Post question? How do isos get synched up in post?

[Derek H]

This may be basic knowledge but I find this question always coming back to me:

When the edit gets handed over to the post sound department how do the sound editors sync up iso tracks from location when all that is included in the export from editorial is a 2 or 1 track mix?

I guess I'm assuming that the isos are not imported in editorial and that the original time of day timecode has been wiped out and a linear start to end timecode layed in.

Is the original EDL timecode still present in some sort of metadata?  I've always been curious how this works...

Surely someone here can enlighten me?

[Richard Lightstone, CAS]

The Post Sound Editors import from the original DVD-Rams, CF Cards or whatever Master media the Mixer hands in. ProTools will import all of the mix and Iso tracks recorded with each take and the respective meta-data.

The Sound Editors also import the picture editors OMF track as a guide for cutting. All tracks recorded by the Production Sound Mixer (Mix + ISO's) are part of the final Pro-Tools session taken to the dub stage.

In the old days we used to call this re-conforming the audio tracks. It's way simpler and an automated process with Pro Tools.

[Philip Perkins]

A very common path with this process is via an app called Titan (http://www.synchroarts.com/products/home.php?ID=titan).  This app handles a number of the problems that come up from various filenaming etc schemes and other issues.  Not cheap, but many sound editors swear by it.  There are some other apps used for this as well--Virtual Katy, Edit Trace, and some DAWs have their own methods (PT, Pyramix).  For smaller, lower budg productions, the editor or assistant editor will sometimes do the MT conform in FCP and then export all those tracks as part of an OMF to audio post.

phil p

[Marc Wielage]

Also some very good info and advice in John Purcell's book Dialogue Editing for Motion Pictures: A Guide to the Invisible Art. It reviews several of the options out there like Titan, Virtual Katy, and so on.

Assuming the editor and assistant editor have done their work, all the original sound TC info will be embedded in the project as metadata, with sound roll (file) numbers, shoot dates, etc.

--Marc W.

[Actualsizeaudio]

The Sound Editors also import the picture editors OMF track as a guide for cutting. All tracks recorded by the Production Sound Mixer (Mix + ISO's) are part of the final Pro-Tools session taken to the dub stage.

If the OMF is is made from an Avid, or if the file is an AAF, the original TC comes through from the video file/tape . The sound editor can right click a region in Pro Tools, and if there is a matching TC, and one other piece of matching metadata, like roll or scene, then Pro tools will display "matches" for that sound file. The post editor can then expand that 2 track mix out to the multi track isos recorded by the mixer.

I've used this method to print a 1 or 2 track reference mix to camera, that the editor cuts to, and then I can expand to all of my isos very quickly. this also works if the editor wants to use your mix recorded on your multitrack machine, and you want to then use all of your iso tracks in post.

This does not work with OMFs that come out of Final Cut. It fails to pass on any metadata of the original sound clip (sadly).

[greg sextro]

A lot of times, it's simply done manually.  no TC needed - just lining up by waveforms...

-greg-

[Mark LeBlanc]

On my last show, I cut a deal with the Production Company.  The main drive from telecine would come to me on set with the master quicktime movies and cinema tools database.  I would use the timecode meta data imported into FCP to Merge Production Audio to Picture then save out a new "Master" quicktime file that had all my production audio including ISO tracks sync'd and ready for editing. Recently heard back from editorial and they love the fact that they now can hear all the clean ISO tracks in addition to the mix track.  They simply mute/disable the tracks they won't use, but FCP will still export everything as an OMF for the Post Audio team to make the final judgement.  I could sync the prior days business while G&E were setting up for the first shot of the day.. Didn't hurt I cut a separate deal with them for the service!!

[Rick Reineke]

In  lower budget productions on DV cams and the like, many are using 'Plural Eyes' or 'Dual Eyes'. Less time consuming then lining up waveforms manually if there's a huge number of scenes and take files.

[Actualsizeaudio]

On my last show, I cut a deal with the Production Company.  The main drive from telecine would come to me on set with the master quicktime movies and cinema tools database.  I would use the timecode meta data imported into FCP to Merge Production Audio to Picture then save out a new "Master" quicktime file that had all my production audio including ISO tracks sync'd and ready for editing. Recently heard back from editorial and they love the fact that they now can hear all the clean ISO tracks in addition to the mix track.  They simply mute/disable the tracks they won't use, but FCP will still export everything as an OMF for the Post Audio team to make the final judgement.  I could sync the prior days business while G&E were setting up for the first shot of the day.. Didn't hurt I cut a separate deal with them for the service!!

This is very cool. I wish more editors were like that. I gave the editors on a project recently 8 channel quicktime movies synced up with AuxTC app. They complained there were too many tracks to edit with.

Seriously, they fucking complained. some editors are steadfast in their intense lazyness...

[Marc Wielage]

This is very cool. I wish more editors were like that. I gave the editors on a project recently 8 channel quicktime movies synced up with AuxTC app. They complained there were too many tracks to edit with.

They need to understand that picture editing and dialog editing are totally different functions. They need to hire a separate guy just to do the dialog assembly, editing, and clean-up.

--Marc W.

[Actualsizeaudio]

They have no intention of doing the dialog editing, they just feel like editing with 8 tracks of audio is cumbersome and clutters up their timeline. The problem is they don't think it though to the moment when the dialog editing does need to happen. This is why life after Pro Tools' match tracks to timecode function is so much easier then it was before; and why as an audio post engineer I hate Final Cut Pro so much (match to tracks doesn't work).

They need to understand that picture editing and dialog editing are totally different functions. They need to hire a separate guy just to do the dialog assembly, editing, and clean-up.

--Marc W.