Sync Sound with Non Linear Editting Systems

[Scott Pickering]

I have digital files, like a 16 bit or 24 bit Wave file for sound, and want to attach it to my video. I'd be using Premiere Pro (newest version). How does one get frame accurate sound sync using non linear editing systems? I'm wondering with a wave file, how do you select a portion of that file and sync it to its exact frame to start?

 

Back in the old days one would use a linear video system, punch in your in points on both source and master. Then it adds the audio to the tape to the frame you want it to start at. And you can play around with it till you match up the frame and audio to where you need it.

 

Keep in mind there is no slate audio clap board on my files, so I can't match it from that. I really need to play around till it looks synced up.

 

So again how do you do this on non linear editing programs? I still might end up doing the work on a linear video system to make it easier if I can't figure this out.

[Christopher Santucci]

The recent versions of PP have an auto sync feature that matches up waveforms of audio files and audio that accompanies the video clips. I haven't used it, but I know it's there. I generally just sync manually by eye and ear. If your footage is MOS and you have no reference for sync, you'll obviously have to sync by eye based on some specific action/sound in the footage. If that's the case, you can look at the waveform to find a nice high peak, put a marker there and then look for the accompanying visual and put a marker there so you can synch them easily.

[Vital Butinar]

It's very easy just drop your footage onto a timeline (with audio of course) and drop your audio files on another audio track then select both footage and audio and right click synchronize and select by sync by audio.

If your audio contains some of the same audio in the footage it should sync up.

 

Usually works fine unless nothing matches or if one of the audio tracks is really degraded or just bad.

 

Good luck. :)

[Gregg MacPherson]

"Back in the old days" of film editing if one didn't have a slate and the sound was grossly longer than the picture one would rely on one's familiarity with the material, notes, to know what the content was, then shift the sound to roughly the right place, then the actual syncing up is not that hard, and the accurate sync has some easy identifiers, like when the lips go "p".......So what's changed...? With digital are people shooting so much that they have no sense of familiarity with their own material.....Progress is such a cruel master.... :)..... is there a little face for mild sarcasm...?

[Brian Drysdale]

A editor friend says that on some productions they have over 100:1 shooting ratios and about 2 weeks to edit, this includes some TV dramas..

 

You can still use the lip matching method on a NLE, not all productions have single system sound on the camera, although timecode is used on productions that have the funds for a quality audio recorder