music video Advice.

[Michael Phillips]

Depends on what production technique they are using on set when shooting. If there is a playback timecode being used and it is being recorded to the audio channels as LTC, then that is one way to sync. If no timecode is being used, then you might want to look into something like PluralEyes assuming that video also carries a reference track of the playback audio.

Michael

Michael Phillips

[Andrew Mckee]

Assuming this is a performance based video, the first thing you need to decide is whether you want to cut it using multicamera editing or just stack the various angles on top of each other in a sequence and chop it up. Either way, you need to have an easy way of syncing the various angles up, both to each other and to the music. Timecode is an easy option (for the editor at least) but can be fairly expensive for the ammount of time it takes to sync up without it. I have produced and edited many music videos without it. The secret is to add a couple of bars of click track to the beggining of song that the band will be miming to. Not only does this cue them as to when the song will start, it also gives you a sync point to line up each angle (so long as you record sound on your camera(s)). All you have to do then is set an in point on the same click in each of your clips and then either group them to do multicamera editing or edit them into seperate tracks of the same sequence. As the band are miming to the same track each time, you can use multicamer editing even if you only have one camera and just film them playing it over and over.

Andrew McKee
Editor/Colourist
Avid Certified Instructor – MC5.5
Apple Certified Trainer – FCP7
Pixelwizard.net

[Brendan Maghran]

I have cut a few of them, and usually go the route of multicam editing, syncing up with in-points and a click track (if they used it in production). Works for me. I would suggest multicam over the stacking route. Music has it’s own timecode, so it’s very easy to sync if you have reference audio.