synching audio for editorial in FCP

[skim08]

Hey there,
I'm interested in what other editors do -
How do you sync up your dual system audio with your picture in FCP?

In FCP, do you:
a) create merged files (picture/audio) and use merged files to edit?
OR
b) Do you sync picture and audio in Sequences, and then use "Insert/Overwrite Sequence Content" to edit? (same principle as in Avid, slightly different functionality in FCP)
OR
c) something else?

My situation:
-- DAT audio (recorded at 29.97, NDF) transferred into audio data files.
-- Transcoded 2K ProRes 23.98 footage.
-- Downconvert Prores to 1080, and cut with the the 1080.
-- Finish on 2k ProRes or online to 4K if time/money

I need my audio synching plan to fit into this schemata.

Should I synch the ProRes or 1080 to audio?

Thanks for any insights / feedback!

Susan

 

[ThomtheEditor]

merge clips or make subclips, either one works fine

 

[Hans von Sonntag]

- shoot TC slaved (audio device and camera)

- merge Clips using TC

- don't use subclips - in FCP creating an EDL from subclips is not possible, AFAIK. I'm not sure how a XML roundtrip will work in this regard. Anyway, using subclips in FCP leads to numerous problems when a later conforming is planned.

Hans

 

[skim08]

Okay, thanks. I'll test my workflow using merged clips.

Another question (this is probably pretty basic... but it's a new workflow for me):

Is this what I should expect to do with my DAT? Or is there a better way?

1
Transfer each 125 minute DAT tape into ~3 long audio files

2
Further export each take from the long audio files (would this retain the timecode?)
-- the goal would be to have each audio file correspond to one take (picture)

(-- or is it best to transfer each take as an individual clip DURING the transfer process?)

3
synch audio and picture.

I have 30 hours of audio files (on DAT) to synch up to 30 hours of picture.

Thanks for your help.

Susan

 

[ThomtheEditor]

don't use subclips - in FCP creating an EDL from subclips is not possible, AFAIK. I'm not sure how a XML roundtrip will work in this regard. Anyway, using subclips in FCP leads to numerous problems when a later conforming is planned.

Hans

Never once had a problem with subclipping, we're 7 episodes delivered and properly qc'd on a series where audio was not tc slaved, sunc manually and subclipped, but to each their own i suppose