Don Ranow

I will be shooting my first feature film using a Cannon XL2. I know that the camera works well with its own sound recording directly onto the tape or in my case, the external hard drive. I would like to still shoot and record sound onto a separate DAT for more control over the sound. So then comes the issue of Sync time code... My question is (hypothecially) if I use an external hard drive system to capture my video fromt the XL2 and have a DAT recording sound, is there a sync generator that can link the same time code from the Hard Drive system to the DAT? I haven't decided on my NLE yet, but I know that the Avid Xpress Pro has a auto sync function that will sync sound and video together based on the time code. This is clearly a much easier way to sync sound and picture together. However, if using the XL2's sound recording is just as good or better, then please let me know. I do not have any of this equipment yet, but I would like to know that whatever I'm purchasing, it will do what I need it to do. I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or feedback on this issue, as I don't see a lot of threads dedicated to this. Thanks!

Thank you all so much for your input. I look forward to many more topic postings in the future.

I'm about to produce and direct my first feature length film on the Cannon XL2. However, in researching the two Editing Softwares that I hear a lot about, I'm having difficulty choosing. I'm working on the PC, about to upgrade to Windows Vista (if that matters), with a Core 2 Duo processor (6400 @ 2.13 GHz) and I'm looking at Avid Liquid and Adobe Premiere Pro 2. I don't care about all the fancy transition effects. I will be using the basic cut to, dissolve, and fade in and fade out. I anticipate using Adobe After Effects for the CGI work in the film. So here are my concerns... I'm going to be doing a "Film Out" as well as release on DVD. I need great audio capabilities with 5.1 surround sound. Also rendering quality and rendering time issues are a concern. Color correct would be wonderful. As I stated, I've read the websites for both of these programs which are geared to make a "sale" but I need to know from practical experience from others which is the best for my particular needs. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.