Touching Up the Sync Results
PluralEyes 3.5 has “touch-up sync” features that help you move unsynchronized clips, or groups of unsynced clips, into place. These features use audio-comparison algorithms similar to the algorithms used in the automatic syncing.
All you need to do is indicate a possible partner — and optionally an approximate location — for a clip. PluralEyes can often do the work of moving the clip to precisely the right location.
Sync a pair of clips
The easiest way to sync an unsynced clip is using the Synchronize Pair of Clips option.
- Play through other tracks to find a reference clip that should sync with the unsynced clip. For instance, find a clip that was recorded at the same time as the unsynced clip.
- Click the unsynced clip, then Command-click the clip from the other track so both clips are selected.
- Choose Sync> Synchronize Pair of Clips.
- PluralEyes moves one or both of the clips so they are in the best place relative to each other, and marks them as “synchronized.”
If this procedure does not result in the unsynced clip being correctly synced, you can try marking the clip as unsynchronized, then repeating the procedure with a different reference clip. Choose a reference clip whose audio content is as similar as possible to the unsynced clip.
Sync a pair of clips with a sync point
If Synchronize Pair of Clips does not work, you can try syncing the unsynced clip with a different procedure.
You will manually move the unsynced clip into approximately the right location, and choose the Snap Clip to Optimal Location option to place the clip more accurately. This command uses audio comparison to find the best location for a clip within a 5-second window.
This approach is more time-consuming than using the Synchronize Pair of Clips feature; however, it works in more difficult cases. It is sometimes problematic with a short clip duration, like a few seconds.
Here are the steps:
- Click the 2-Up button in the toolbar.
- Select the track containing the unsynced clip, and move the playhead to somewhere in that clip, so the clip is displayed in the Viewer. In the example below, the unsynced clip is the Camera 2 track.
- Select another camera track to display it in the Viewer. In our example, the Camera 1 track is also shown in the Viewer, although its content is not yet displayed.
- Scrub the the unsynchronized clip to find a moment that is distinctive in some way. In our example, the Camera 2 unsynced clip shows the guitarist throwing his head backwards. TIP: To move the playhead across a clip, press Left Arrow or Right Arrow to move one frame. Add the Shift key to move in blocks of frames.
- Find the same distinctive moment in the footage from another camera or audio recorder. Pause the playhead there. In our example, the playhead is paused in the Camera 1 clip when the guitarist throws his head backwards.
- Drag the unsynced clip so the distinctive moment is in view in both Viewer panes. In the example below, you can see the guitarist is throwing his head backwards in both Viewer panes.
- Click the unsynced clip, then Command-click the clip from the other camera so both clips are selected.
- Choose Sync> Snap Clip to Optimal Location. The unsynchronized clip will move slightly if PluralEyes can find a better location for it within 2.5 seconds before or after its current location.