time syncing audio
Hello bunnies! Do you have a recommended way to sync up audio to clients videos that is fast and efficient? Even though these jobs pay 50% more I find that the amount of time required makes me want to opt out of these jobs. Thanks!
-Danny
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Hey, Danny!
I feel you, brother! It's not the most enjoyable task in our trade, that's for sure. I usually do it manually as I don't really trust plugins to do the job, but Audition has an 'Automatic Speech Alignment' function (which again I never use) and Waves has a third party dedicated to that as well. I know Pro Tools also has a function of the sort.
I find it most efficient to just go old school with a multi-track project, where I can visually make the splits and cuts and then just drag the regions to align them. This is where the automated plug-ins may come in handy to take over that task, I just wouldn't attempt using them in rough readings with too much of a time difference between the reference and target waveforms, as some plugins will use time-shift processing to try and 'nail' the result, which you can guess will ruin a good reading most of the time.
If you try your hand at any of these options, let us know! It would be very helpful for other pros to learn from your (and our) experiments.
Cheers!
- Héctor Adolfo Ituarte (Bunny Studio QC Agent)
Thanks for the response Hector! Yeah, I think I like that method too. I was doing one the other day, and my voice had to match up to the text as it appeared on the screen, so there were no visible sound waves to line up! And no time codes. I had to manually clock it for insert points. The audio software that I use to edit is just that...AUDIO software. I can't import video. It was a royal PIA!
Awww, shucks, man!
When that is the case, I like to use either Reaper or Audition. Both have the capacity of interpreting the video file and reveal the waveform. I think it's easier/faster in Audition, as you can even rearrange the workspace to reveal the video preview window and the rest of the (multitrack) project while at it. It's actually how I check time-sync projects when doing QC, as a matter of fact.
Another way is to simply 'extract' the audio from the video file so that if your DAW of choice can't interpret the container as such, it'd be easier to have a reference waveform.
What are you editing on these days?
Hi again Hector. I'm using ableton live10. Probably not the best for audio editing. But, I know it and am comfortable and fast with it. I'm not sure I understand your comment, "Both have the capacity of interpreting the video file and reveal the waveform." If I am having to voice and sync to the text as it appears on the screen and there is no existing vo, how can the audio software interpret text and convert it to a waveform?
When there IS audio as a sample link or attachment I'm able to record or download that and import it to see the waveforms of the existing vo. But, when it's just text and I can't import video?
Also, I find it extremely challenging to make it flow naturally when having to match someone else's audio and tempo exactly. Especially since it can sometimes be someone who isn't a vo pro doing a scratch track. Many times I think it would be better to fit the video around the vo.
Hey, Danny!
I haven't used Ableton for the longest time, but if it's what works for you, by all means, don't get sidetracked with other software (unless you have time to tinker away comfortably with those options).
Ah, I get your point now... Well, I can attest that in that scenario (when there's no reference audio track or when the scratch track is just any person giving reference) it certainly becomes a bit more complicated. What I do is precisely that, just drag the video into a multitrack session in Audition and use markers for the cues provided by the captions on screen. Is it ideal or fast to do? Not really but then again you could always flag a project and ask the client for leeway in the syncing or for precise timestamps if those are more useful for you. Most clients and our support team would be glad to sort out questions in that regard for you.
Then again, for many pros, this is all too much of a hassle and not worth their time, to each their own I guess. It all depends on one's workload on any given day or one's preferences. I know many pros wouldn't touch a sync project because editing is just not their jam, but many others (like me) find them fun in the way a puzzle can be entertaining.
I'll look into ways of using Ableton Live for these sorts of cases and see what comes up! It's certainly a new skill to acquire =)
Cheers!