Sync Longer Single Audio with multiple video clips

[Marc Wielage]

I would do it all by eye and use the camera audio as a guide when available.

I worked on a team with two other people that synced up 22 cameras and 300 hours of concert material for the ROLLING STONES: SHINE A LIGHT concert, so believe me, it can be done. If the cameras stopped and started — which, in hindsight, is a very bad idea — then this will complicate syncing because you’ll have to make educated guesses as to when and where they stopped and started. It does help if all cameras are using common timecode, but I’m guessing this did not happen on this project. Ideally, the cameras and sound timecode should all be identical. When this doesn’t happen, then you have to do it by eye and just know the material. If it’s just a half hour show, that’s a piece of cake.

[Glenn Sakatch]

I agree…shouldn’t be too hard, but you will have to just sit there and sync stuff up.

Put your audio down on the timeline, with all your camera 1 video, in order it was shot, above it.

Select all the clips, and move them until the first video is in sync…then deselect that clip, and move the remaining clips until the second video is in sync….keep going until all of camera 1 is in sync. Repeat for Camera 2.

If you listen to the camera takes, you should be able to get a pretty good idea of where they are in the concert…song 1, song 2, etc. That will get you half way there right away.

Its not a perfect scenario, but within an hour or two, I would think you would be in sync.

Not everything can be solved with an “auto” button.

Unfortunately, when there isn’t any production workflow discussion before the shoot happens, the post guy ends up paying…(hopefully through a clients wallet)

Glenn

[Marc Wielage]

[Glenn Sakatch] “Unfortunately, when there isn’t any production workflow discussion before the shoot happens, the post guy ends up paying…(hopefully through a clients wallet)”
This is sadly true. And in production, the crap generally rolls down hill and winds up in post’s lap. Particularly with sync issues.

[Andrew Hart]

Hi,

I’m tamping with similar problems. Here’s what I came through to.

I can successfully sync in PluralEyes, but as you also found out, it wasn’t possible to import the results as XML. Here’s the workaround:

1) Export the timeline from PluralEyes as Premiere XML.

2) Assuming you have Premiere, open the XML file in Premiere. You should see the sync’d files come up on the timeline, like normal.

3) From here, export the timeline as FCPXML.

4) That XML file can be read by Resolve. It may ask you to locate the source files on your disk, and for that me that means pointing out the Video directory, then the Audio directory.

NOW –> What I will try to figure out next is how to make the link between the video files and the external sound file “permanent” in Resolve. I think this is do-able, but I haven’t worked out how quite yet.

If anyone’s a Resolve wizard and can tell us how we sync these files that are nicely lined up in the Editor’s timeline, that’s the final step.

:A)>

Andrew

[Caio Rubens]

Hi, I researched a solution for this and found nothing. The auto-sync in Resolve only sync one video file with an audio file. But it’s possible! For this reason I’m posting here (although it is a little late). I found the solution in DaVinci Resolve 12.5 using Multicam, but you need to have standardized metadata in the files.

If you have set the “Angle” of each camera in the “Metadata” window:

1) Select all clips, right-click and select “New Multicam Clips Using Selected Clips”;

2) In the the new window you can set the name of Multicam Clip, the frame rate and set the “Angle Sync” for “Sound” to use the audio waveform to sync;

3) In “Angle Name” use “Metadata – Angle”. It’s only to define a name to the cameras in Source Viewer;

4) Check the “Detect clips for the same camera” and set “Detecting using” to “Metadata – Angle” too. In this way the program will to recognize the diferent files of the same camera;

5) Click “Create” and Resolve will analise the clips and create a Multiclip file;

6) Put the Multiclip in a timeline and set the Source Viewer (clicking in the film icon at the bottom left) to show multiclips.

Works better if you have only one audio track.

You can’t have the camera angles in different tracks instantly, but you can have the cuts and make adjustments and organize you clips in timeline after make the first one edit.

Sorry for my bad english. I hope to help.

[Marc Wielage]

I don’t think Auto-Sync is the answer. The reality is for any multiple-camera project, you have to deal with a degree of doing it by hand. It’s not that hard, and if it’s long takes (like a concert), it’s very simple to do.

I was one of several people who worked on a long-form 22-camera Rolling Stones concert a few years ago, and we had about 300 hours of material to go through. It all got done, and everything was precisely in sync. Roughly half of it was done completely by eye — no timecode, no nothing, just watching and listening. You develop a knack for it over time.

[Glenn Sakatch]

There are many aspects to this job where doing it “the old fashioned way” is quicker than fighting with an “automatic” workflow ….that takes hours to figure out, test and implement.

I once spent 3 days with a fellow on one of these forums talking about why his method of transcoding material in Resolve wasn’t working. (timecode wasn’t coming across properly because of the camera format). He was refusing to just do the transcode in Avid because it was going to take longer. After a few days of back and forth troubleshooting, I pointed out to him that if he had just done it in Avid in the first place …he would have finished it on that first day.

Glenn

[Adam Berch]

HI,

I was just wondering if you found a way to work with PluralEyes in Resolve after it syncs in PluralEyes.

I’m having the same issue. I did what you said. After PluralEyes, I opened the XML into Premiere Pro, then exported it as an XML. Then I imported into Resolve and it’s perfectly synced.

How can I make a multi clip in a Resolve timeline so everything is still in sync so I can edit it as a multicam?

Thanks in advance