Last week, we left off on the topic of staying in sync. While this generally refers to audio keeping sync with what’s happening on screen, we’re talking about timecode sync here.
“Timely” and “economic” wouldn’t be one way to describe this particular broadcast shoot. The days were long, and audio was being transmitted wireless from mixers to cameras. Over the course of the day the timecode recorded by both the camera and the sound mixer/recorder can drift, which means the timecode for the video won’t match what’s coming from the mixer. This means dailies would need re-syncing in post, and we all know that there is nothing worse than assistant editor complaining about this.Say hello to our little friend: the Denecke Syncbox! This handy device keeps the timecode in sync between the camera and the mixer throughout the day. It won’t break the sync (like what happened when a certain boy band broke up, unofficially anyway), but your audio engineer should do a resync halfway through the day during a break just to keep things steady and secure.
The Syncbox can handle audio recorded at all standard frequencies including 44.1, 48, 96, and 192 KHz. Fortunately, it can handle any standard time code and frame rates. And even if the frame rate changes from take to take, you can cross jam the signal despite the incoming frame rate.
It also acts as a stand-alone timecode generator if that’s what you need it for.
Never start a long, complicated shoot without the requisite amount of Syncboxes!
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And this concludes our four-part miniseries on how the Atlantic crew pulled off a technically complicated broadcast shoot. And don’t forget the work it took to write it! We laughed, we cried (many tears), and we even broke out into song a few times. You can be assured that Ice Cube cameras (stealthily placed throughout our office) recorded it, and the footage was sent wireless via Teradeks to monitors in the executive producer’s office, who was backing up said shenanigans to a KiPro in real time. We stayed in perfect sync/harmony using our beloved Syncboxes. So…stay tuned for the inevitably embarrassing edit, coming soon to a VOD platform near you.