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Sync Options
- General strategy for syncing
- Clips are in chronological order
- Level audio
- Use markers
- Try really hard
General strategy for syncing
First try to sync with none of the options checked. The Sync Options will say (none) in that case. If some clips don't sync and you are sure they should, consider whether the following apply to your project:
- If the clips in each of the tracks are in chronological order, choose that option. This gives PluralEyes more information to work with and it will be faster and more reliable.
- If the audio varies a lot between the clips, choose the Level audio option. PluralEyes will do some extra processing to compensate. The results are almost always better but it takes a little longer.
- If you don't have too many clips, try the Try really hard option. This tells PluralEyes to do a lot of extra processing. It can often resolve difficult sync situations but it can take a lot of time, especially if there are a lot of clips that do not sync with each other. But if you don't mind waiting, try it out.
- If you know that a pair of clips should sync and you also know some approximate sync points, choose the Use markers option. It is similar to doing a manual sync but is easier because the markers do not have to be as precisely located.
Clips are in chronological order
It is common in the workflow for live event recording to record and capture several clips in the order in which they occurred. When they are added to the timeline, they remain in order. If you have arranged your clips in the pluraleyes sequence this way, it helps PluralEyes to tell it that. It can process the clips faster and more reliably, and will ensure that the synced clips remain in order. If you aren't sure if your clips are in order, do not choose this option because if incorrectly applied it will almost certainly lead to a bad sync.
Level audio
This option is useful when the audio levels vary a lot between clips. This can happen, for example, in an interview where the on-camera mic is close to one person talking and the audio from the other person comes from a lavalier mic. If you choose this option, PluralEyes will do some extra processing to compensate. It is almost always safe to use this option, but it takes a little longer.
Use markers
Use this option when you know two clips should sync and you can identify an approximate sync point. A sync point can be one of usual events that are used for a manual sync: a camera flash or other distinct visual event; a short loud audio event; a hand clap; a slate. The difference between doing the sync manually and using markers is that you only need to identify the sync points approximately (to within about 30-60 seconds) and PluralEyes will refine the sync to the exact frame.
To use markers, go to the sync point in each clip and add a marker. Give matching markers in the two clips identical names. Select the Use markers option and run PluralEyes in the usual way. It will read the markers to determine the approximate sync and then refine it from there.
You can have more than one marker for PluralEyes as long as you name them appropriately. For example, suppose you have three clips (A, B and C) from a music video. B covers the whole song but A is just the beginning and C just the end. You could put two markers on clip B named "start" and "end" and corresponding markers "start" in A and "end" in C. PluralEyes will use the "start" markers to sync A-B and the "end" markers to sync B-C.
Try really hard
This somewhat whimsically-named option tells PluralEyes to spend extra time trying to find the sync. It can take 5-10 times as long so you will want to use it only on the most stubborn sync problems or when you are willing to let it run for a long time. If you can tolerate the time penalty, this can be very effective.
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