Audio syncing in stage setting environmnet

I'm being pulled into a last minute gig this coming Monday in an environment that I have not shot before. I'm very familiar using lavs and my external recorder (H5 Zoom), and the clap works really great to Auto align my audio, but not sure how that syncing might work if I am in a conference room environment.

I'll be shooting with a DSLR, so I will have to turn off/on the camera before the 30 minute mark about 4 or 5 times for the entire 2 hour capture, I will be tying in my external recorder to the soundboard at another AV person will be managing. I don't think the clap will be heard from the distance that I am shooting, and captured on the handheld mics that the speakers will be using on stage, plus I don't want to interrupt the speaking like that with a loud clap, so looking for ideas on how I can manage the sync for something like this.

Hello,
I would use a timecode source (recorder like zoom f8, pentacle or iPhone app) and send it to all cameras on one soundtrack (sound cable or cheap HF like rode wireless).
Then easy to change the TC in DVR and easy to sync.

I think I would look into renting a camera that can record the full scene without file breaks. One clip, one file.

Or an external recorder than can do so.

Hello,
I would use a timecode source (recorder like zoom f8, pentacle or iPhone app) and send it to all cameras on one soundtrack (sound cable or cheap HF like rode wireless).
Then easy to change the TC in DVR and easy to sync.

Thanks kindly for your advice. As this style of shoot is a first for me, much of what you said didn't make sense so I looked up this very short YouTube video...

I'm only shooting with ONE DSLR, so I'm wondering if there's a way around not using the suggested DIETY device that they are suggesting, one because of the time, budget of the shoot, and not sure I could find something like that living on an island that doesn't have the same retail support as a major city.

I just had this idea but not sure if this will work technically. What if I brought a lav and had it close to the camera, did a quieter clap, but not sure if the stage mics's have to pick up my clap if my H5 is connected to the soundboard that is in turn connected to the on stage mics, and I will be plugged into their soundboard via XLR cable.

Hi Jack,

Conferences and Seminars are our bread and butter and here are some options for you. You will however need to be able to add and subtract times at the frame level.

Make sure you have the time on your camera and audio recorder as close as possible to identical. You won't get them exactly the same without jam syncing, but even to the nearest minute will make your life a lot easier in post when you are editing.

1. The clap will work whether it is a clapper board or just your hands. When editing you line up the spike in the audio with the visual of the clap. Whatever you are doing to record the audio and video for the conference is what you do here. Tip: make sure the camera can clearly see the clap.

2. You can also set the same reference point prior to starting the actual event but after you are setup. You can have the camera and mic anywhere suitable. Note the approximate time as on the camera and audio recorder when you do this to make it easier in post.

3. When you start editing, put both the video and audio on the timeline WITH the same start point. Find the video frame where the clap is and note the time code. Do the same with the spike on the audio track. Calculate the difference between them - this is the offset you need to apply for all clips.

4. Align the clips by:
a. Select the clip where the reference point is earliest.
b. Click on the timecode at the top right of the Program window
c. Type "+" followed by the offset and return. This will move the clip and if the maths is correct then the audio will line up. For example, if the offset is 2 sec 5 frames, type "+2.05".

5. Repeat as required for additional clips with one modification. Add the offset to the start timecode of the clip and enter that as the timecode in the Program window, but WITHOUT the "+". This will move the clip to that actual timecode position.

If your DSLR starts every clip at timecode 0 then you will have a lot more work cut out for you to get the starting point for the clips. If you are recording audio with a Zoom, maybe create a marker on that at the same time as you start the video record.

On another note, I am more than a little bit cautious about stop/start recordings for a conference. How do you plan to handle the gaps in the recording? Have you also considered using your phone as a 2nd camera and making it a wide shot, particularly to cover the gap when you have to restart the DSLR.

Darryl

Hi Jack,

Conferences and Seminars are our bread and butter and here are some options for you. You will however need to be able to add and subtract times at the frame level.

Make sure you have the time on your camera and audio recorder as close as possible to identical. You won't get them exactly the same without jam syncing, but even to the nearest minute will make your life a lot easier in post when you are editing.

1. The clap will work whether it is a clapper board or just your hands. When editing you line up the spike in the audio with the visual of the clap. Whatever you are doing to record the audio and video for the conference is what you do here. Tip: make sure the camera can clearly see the clap.

2. You can also set the same reference point prior to starting the actual event but after you are setup. You can have the camera and mic anywhere suitable. Note the approximate time as on the camera and audio recorder when you do this to make it easier in post.

3. When you start editing, put both the video and audio on the timeline WITH the same start point. Find the video frame where the clap is and note the time code. Do the same with the spike on the audio track. Calculate the difference between them - this is the offset you need to apply for all clips.

4. Align the clips by:
a. Select the clip where the reference point is earliest.
b. Click on the timecode at the top right of the Program window
c. Type "+" followed by the offset and return. This will move the clip and if the maths is correct then the audio will line up. For example, if the offset is 2 sec 5 frames, type "+2.05".

5. Repeat as required for additional clips with one modification. Add the offset to the start timecode of the clip and enter that as the timecode in the Program window, but WITHOUT the "+". This will move the clip to that actual timecode position.

If your DSLR starts every clip at timecode 0 then you will have a lot more work cut out for you to get the starting point for the clips. If you are recording audio with a Zoom, maybe create a marker on that at the same time as you start the video record.

On another note, I am more than a little bit cautious about stop/start recordings for a conference. How do you plan to handle the gaps in the recording? Have you also considered using your phone as a 2nd camera and making it a wide shot, particularly to cover the gap when you have to restart the DSLR.

Darryl

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience like this. Greatly appreciated. It's going to take a while for me to digest this and figure it all out, but I'm sure I will, so thank you. My only question right now is are you saying that this will work from the audio that I capture from my XY mic at the top of the H5 recorder, and not tapping into the soundboard that the AV technician says I can hook into with an XLR? HE even offered to send me a recorded file as an option from his soundboaerd. I've not used that XY mic yet, just the lavs so not sure how echoy that mic option would be in a large conference room setting.

So I'm happy to report that despite all my concerns around audio syncing in the environment mentioned, I believe all the clapping from the audience helped because Da Vinci was able to Auto align all four of my clips without an issue. Thanks for everyone's help on this.