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PluralEyes User Story: Christian Remde (The Twelve Films Project)

So this is gonna be a quick post about some software that I should have tried a LONG time ago.

As an editor, I've had to synch audio by hand for a long time. If we shot an interview with two cameras, we'd normally record the audio into one camera and then synch the audio in a timeline later. As it turns out, I got really good at doing it and so it's just how I always did it.

Now that I'm shooting primarily on DSLR, you have to record all the audio separately and synch it later. Since I was already used to doing it by hand (so to speak), I never really looked into the PluralEyes option. I was an idiot.

My current sound guy had been telling to me to give it a try and, with about 10 hours of interviews for my new documentary staring me in the face, I went ahead and downloaded the free 30-day trial. I put all the audio/video on a timeline in Final Cut Pro, opened PluralEyes and hit the "synch" button. What would have taken me 20-30 minutes was done in 3 minutes. I was sold. I immediately went back to their site and spent the $150.

I'll never go back... http://christianremde.typepad.com/12filmsproject/2011/11/pluraleyes.html

PluralEyes User Story: Kevin Shahinian (Pacific Pictures)

The editor asked if Kevin had heard of the PluralEyes plug-in and initially Kevin brushed the comment aside, thinking it was the usual editor tech talk. When it came up again, he resigned himself to checking out the plug-in and was astounded as, within seconds, all the audio and video footage from multiple cameras over multiple days became instantly synchronized.

Kevin says that PluralEyes has completely changed his work process both on set and in the editing suite. It has cut an entire component out of the post-production schedule and allows him to get into the creative work sooner, which is where he prefers focusing. "Relying on PluralEyes allows us to be more creative, quicker. Inspiration tends to die when I am forced to figure out a technical puzzle. This process allows us to be creative more immediately."

It also allows him to move quickly on set by not having to stop and slate between each take. Kevin shoots a lot of coverage often using simultaneous cameras, and doesn't like to slow down if he doesn't have to. While directing numerous takes where actors are running the same scene over and again, not worrying about issues like camera and audio sync keeps the focus on performances. He mentions that working this way makes his sound recordist skeptical, but Kevin trusts the PluralEyes software will clean up the mess. "I don't have to wait, and the rate of success is amazing. We just click a button and literally in a matter of seconds the work is done." http://brucesharpe.blogspot.com/2011/06/feature-interview-with-kevin-shahinian.html

PluralEyes User Story: Dom Bridges (BBC: "Shelf Stackers")

Bridges caught wind of PluralEyes just after its launch on a popular industry blog. "I remember thinking ‘wow I have to get this,’" said Bridges. To test out its functionality, Bridges imported footage from a Canon EOS 7D 12-camera shoot into PluralEyes; it synced the audio and video quickly and efficiently. "After I tested out the 12-camera shoot, I played around with it a bit more – I never had any issues. It built my confidence in the product, and I knew it would be a perfect fit for ‘Shelf Stackers,’" Bridges added.

Like many editors, prior to using PluralEyes Bridges synced video and audio manually. “Manual synchronization is totally fine. It's been done this way for years and there is a certain amount of clarity that still comes with that type of production. However, if you were doing a half hour shoot in 2 ½ days like I was on ‘Shelf Stackers,‘ you would see that it's difficult to use a clapperboard in that situation,’” Bridges commented. He added, “…as much as there is a level of freedom in shooting low-budget programming, a lot time and effort still goes into post-production. PluralEyes saved me many hours in the editing room – it really sped up the dual-system process.”

Bridges plans to utilize PluralEyes for dualsystem sound on future television programming and feature film endeavors. In the meantime, watch "Shelf Stackers" on BBC2 every Saturday to see the synchronization results. www.dombridges.com

PluralEyes User Story: Hugh Buttsworth (Stellar-Visions)

"It was one of those things where I tried it out and I didn´t think twice, I just bought it," said Hugh Buttsworth. "It´s a great price, and [those] guys oughta be proud."

Hugh´s production company, Stellar Visions, is based in Perth, Australia and specializes in high-end wedding videos. "One of our main things is to be using multiple cameras," he said. "But of course with that meant we had to sync every camera with every take, and that used to suck up all our editing time."

Hugh and his team were forced to keep the cameras continuously rolling to avoid slipping out of sync, which prevented them from capturing the little moments that make weddings special. "We´d have to have the cameras running the whole time while synced up, so for a three camera shoot at a wedding we´d have to have the full hour going straight." The need for synchronization also made editing difficult, said Hugh. "We´d have that whole hour and have to capture it from the camera, and it was much more than we´d need in the final cut."

After the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hugh learned about PluralEyes from a friend on the AVPA (Australian Video Producers Association) forum. "He said that he had been to NAB and that PluralEyes had been at the Singular Software stand… I saw a little bit of an interview online with Bruce [Sharpe, CEO of Singular Software] and I said well, if it works as it does in the video, I´ll try it."

PluralEyes quickly became an important tool in Hugh´s arsenal. "We've had a few shoots since we got PluralEyes and since the camera captures each take in a separate quicktime file, PluralEyes just syncs it up and puts it all in different spots. It helps in the project overall because it means you can get a shot knowing that you´re not having to keep the camera rolling while you do it. You're not feeling quite so inhibited with what you're stuck with, you can just go out and have a bit of fun and shoot the good stuff. If there's a shot you want out of sync or at a different time, it's no problem. It's nice to know that you don't have to worry about turning the camera off or changing a tape," said Hugh. "It's just amazing that it can do that. It's just really really handy."

PluralEyes saved Stellar Visions money as well. With much less wear on equipment and less footage to deal with, Hugh could cut costs and sweeten his bottom line. "I went and got two of my cameras serviced the other day and one of them cost me seven hundred bucks. The saving on tapes, the saving on camera heads, saving on time... Getting PluralEyes was a bargain."

"I'd thoroughly recommend PluralEyes," he said. "It's like having a vision switcher in post rather than having to re-invent the wheel every time you do an edit; it's just ready to go. I really like that. I love the fact that it allows me to be creative because I don't have to worry about the syncing of shots. I haven´t seen anything lacking in the software, unless I´m counting myself - I like it too much!"

Hugh´s production company, Stellar Visions, is an accredited member of The Australian Video Producers Association, licensed with AMCOS ARIA, and is a member of WEVA International. Their website and services are available at www.Stellar-Visions.com

PluralEyes User Story: Kate O´Hara (Khmer Arts)

"I am currently volunteering at Khmer Arts, a non-profit arts organization and home to the Khmer Arts Ensemble, a classical Cambodian dance company, just outside of Phnom Penh.  I am training my Khmer colleagues in multicamera video editing.  Trying to create high quality multi-camera footage with limited equipment (no timecode synchronizing for us) is always a challenge. When it came to synchronizing the footage from our latest performance the flash camera shot was not going to help us as there had been major frame drop-outs during the course of filming.  Trying to solve this problem with a simple solution that did not totally baffle my co-workers has been my priority.  I saw PluralEyes recommended on a number of blogs.  As it syncs using sound waves it worked around the drop outs leaving gaps allowing us to make new whole video tracks. It has been fantastic in not only allowing us to solve the frame drop-out problem and to synchronize the 3 angles we filmed, but also sync the house mix which was recorded separately from the video."

http://www.khmerarts.org/researcharchiving.htm

PluralEyes User Story: Shaun Harris (Music Videos)

"Thought you might like to have a look at a live music vid I synced with PluralEyes.

Your software made this a snip to edit."