

Horror, action, drama, documentary, comedy, sci-fi, nature, sports. Tell SoundMap the vibe and the briefs come back sharper.

Real timecode handling

23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 (including drop-frame), 30. Duration computes from your frame range. No fudging, no guessing.

ElevenLabs audio (optional)

Generate a rough reference for any layer. Not a replacement for real SFX — a fast way to hear where a scene is pointing before you commit.

Real exports

PDF brief for the mixer. CSV spotting log for the cutting room. Per-scene TXT files. .soundmap project files you reopen later.

The app

Scene list. Brief panel. Done.

A two-panel workspace built around the actual rhythm of spotting a show.

SoundMap
Scenes · 42
WAR — Episode 3
Search scenes…
SC 01 · INT · DAYMaya wakes to rain on skylights
SC 02 · EXT · DAYCab ride to the airport
SC 03 · INT · NIGHTHotel lobby — jazz trio
SC 04 · EXT · NIGHTSnowfall over the city
SC 05 · INT · DAYBreakfast at the window
SC 06 · EXT · DAYMarket square, midday
Sc 03 — Hotel Lobby, Night
00:04:12:08 → 00:05:47:21 · 23.976
BGMarble-lobby room tone, cold air handling, distant elevator ding
AMBLow murmur of evening guests, glasses, soft footfalls on stone
SFXRevolving door cycle, bellhop trolley wheels, phone at the desk
FOLEYMaya's heels on polished stone, wool coat movement, handbag clasp
MXLive jazz trio — upright bass, brushed snare, piano walking
SFXScout

Also included

SFXScout — search your SFX library in seconds

Native macOS library indexer with full-text search, on-device AI tagging, and waveform preview. Reads directly into SoundMap scene briefs. Included in the $69 price — not a separate purchase.

See SFXScout →

Pricing

One price. Both apps. No subscription.

SoundMap and SFXScout ship together. Pay once, use them forever.

SFXScout + SoundMap

Search your library and brief your scenes.

$69
one-time · 2 activations
  • SoundMap — AI sound design workspace
  • SFXScout — full library indexer
  • Fountain + PDF script import
  • On-device AI tagging
  • Timecode: 23.976 / 24 / 25 / 29.97 DF / 30
  • PDF, CSV, TXT, .soundmap export
  • Free updates for v1.x
  • Email support from the builder
Buy SFXScout — $69 · SoundMap included

Secure checkout via Paddle · Instant download · 14-day refund, no questions

14-day full-featured trial available before you buy. You bring your own Claude & ElevenLabs API keys — no pass-through markup, no subscription. Two keys, five minutes to configure, stored in your macOS Keychain. That's it.

Questions

Common questions.

Do I need API keys to use SoundMap?
Yes — SoundMap uses Anthropic's Claude for brief generation and ElevenLabs (optional) for audio. You provide your own API keys; nothing is passed through our servers. This keeps costs honest and means you're never locked in. Stored securely in your macOS Keychain.
What happens if I don't have an ElevenLabs key?
Audio generation is optional. SoundMap's core workflow — importing scripts, generating briefs, editing layers, exporting briefs — works with just a Claude key. ElevenLabs is useful for auditioning scenes; it's not required.
How does the SFXScout integration work?
SoundMap reads SFXScout's SQLite library directly using better-sqlite3. SFXScout doesn't need to be running — SoundMap just opens the database file. You get your whole library searchable from inside the brief workspace.
What script formats are supported?
Fountain (.fountain) and text-based PDF. Scanned/image-based PDFs (no selectable text) aren't supported — you'll see a warning on import. If you need to, run it through OCR first.
Can I re-import a revised script without losing my work?
Yes. SoundMap matches scenes by heading (case-insensitive, whitespace-normalized). Re-importing preserves your existing briefs and notes on scenes that still exist, and adds the new ones.
Why Electron instead of native Swift?
SoundMap is a session workspace — you open it for a sound pass, not a background process. Electron's performance penalty doesn't matter for what it does. SFXScout is the native Swift app; SoundMap sits alongside it. Different tools for different jobs.
What export formats are supported?
PDF brief for a specific scene, full multi-scene PDF brief report, CSV spotting log, per-scene TXT files, and .soundmap project files (JSON-serialized, reopenable). You can also export generated audio files to a folder.
What macOS version do I need?
SoundMap runs on Apple Silicon Macs (M1/M2/M3/M4). It's an Electron app, so macOS version requirements are flexible — anything in Apple's current support window works.