ProTools for short

[FloridaRacer]

I've had sound guys help me on a couple of shorts.

On one film, the sound guy recorded our sound directly into ProTools and it took him a long time to sync everything up. I don't know the details, but it sounded like a hassle.

On another short, we used the DVX sound and imported the edited video into ProTools to sweeten and tweek afterwards.

Which workflow is recommended?

 

[krestofre]

On one film, the sound guy recorded our sound directly into ProTools and it took him a long time to sync everything up. I don't know the details, but it sounded like a hassle.

If he was using ProTools like most people use a DAT recorder, then the only reason it took a long time to sync up was poor planning. Recording the video and audio seperatly is nothing new, you just have to have visual and auditory cues to do the syncing (since you wouldn't have timecode recording straight into PT). Hence clapboards.

If you mean it took a long time to sync up through the process of sound design and audio post production, then that's different, and expected.

On another short, we used the DVX sound and imported the edited video into ProTools to sweeten and tweek afterwards.

As long as you've got good sound going into the DVX, then that's a viable workflow too.

Personally I've never recorded straight into ProTools. That would require me to lug around a computer and whatever flavor of Digi hardward you had. Too much for my tastes. The majority of stuff that I do is recorded straight into a DVX (not to be confused with using the DVX's built-in mic).

Hope that helps.

Chris

 

[FloridaRacer]

We did use a clapboard on the "direct into ProTools" short. I gave him a copy of the edited video containing DVX's version of the sound for him to replace with the ProTools version. I also gave him an EDL with all the TC for the clips. I was hoping to get great sound this way, but it just took forever. He just told me that it was very labor intensive to sync the sound.

Is there a simpler way to do this or should I just stick to the DVX->ProTools workflow? I'm helping shoot another short next week and that sound guy mentioned bringing ProTools. I don't want a massive headache again.

 

[krestofre]

Oh, he synced the PT recorded sound to an edited timeline. Yeah, I could see where that would be very labor intensive. If I were recording straight into PT, this is what I'd do:

After you capture the video into your NLE export QT ref files, or very small QT movie files and give them to the PT guy. Then he syncs full audio with full video. This is before any editing begins. Then he can export a synced audio clip back to you and then you import that into the NLE and edit with a single synced audio and video file. That way you can make use of the clapboard for syncing. In an edited EDL you wouldn't have that reference. Once the edit is finished, then you can just export the audio back to PT and have it already synced for sweetening.

Still, this isn't a practice that ProTools is particularly convinent for. The only advantage of recording straight into PT like you're describing instead of recording straight into the DVX would be if you're wanting to record at a higher sample rate than 48,000 Hz or if you're recording more than two tracks. At least that's the only advantage that I can see.

Chris

 

[Dave_Fisk]

I highly advise against using pro tools directly in the field for production sound. It's too big and bulky, and definitely not field worthy. If it shuts down, or your computer fails, it takes too long to get back up and running. You are much better off just recording directly onto the camera.

Let me put it to you this way. I own a digi002R, and I'd NEVER take it out to do field recording, and I even have my rig in a road case.

-Dave

 

[MattC]

I second what dave says. I just did a comerial/promo piece on last minute notice and under very bad conditions and the XL2 recorded the audio pretty nicely, much nicer than I thought it would, I'm sure the DVX is the same. I still did a bit of work on it in post, but it came out really good.