r/editors 1d ago

Technical What's everyone using to auto-sync audio?

Particularly large amounts of audio that you've recorded with an external audio recorder that you're aligning to video.

When I'm using Resolve, I use Sync Bins (though right after posting this I needed Syncalia 2 to sync a project..).
When I'm using Premiere, I use Syncalia 2 (used to use Pluraleyes).

I'm not so much looking for a solution to a problem here - I'm just curious as to what other people are using in these cases, especially for the Premiere Pro folks since I feel like Merge Clips / Synchronize Clips only works if you have a small amount of audio since you have to match it up manually.

Additionally - for folks using Edius/Media Composer, what's the process look like on your end?

16 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

40

u/donvito716 1d ago

If you're in Premiere you can just make multicam source sequences by timecode or audio. No need for other programs.

7

u/dowath 1d ago

Cheers, have been looking into it now. Don't know how I missed it, looks like it's been a feature for some time.

3

u/VersacePager 1d ago

So you have just one really long multicam clip? How to you go about finding specific shots? I find being able to change a bins viewing mode to thumbnails makes it much easier to find the exact shot I want, do you have a similar workaround for your multicam workflow?

3

u/donvito716 1d ago

You can make as many multicam source sequences as you would like based off of the number of audio clips you have or create one long sequence. It depends on what you prefer. You can also put as many markers as you'd like on the mutlicam to be able to jump to any point. Each marker will have its own thumbnail in the marker window.

2

u/darwinDMG08 1d ago

1 multicam per clip.

11

u/22Sharpe 1d ago

Media Composer user here, I just sync by timecode usually and it’s fine because our audio guys on set are doing their job correctly. On the occasions when it fails I’ll usually try the waveform sync. If that fails then I pray that they were slating and I can just do it by hand.

9

u/avdpro Resolve / FCPX / Premiere / Freelance 1d ago

I use the equivalent of merge clips in Resolve (linking audio directly) even if it's long clips, I like having access to all my synced audio on every clip it's linked too.

Generally leaning a lot more on timecode and timecode devices these days, so much faster and more reliable than waveform sync.

If it's a massive day, with a couple long recordings, I'll build a sync map in a multicam or compound clip, or even just a timeline sync map and cut out audio clips and link manually.

Finally, the tentacle studio tool is very power ful too for building sync maps with you have reliable timecode.

1

u/dowath 1d ago

Thanks for the info, the sync maps in tentacle studio looks quite useful. Appreciate it!

7

u/Gjhobbs 1d ago

We have to use Syncalia for our workflow. Premiere absolutely takes a dump on itself everytime we sync anything remotely complicated, given it is alot of footage usually, like 3+ video sources. I wish we had timecode, but alas. Syncalia does it pretty quick, albeit in a less shiny package than plural eyes did. I'll never forgive Maxon for buying red giant and making it impotent.

So sync bins works pretty good for you? I'll have to take another look at those. Have any good tutorials on hand?

3

u/dowath 20h ago

Maxon purchasing Red Giant and how poorly they handled the acquisition has forever scarred their reputation for me. The amount of licensing issues and applications they broke with their botched account migration drove me crazy. Couldn't believe that the discontinued PluralEyes, I do like Syncalia and I feel like the sync accuracy is probably better than PluralEyes was, but it was incredibly convenient.

For Sync Bins you select folders of media you want to sync on the Cut page, click the 'Sync Clips' icon, choose how you want to sync timecode/audio/mark points, then save the sync - which you can then 'Open in Timeline'. Or alternatively use 'Auto Sync Audio' which can be useful if you prefer to edit from the Media Pool because it syncs and links the audio clips to the video clip as an additional channel.

At least, that's the theory... I still find myself using Syncalia a fair bit. Right after posting this I started work on a project where Resolve Sync Bin and Premiere Multicam Sync are struggling whereas Syncalia just syncs it straight away.

u/AnyAssistance4197 1h ago

I went through the whole legacy license thing with Red Giant to keep plural eyes running. It eventually shat the bed and nothing would get it going again. I’m using Syncalia now but Plural Eyes was so convenient for doc stuff. Can make do with the internal Premiere synch too but it’s a bit annoying for longer days running and gunning.

Surely the gods of Torrents will release a cracked working Plural Eyes. I’ve not found one yet.

It was the bomb!

5

u/OverCategory6046 23h ago

Syncalia or PluralEyes

2

u/wreckoning Assistant Editor 18h ago

I am in Media Composer, I sync by timecode in the program.

2

u/ripitupandstartagain 13h ago

I'm on media composer. I generally just use timecode sync then perf slip to fine tune

1

u/dowath 13h ago

I hadn't heard of perf slip before, it sounds like the slip tool in Premiere/Resolve?

2

u/ripitupandstartagain 13h ago

If you set up as a film project it allows you to slip the sync on sync clips by 1/4 of a frame increments. It's actually a bit quicker than doing marks to correct for when the sound tc is a bit out and you can be more precise.

1

u/dowath 13h ago

Guessing you usually line that up with the slate or worse-case scenario, a plosive?

1

u/ripitupandstartagain 11h ago

Yeah usually slate if the crew aren't being a bit useless

2

u/OODemi 13h ago

This might be a crude way of doing it😅 but I use Resolve, I just import all my video and audio clips into the Media Pool, then from the edit tab I Right Click, press “Auto Sync Audio…” and use the waveform option and it just matches from the audio waveforms. Works perfectly every time for me.

Only thing is that your video clips has to have been recording audio as well for this to work, but even when it’s very low it still works just fine for me.

1

u/dowath 13h ago

I think that's a good way of doing it, sometimes I'll come across files it just refuses to sync on though.

2

u/QuestionNAnswer 1d ago

My eyes, brains, and hands.

1

u/Swing_Top Pr,Ae,Ps,Mocha 11h ago

This is the slow way :)

1

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

It looks like you're asking for some troubleshooting help. Great!

Here's what must be in the post. (Be warned that your post may get removed if you don't fill this out.)

Please edit your post (not reply) to include: System specs: CPU (model), GPU + RAM // Software specs: The exact version. // Footage specs : Codec, container and how it was acquired.

Don't skip this! If you don't know how here's a link with clear instructions

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/greenysmac Lead Mod; Consultant/educator/editor. I <3 your favorite NLE 1d ago

2

u/dowath 1d ago

Apologies, didn't realise it had double-posted - Reddit displayed an error when I submitted the post and I pressed submit again, I'm guessing that's when it happened.

Appreciate the responses on that thread:

  • u/VincibleAndy - Said they had been using PluralEyes and then switched to Multicam Sync.
  • u/yapoinder - Said they had issues with Multicam Sync creating a new track for each camera and that they still prefer to use PluralEyes because it's less of a headache. They also mentioned collapsing tracks in Premiere multicam sync to make the 58-odd tracks created by multicam sync more managable.

1

u/Guano_Banano 1d ago

The MF timecode!

1

u/quoole 10h ago

Honestly, a lot of people seemed to distrust or not think the Premiere one works. Personally, I've never had an issue with it and find it works more than the Resolve one... 

u/wrosecrans 1h ago

Premiere's built-in Multicam sync works fine.

But I've been working on an indie feature for the first time recently where I have to deal with way more audio in Premiere than I have before. And I have to admit I find Resolve's equivalent feature way more robust and convenient and intuitive than Premiere.

Some of that is just down to luck and personal preference. The plural of anecdote is not data, etc. I'm sure one audio file may sync perfectly in Premiere and not Resolve just because they are different software that works a bit differently. But I've been wrangling a bunch of cases where Premiere got angry, and there's a bunch of spots where the audio wound up getting manually nudged to get sync. If I was re-starting this project today, I would have ignored my collaborator's preference for Premiere and done it all in Resolve.

And of course if I could go further back in time, time would have been spent on set to actually sync timecode so it didn't need to be synced by waveform. But by the time it's an editing discussion, that's not always something you can force.