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Activity Forums Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy Audio and video slipping out of sync: Zoom H4N and Final Cut Footage from Canon 7D

  • Audio and video slipping out of sync: Zoom H4N and Final Cut Footage from Canon 7D

    Posted by Kesten Migdal on August 11, 2011 at 9:24 pm

    Let me preface my problem by saying I’ve ready many posts on this issue and tried many things, but still haven’t found a solution, so thanks in advance for your advice.

    The basic problem:
    I record audio on a Zoom H4N, then try to sync with my Canon 7D video in Final Cut Pro, but the audio and video are slipping out of sync. The audio I import into the FCP timeline from my Zoom H4N is faster than the video I import into FCP. As a result, PluralEyes can’t sync and I end up manually syncing, then cutting the audio every 30 seconds on my FCP timeline and bumping it to the right one frame to sync to the video. Needless to say, this is a major headache. Let me try to include as much info as possible, so you can advise me on which settings I should be using, or what my general problem might be.

    ==== ==== ==== ====
    Zoom H4N Settings
    – Rec Format: WAV 48kHz/16bit
    – Speed: 100%
    – Mode: Stereo

    Canon 7D Settings
    – 1920×1080 24fps

    MPEG Streamclip Settings
    – Compression: Apple ProRes 422
    – Frame Size: 1920×1080 (unscaled)
    – Frame Rate: 24

    FCP Sequence Settings
    General Tab
    – Frame Size: 1920×1080
    – Aspect Ratio: HDTV 1080i (16:9)
    – Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square
    – Editing Timebase: 24
    – QuickTime Video Settings, Compressor: Apple ProRes 422
    – Audio Settings, Rate: 48kHz, 16 bit, channel grouped (not that any of the audio settings should matter since I’m syncing with the Zoom H4N)

    Video Processing Tab
    – Render 10-bit material in high-presicion YUV
    (I don’t think any of the other tabs matter, but if they do please let me know.)

    Am I missing anything?
    ==== ==== ==== ====

    Pretty much a newbie, so please don’t yell at me if any of my settings are way off base. I’m open to any suggestions you might have. I really appreciate all of the help and time you put into this forum. Thank you so much!

    Kesten Migdal replied 14 years, 10 months ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • Michael Gissing

    August 12, 2011 at 2:35 am

    Have you seen Matt Lyon’s tutorial on correctly importing audio assets into FCP? The second half of Matt’s tutorial points out that FCP timestamps an audio import with the default project timecode. This may not be the same as the sequence you are cutting.

    https://library.creativecow.net/lyon_matt/fixing-fcp-assets/1

    Have a look at your audio assets and see what frame rate has been stamped. It must be the same as the camera footage and sequence.

    On that, my understanding of the 7D is that it shoots 23.976 not true 24 fps. So all your settings including mpegstreamclip and FCP should be 23.976. (FCP calls this 23.98). So make sure the frame rates from camera to sequence are correct and the audio assets are imported with your default project set to match that frame rate.

  • Kesten Migdal

    August 12, 2011 at 9:29 pm

    I really appreciate the advice. I’ll try what you suggested and post my results. Have a great weekend.

  • Kesten Migdal

    September 14, 2011 at 7:39 pm

    Finally had a moment to sit down and test this with a recent job. All I needed to do was change my frame rate in MPEG Streamclip from 24 to 23.976. Easy as that. Thank you!

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