Shooting a music video... Audio???

Started by aaphotog, July 02, 2013, 03:08:44 AM

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aaphotog

How is everyone handling their audio?
I will be shooting a music video in a couple of days(that I'd like to shoot completely in raw) and was wondering how everyone is syncing their audio???
what is the easiest method? I have a studio recorded song that will be used as the audio, but when placing the video clips, how would I go about syncing correctly? by eye and ear?

mageye

5DMKII | 500D | KOMPUTERBAY 32GB Professional 1000x |Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II | Samyang 35mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC | Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III | Zoom H2 (4CH. audio recorder) | Mac OS X 10.9.2 | Photoshop CC | After Effects CC | Final Cut Pro 7

aaphotog

Quote from: mageye on July 02, 2013, 03:38:53 AM
Clapper board ;)
so I'd have to take like my iphone and record audio for each take(including the clap and the music in the backrgound). Then sync in the premiere timeline the iphone audio, the studio track, and the video?

mageye

I use a clapper board (very cheap thing that a friend bought me years ago). I use this because it has a definite audio/visual cue from which everything can be synchronised.

What I do is use a sound recorder (can be anything really but I have a Zoom H2) set at 48Khz 16bit and start the sound recording BEFORE starting the RAW (video) recording. The clapper board (or even your hands!(or iphone if it has synchronised audio/visual cue) MUST be in the video frame at the beginning of your RAW recording. The clap MUST be clearly audible on the separate sound recording.

If you get it right you will be able to perfectly synchronise the audio to the visual.

And yes you would have to have some command over the musicians because it's likely that you will not get the procedure right every time. Believe me it can be a lot of things to remember when you also have the exposure (and many other things) to take into account too. Ask the musicians to kindly understand that it has to be done this way. You might want to ask for some assistance with this.

Basically the whole process is tedious/laborious but it's the only way I know how to do it and when done properly it works perfectly.

Trust me it's how it was done in the old days. It's old skool but it's also tried and tested and ...

IT WORKS!

GOOD LUCK!!! ;D
5DMKII | 500D | KOMPUTERBAY 32GB Professional 1000x |Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II | Samyang 35mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC | Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III | Zoom H2 (4CH. audio recorder) | Mac OS X 10.9.2 | Photoshop CC | After Effects CC | Final Cut Pro 7

aaphotog

Quote from: mageye on July 02, 2013, 05:05:56 AM
I use a clapper board (very cheap thing that a friend bought me years ago). I use this because it has a definite audio/visual cue from which everything can be synchronised.

What I do is use a sound recorder (can be anything really but I have a Zoom H2) set at 48Khz 16bit and start the sound recording BEFORE starting the RAW (video) recording. The clapper board (or even your hands!(or iphone if it has synchronised audio/visual cue) MUST be in the video frame at the beginning of your RAW recording. The clap MUST be clearly audible on the separate sound recording.

If you get it right you will be able to perfectly synchronise the audio to the visual.

And yes you would have to have some command over the musicians because it's likely that you will not get the procedure right every time. Believe me it can be a lot of things to remember when you also have the exposure (and many other things) to take into account too. Ask the musicians to kindly understand that it has to be done this way. You might want to ask for some assistance with this.

Basically the whole process is tedious/laborious but it's the only way I know how to do it and when done properly it works perfectly.

Trust me it's how it was done in the old days. It's old skool but it's also tried and tested and ...

IT WORKS!

GOOD LUCK!!! ;D
I just purchased a clap board for the ipad with a bunch of features
Thanks for the tips.
Do you happen to know if the 5d3 has timecode capabilities when shooting raw?
the clap board that I downloaded can use time code from camera(so it states)

mageye

Well that's something I can't answer. I have no idea if that's possible it would certainly be a good thing if it does ;) ;D. Sorry! :(
5DMKII | 500D | KOMPUTERBAY 32GB Professional 1000x |Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II | Samyang 35mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC | Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III | Zoom H2 (4CH. audio recorder) | Mac OS X 10.9.2 | Photoshop CC | After Effects CC | Final Cut Pro 7

dandeliondandy

Be careful with iPad clappers. I was working on a music video that tried to use a clapper app and it ended up becoming way more trouble than it was worth.

Regardless, good luck!

aaphotog

Quote from: dandeliondandy on July 07, 2013, 03:49:48 AM
Be careful with iPad clappers. I was working on a music video that tried to use a clapper app and it ended up becoming way more trouble than it was worth.

Regardless, good luck!
Care to elaborate?

3pointedit

Don't forget that you can tail slate if it's to hard to clap at the front of shot. That is the camera may be obstructed before the shot starts, in which case the convention is to hold the slate upside down at the end of the take and clapper.
550D on ML-roids

Aussie

Another method that works really well is (prior to the shoot) create a QuickTime movie file that can be be used for production sound and visual sync playback off an iPad. In your NLE create a large, readable visual "burn-in" of the timecode of the final mix audio Wave file you will use in the edit. Use this movie for on set sound playback and camera slating reference. In other words, you can use it as a "smart slate" equivalent. Simply point the camera at it before the start of the track or anywhere throughout and it makes for an instant sound/picture relationship. In post, syncing sound, picture and creating grouped clips is a breeze. No need to figure out which take covers what part of the song, the visual timecode tells you to the frame . . .

Midphase

Welcome to "real" filmmaking, where audio is recorded separate from video (yes...believe it or not that's how the big boys do it too).

First of all, I would tend to second the opinions that a digital clapper on your iPad isn't always the best option. There is nothing more plain, basic and effective than two pieces of wood (or plastic) smacking against each other in a very visible and loud way. When you're in post and you watch the sound wave, that snap is going to be an instantly recognizable peak which you can get to quickly vs. the iPad beep which I'm not sure how loud it can get. Also with an iPad, make sure you don't have any reflections on the glass surface which might make it impossible in post to tell when the "clap" actually occurred.

Secondly...no TC on raw footage...and even in h.264 it's not that useable really (since you don't have a master sync generator).

Thirdly, you're shooting a music video, which means that you have two things to worry about. You need to play an audibly loud music track for the talent to lip sync to, and you need to record that track back with a way to sync it with the video so that you're not pulling your hair out in post. If this is one of those music videos where the talent isn't really moving/singing to the music, then technically you could get away without recording any audio and then assembling the pretty images in post while cutting to the music....something to think about.


AnotherDave

Until they figure out a way to jam sync TC on ML Raw... you've got to use a TC generator.

"good, old-fashioned clapper" isn't going to cut it at all.  You need a smart slate that is generating TC, and YES this CAN be done with an iPad.

The $24.99 slate app for iOS generates TC and even outputs a TC single that you can record with your recorder.

You simply film the slate's TC and when processing in Resolve or in AE you set the start TC to what is written on the slate.  BAM! Recorded music is automatically synced with your video (in Resolve).

Happy shooting!

AnotherDave

Also, you could play the song in mono on one channel, and on channel 2 be playing the TC sync track out to the iPad app.  You'd only have to remember to shoot the slate at the start or end of each take.

Aussie

Did anyone read my post . . ? It's incredibly simple and it works perfectly . . .

Midphase

Yes Aussie, I think it's clever although specific to music videos where the audio will be later replaced with the song.

Maybe people didn't understand your description? Perhaps you might consider making a quick YouTube demonstration video?