Syncing multicam shoots

I have a mobile production unit with four Sony NX5 cameras, three of which I operate remotely. True, it is not OMB, but much closer than more legacy production styles.
Here are some photos, mostly from a medium-size production at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland...
http://www.rcrowley.com/rojas.htm
 
This is a single system job.
Get 3 cams with good XLR inputs, a mackie mixer, couple of splitters and send feed to all cameras, you are now synced, throw Maxx in trash.. (wrong tool for this job)
 
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I think there is a question you need to figure out before you can really decide how you need to set up.

The MAXX only records two channels and BRH's "single system" is only going to give you two channels. But you have three to four mics coming in.

So, the question is what is your post like? Is this just a you get what you get as it happens and then ship it out. Or is this a job where you will want to be able to really polish the audio after the shoot? Because if you want/ need to really polish then you need those mics on iso tracks.

What I would be doing, and actually what we did for the Dalai Lama teachings, is to run everything into a multi track recorder (Boom Recorder on a Mac in our case) and to a crash down mix that was sent to the cameras. Part of the reason it was a must for us is that we were also recording the simultaneous translators. So we had 12 or so feeds at any given time. The crash down contained only HH, his english translator, and the various onstage mics.

After the shoot the audio tracks could be put in sync with the camera tracks and non speaking mics could be cut out and problems if that happened on a mic could be dealt with. If you mix it all down to two tracks you are very limited in what you can fix and cleanup after the shoot.

If your going to mix during the event you might want to look at a Dan Duggan Auto mix unit or the WAVES plugin based on it that just came out.
 
Rick R -> THANKS! Yes OMB live switching is not in my near future. I have too much else to do at these gigs being also the master of ceremonies and president of said organization. I need to meet and greet and deal with all sorts of decisions. Complexity in the pursuit of simplicity can easily make the solution part of the problem.

Richard Crowley -> THANKS! Yes great pics! Only problem is I am not Richard Crowley. I mean that with tremendous respect and admiration. But you have forgotten more than I hope to learn. Please remember this is not my day job. I do take it seriously and am learning all the time but even then what if something happens to me (Mega Millions!!! {U.S.A. Lottery reference for those abroad}). Not only for my sake but for others I need to ahere to the K.I.S.S. principle. But with the right people a great solution.

BRH -> THANKS! Feeding a mixdown by wire to at least two of the cams, for syncing is viable. The Maxx is a field mixer but I feel is up to doing double duty and mixing this event. If you know of exact reasons it can't I am interested. I personally have an SD702 and love the equipment from both companies.

Noiz2 -> THANKS! My understanding is the Maxx records 4 channels from analog inputs plus a two channel mixdown bus.. I have been quite happy with it so far. Zaxcom service for an upgrade was truly excellent. I think I will try the following approach, hopefully by testing rather than under live fire. First just free run sync all the cams and see how it lines up in post. Record each mic as an iso with the Maxx. If that doesn't work then try to get the same audio to the cams that I can and use Plural Eyes. If that doesn't work try Genlock on the two cams that will and whatever on the rest. I am also enamored with the idea of shooting the running time screen of the Maxx with the cams and trying to use the resulting video frames like a clapboard. Certainly a lot of choices. This is a great discussion of a situation that I am sure many people on this board deal with.
 
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"the Maxx records 4 channels from analog inputs plus a two channel mixdown bus"
> That is an option, the standard edition has two-track recording. The internal transmitter is another option., with both, about $4k USD.
I've been looking at the Zaxcom and SD mixer/recorders.. replacing my (seemingly obsolete) 744 before the price drops anymore.
 
Blit said:
Richard Crowley -> THANKS! Yes great pics! Only problem is I am not Richard Crowley. I mean that with tremendous respect and admiration. But you have forgotten more than I hope to learn.
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I'm not sure I am the "Richard Crowley" you seem to think! :-)

Please remember this is not my day job. I do take it seriously and am learning all the time but even then what if something happens to me (Mega Millions!!! {U.S.A. Lottery reference for those abroad}). Not only for my sake but for others I need to ahere to the K.I.S.S. principle. But with the right people a great solution.
Click to expand...

Actually, its not my day job, either. I doubt that I have much more $$$ in my rig than you do. It is just divided up differently.
 
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