Placing clips on timeline to correspond with media start/end times

I will be shooting a reception this weekend - supposed to last 5 hours. My plan is to take a direct audio feed from the DJ and record to an external audio recorder. The timecode on my EX-3 I will set to free-run so that when I start/stop, which will be frequent, the timecode on my clips will have some correlation to the timecode of the audio. I have found that there is very little drift between the two devices, so that is not a significant concern.

My question is, can I easily place all of my clips on the timeline so that they space out according to the media time code? I hope it is clear what I'm asking here. I'll probably have well over 100 clips, and if I have to manually set them all on the timeline according to their media start/end times, it's going to take me forever.

Let me know if this questions needs more clarification.

Best Regards,

Nathan

PluralEyes might help on this one. But if your timecode is reliable, it shouldn't be that hard. Just lay the music on the timeline first, modify the timeline timecode to start at the In point. Then for every clip you open up, just transfer the Media In timecode to the timeline and then Overwrite.

You have some method of recording sync sound, right? The audio feed from the DJ will only include the music, not ambience, not chatter. I'm not really sure of your logic here. Why is it so important to get the background music recorded? It would seem to me that in a situation like this, you'd want to have a boom or an interview mike or something. If the music is dominant and you don't have any sync dialogue, why not just lay in any music you want (or get the tracks from the DJ and use them)? Why painstakingly try to figure out what exact section of music goes over each shot?

Oh, and don't start and stop all the time. Ease off on the trigger finger and let things run a bit.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks Derek-

I've got to be there for 5 hours - I really can't let things run for that long - none of these things are impossible, but I don't have enough SxS cards for all 5 hours, and I really don't want to have to sift through 5 continuous hours of footage. I'll need to change batteries, etc.

Yes, the audio from the DJ will not include any ambiance, but I will be recording with the on-camera mic for that and I will want to mix between the two. I can't simply mix in music "A" over the ambiance/chatter because music selection "B" might be playing in the background, and even if I did try to mix in music selection "B", it would need to sync up with the music in the ambiant sound. I COULD just use the sound from the on-camera mic, but there are times when I will want JUST the music w/o ambiance and I would like to be able to fade/mix between the two.

I can do what you suggested at the top of your response, but the part I would like to avoid is the "for every clip you open up" part. Eh... maybe it isn't as bad as I think. If I only have to do that for the clips I actually end up using I should be fine. I was just hoping that there was a way to select a clip and choose some sort of a "conform placement to media start time" command or something like that.

Perhaps I'm still not being very clear with things.

Thanks.

-Nathan

Plural eyes would do what you want as long as you feed it reasonable audio it can sync to. But you need a backup too, just in case.

[www.singularsoftware.com]

For the rest, you can sync with tod as you suggested.



www.strypesinpost.com

the problem with Puralyse is it syncs by analysing the audio.
you'd get into trouble when your camera mike is too far from the PA system,
like if you go inside.

i'm pretty sure there's an XML tool that will sort your clips according to their TC,
or at least it will SYNC clips by TC.

i think it's "sync n Link" that you can find it on the Intelligent Assistance site.
i'm a bit vague on this as the site is coming up as a harmful site on my system, so i haven't checked.
maybe wait a day?

when i've had not-too-many clips to lay out in a timeline by their source code iv;e done it manually.
a god tip is that when you hold OPTION, you can drag a timecode value from one field (the viewer) to another (the canvas)
so no boring copy / paste.

hundreds of clips might be a bit much.

if you are into shortcuts and macros you could easily program a series of repeating shortcuts that would do it all for you.

if you were to start with the first clip in the series selected in the browser, the series would be:

return (open clip into Viewer)
tab, tab (tab to Viewer TC field)

apple c (copy TC)

escape (vacate TC field)
q (move selected window to Canvas)
tab, tab (tab to Canvas TC field)

apple v (paste TC)

F10 (edit)
q (back to viewer)
Shift F (go to master clip in Browser)
down arrow (move down to next clip in Browser)

where i've left spaces are where i suspect you'd need to program in pauses.
pauses are important in programming macros,
and you really need to experiment and trial run the series before you commit to doing 100 in a row.

i use QuicKeys for this,
it comes with a 30 day free trial.


cheers,
nick

Andreas' sequenceliner [www.spherico.com] will do exactly what you asked in your first post.
It will string the video clips into a sequence where the timecode of the clips and the sequence matches.
Theoretically, you line up your video clips into a 5 hour long sequence with gaps where you stopped and started and then lay your five hour long audio track underneath and, once synced with the first clip, it should sync up with your video.
All hail Spherico Tools!

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

Andrew - thanks for pointing me to this. It looks like it is just what I need. Thanks to all of you for your helpful input.

--Nathan

Or you could use a wireless system to feed the DJ sound to your camera and avoid the post-sync issue altogether.

Yes, I've considered the wireless approach as well. I've looked at buying or renting the Sennheiser SKP 500 - I know this device will take either line or mic level. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows if the Audio Technica ATW-T1802 plug-on transmitter will also take a line-level signal...

Thanks.

Old thread I know, but Im looking for the same solution, easy-style. What about selecting all the clips in the bin and choosing Make Mutliclip Sequence? Yes, It make Multiclips with one angle, but maybe that's enough for your use?

The Audio Technica ATW-T180 is mic-level only, but you could get an inline pad (or have one made) to knock the level from line to mic.

As others have said, I think you are making way too much of this, if in editing you decide you need a clean copy of Cool & The Gang's "Celebration", download it and sync it up then.

September 28, 2010 10:27AM : "I will be shooting a reception this weekend ..."

May 29, 2011 09:25AM : "What about selecting all the clips in the bin and choosing Make Mutliclip Sequence?"

Lol ... about 8 months too late for the shoot Marcus, but IMHO you're absolutely right, that would be what I'd have done.

Cheers
Andy

Ps Love the idea of randomly resurrecting old threads ... where's that FCP X one, pretty sure theres still some time to wring some more angst out of that one :-)

Lol, yeah, 8months too late, but done mainly for our Google audience out there. I was looking for something like Avid's Autosequence, and it's right there in FCP. I'm working on a 10 camera shoot, with double system sound. I used Make Multiclip sequence to lay up cameras 1-10 over one another in in giant timeline. I then mark sections of the timeline to group. I then match frame, clear marks then mark in then shift-F each vision track from 10 - 1 , color labelling the clip in its bin. I do the same with the recorded audio. I then multiclip them together. I load that into the viewer, match up the in of the multiclip with the in point on the timeline then cut them back in over their original position in the timeline.

That's it in a nutshell. Gotta love 'Reality' TV eh?