Workflow - Editing video with several audio tracks

[julius_karli]

Hello.

We filmed a dialogue between 2 persons with many microphones (person a + person b + atmo + extra sounds ...)
On my video files is a mixed audio signal from all the microphones.
What is the best workflow for editing.

a) Edit the video with the mixed down audio files and reconnect the sound after sound editing
b) First edit the sound files and reconnect before editing

In one question - What is the workflow for feature film editing.

All the best,
Ju

 

[Nick Morrison]

Sync all your sound first. By take. Then edit.

If you matched timecode btw cameras and sound, it can be pretty quick to line it all up.

In Resolve, you can also "append" the sound files to your video...as long as TC matches...very convenient feature...

 

[Simon Dunne]

It sounds like your audio track is 5.1! Dunno how that happened. Go into the settings and make premiere import all audio as mono tracks. That should help split out your different mics, then just name each audio track mic a, mic b, etc, drag the correct audio file to the correct track (they'll still be linked) then go from there

 

[Marc Wielage]

Hire a good sound editor who specializes in this kind of work, and have them take an OMF from your edited material and reassemble everything in Pro Tools. From there, they can disassemble the tracks and put each actor on their own isolated track, background sounds on separate tracks, music on additional tracks, narration or extra voices (if needed) on additional tracks, and so on. All of this can be easily mixed and synced to picture. A sound editor works in a very quiet room with speakers placed for optimum results, so there's no distractions from hard drive noise, bad room acoustics, or other flaws that can interfere with the process. They can also detect when there's real problems with your existing sound, like distortion, unwanted background sounds, inconsistent noise, mis-matched dialogue levels, and other issues.

I'm not a fan of people trying to mix within an editing program, because it doesn't have the precision and flexibility of an actual sound mixing system. I think you have to use the right tool for the right job, particularly when it comes to editing, VFX, color, and sound. If you try to do it all in one place, it's kind of like using a hatchet for heart surgery instead of a scalpel: you could technically do it, but the results are so bloody and messy, you'll wish you had the scalpel.