syncing software
 

what are the choices for software that syncs audio from a Zoom (or whatever) with the audio from the camera's mic?

is it foolish and miserably time consuming to try and sync without software or slate?

I just synced up about 4 hours of interviews with sound from my zoom h4n. this was without a slate (other than a hand clap) and the shoot contained dozens of 12 minute or less clips. Took about 4 hours. (as we kept the zoom running continuously, much of the wasted time was in just finding the rough start points for each clip. I think using a slate on each clip would have cut the total time in half). once the clip was located...syncing up was quite simple and quick. I didn't find it miserable. I did have to adjust the speed of the zoom footage slightly (99.9% of normal)...

Barry

Pluraleyes. Fairly cheap and it's quick.

Like Rick Says,

Pluraleyes. I have done a couple of plays of over two hours in length, with three cams and a Zoom H4. Didn't take longer than about half an hour to sort everything.

Avey

Do they have for PP on PC?

Assuming that you mean Pluraleyes on a Windows PC then they just announced support for Sony Vegas Pro. Singular Software do say on their forum that they are planning to support as many NLEs as possible.

This speed change is not necessary if you are careful to avoid some quirks in Final Cut Pro. And it's better not to do it because it results in extra audio processing and potential degradation of quality.

The basic idea is to use an Easy Setup that matches the frame rate of your clips. This blog post/video explains all:
25 Hour Day: DSLR Dual-System Audio: The 99.9% Solution

That's not entirely true. It is quite possible for two audio recorders to drift from one another unless they are synced to the same word clock. Period.

However, the short length of 5D2 clips typically limits how bad that drift might become, especially if you get the 30 vs. 29.97 right and you record both at 44.1.

That said, they can and sometimes will drift depending on the recorders.

True, but such clock drift is rarely so large as to need a 99.9% speed change, and that particular value is almost certainly the result of an FCP setup problem.

Audio recorder clock drift is not usually a problem over the short duration of a 5D clip. We have measured the Zoom H4n that was mentioned and it will hold sync to within one video frame for 100 minutes.

I'm basically agreeing with you, and I said so in my post, but other people need to understand these things because there is a lot of misinformation on this topic on the Net. And your test is really only valid for that specific H4n and whatever specific camera you used. It doesn't necessarily apply to two other units of the same model even. Two H4n's can easily drift from each other, in fact two top-of-the-line 744t's can drift from one another unless properly locked to the same clock, that's why all that expensive gear exists. But agreed, on a 12 minute clip, especially if synced at the midpoint of the clip, shouldn't normally be a problem. I record a lot of music, and in those situations, where there are long runs of time and where the audio channels themselves might get mixed, drift and phase often become significant issues. But on a 12-minute clip where the audio is not being mixed, meh.

Bruce, thanks for the link to your blog post, such a basic element of editing 5d that I've missed up until now... (And thanks as well for PluralEyes, so great.)

In the blog post, your preset has the field dominance set to none. Though I understand that the 5D footage is progressive, if you drop a 5D clip into a fresh timeline, FCP wants to change the dominance to Upper. I've noticed a decreased amount of stair-stepping with Upper selected. I've also read numerous posts suggesting that upper be used. Is "none" in fact the correct field dominance?