Timecode and slate questions 7d!!!!!

G

GAsoundGUY

Member
Looking for electronic slate ideas. Really have much of a clue. Have been doing it oldfashioned with chalk slate and syncing but NEED to move on to bigger and better things. We are looking to do wireless but at the most electronic. Right now we are running with multiple Canon EOS7D and audio is through a TASCAM DR-680. PLEASE PLEASE LMK what we should get. Our first instincts are an AMBIENT RECORDING ACD-301RF Master Radio Slate Time Code Display - Reader, Generator, Writer, Clapper, Error Checker, Transmitter


Will this work with the 7D and TASCAM or do I need more equipment? Is this honestly the best choice?!? Please throw me out some suggestions. Price be damned!!! Best of the best or bargain. Either way!!!! Thanks again guys!!!
 
Re: Timecode and slate questions 7d!!!!!

Based on what you describe, I wonder if timecode is really necessary for what you're doing? What about sending a cheap wireless reference audio feed to the 7Ds (Comteks or Sennheiser G2/G3, for example), and syncing with PluralEyes? You could get a transmitter and a handful of receivers for less than the price of the Ambient slate. Feed the transmitter from the output of the DR-680, slap the receivers on your 7Ds, and go.

Without a timecode-capable recorder, the Ambient ACD-301RF is jumping the gun a bit, IMHO.

Best of luck.
 
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It's not worth using a timecode slate if your audio recorder isn't timecode capable. Running a reference track to the camera and then using plural eyes is probably your best bet.
 
With file-based recorders, timecode really doesn't buy you anything that a conventional clapper slate won't do. All it does is establish a single reference point in the audio and video files to aid in lining them up in post - it DOES NOT provide any speed reference to correct for "drift" over long takes. All it really does is speed up the process of aligning files, saving a little time. And to do it properly, the cameras must have timecode I/O ports and the audio recorder must also support timecode OR you have a timecode capable recorder to go along with the smart slate.
 
Get your camera and recorder clocks in sync and you can use the time stamp to get within a few seconds. After that use a dumb slate or PluralEyes to get the files in sync. Non of your stuff is capable of using TC so there isn't much point in a smart slate.
 
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