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Create Sync Map (or AutoSequence) using Aux Timecode
I’ve read various places that AutoSequence cannot build a sequence based on the Aux timecodes of a group of clips (people have in fact insisted that if you’re trying to do this then you must not understand the point of AutoSequence. If that’s true, consider me guilty!)
I just don’t understand what my workflow is supposed to be.
I have video clips with running Audio Timecode. If I highlight all of these clips and use “Special > Read Audio Timecode” I can choose to populate any Aux TC column for these videos with the proper timecodes based on the running Audio Timecode. I do not, however, have the option to populate the “Start” timecode column.
Unfortunately AutoSequence only works on Start timecode. So what am I to do?
My audio clips all have proper Start timecode, and I am able to build an AutoSequence with these. But how do I get the video clips to be properly laid out on this sequence based on the Audio Timecode that I now have stored in my Aux TC1 column for all of my videos? Must I look at the AuxTC1 for each video clip individually and place it on my sequence by hand? What’s frustrating is that the information is there, and Avid obviously knows how to lay out a bunch of clips based on timecode, but I just can’t get the AutoSequence function to look at anything else besides Start timecode!
additional info:
Someone previously proposed that I copy all of my Timecodes from the Aux TC1 column to the Start timecode column. Maybe this is a solution, but there’s at least one major issue: I cannot duplicate the entire Aux TC1 column to the Start timecode column. I have to copy each number individually and click OK on two different error messages telling me that changing Start timecode is a bad idea.
Thanks for your help. – K
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7 Replies
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Quick follow-up question: Is there any reason I can’t just replace the Start timecode with my Audio TC (that’s sitting currently in Aux TC1) for all of my master video clips. Right now Start timecode is 00:00:00:00 for every clip.
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Hi Mate, I can’t think of any way to do this as a batch, but to modify the clip source timecode: Right click on the clip > Modify > Set Timecode by field and then punch in your Audio timecode. Best get a good bin display going showing both the AUX1 timecode column and Start column. Once you have done that with all your clips you should be able to auto sequence them as normal.
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You never say what you want to do in the first place as your end result. I am going to assume you want to sync audio to video? If so, no need to make a sequence. For that, you just need the common timecode to be in the same column. For the clips that have the proper timecode in START, highlight the column and do a command-D/control-D and select the AuxTC column where the other timecode exist. Move all the clips to the same bin, select all, autosync based on AuxTC column and done.
Michael
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Michael,
Thanks for your help.
Yes we’re trying to sync audio and video, but we’d like to end up with a Sync Map. I’m able to sync audio to video as subclips using the method you described (AutoSync).
But for the convenience of being able to see all of our footage across a timeline my boss has asked that I produce a Sync Map for all of our shoots. We want our Sync Map to be a sequence that looks very similar to what’s produced by AutoSequence.
It’s starting to look like the only way I could do this is by actually using the AutoSequence feature which means for every individual master clip I need to copy the timecode in Aux TC1 (that was placed in the Aux TC1 column from me running “Special > Read Audio Timecode”), then paste it to the Start timecode column, and click OK on the two error messages that tell me not to do this.
I’m fairly new to Avid, is this common practice? How would someone use Audio Timecode legitimately? Do people just not bother trying to create the sync map and work purely with the subclips created by AutoSync, opening each one individually in the source monitor to preview all of the footage? Then how would I easily access audio that has no associated video? Perhaps in the middle of an interview the camera cut off for 3 seconds while the speaker was in the middle of an important sound byte. My subclips won’t have this content. I’ll need to go back to the raw audio clip and search out the moment. But if I had the sync map, all of the content would be there, whether video and audio were running simultaneously or not.
– K
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Can’t you export an ALE, change the headers to swap the In and AUX colums, import that while linking and create subclips?
Then, (perhaps the most illogical and expensive method) set the AUXtc to play QT tc prior to import in Avid. (Assuming your source is Avid.
You can use (warning, commercial) this to do so:
https://www.videotoolshed.com/product/26/auxtc-reader
Another advantage might be that it can convert the QT to DNxHD without the need of an acutal AvidBouke
https://www.videotoolshed.com/
smart tools for video pros -
Might not get you all the way there, but once the clips are synced, autosequence the subclips and any MOS or wild sound clips not synced.
Michael
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well, i take it the sound recorder was master TC in this setup, so sound will have the same (or, continuous) TC, right?
MOS is of course another thing, in this case meaning no AUX TC.
On file based, it could be calculated. On Free run normal TC as well.
AUXtc reader can do that…
Tape based Rec run style is of course a problem…Bouke
https://www.videotoolshed.com/
smart tools for video pros
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