Please suggest music video tutorial

[AAC]

I need to create church choir's music video. It's just a 5 minutes song but need to sync their lips with various video clips shooting in different locations, like church, theatre, in the park, on the street..... There is no second camcorder. The audio is based on the recording in church. However, I need to learn how to sync the background music with various performance in different locations.

Many thanks.

[zoobie]

I need to learn how to sync the background music

Yes, yes you do.
I'd first find a similar video you like and simulate it with your own footage.
Go ahead and start entering the clips and music into the editor first.
Then, enter your song on the timeline.
Use the best video clips first on the timeline matching the music.
Then, start filling holes in the timeline with the rest.

PS - This reminds me of the instructions for Sony Vegas.
"Simply gather all your clips you're going to use into the editor and arrange them in order."
Presto!

[Cornucopia]

Basic requirements of Music Video:
1. High quality source music
2. Synchronization of the clips with the music
3. (hopefully) Good editing that makes sense with the music's beats/tempo/timbre/key and with the topic (visual or lyrical)

Synchronization is the hardest technical hurdle. How will you do that? I'm guessing not with pro, genlocked source playback devices & cams. Middle range would be audible timcode track along with music. Cheesiest way would be just free-running the music and slogging through sync in post.

Basic order of MV production (if you do it the cheesyway):

1. Record the music. Edit it. Export a master playback file (LPCM audio is preferable). Good to have a countdown click track along with it (and maybe a click track throughout that runs at the tempo of the piece).
2. Use a (visual+audible) clapper to START and STOP your takes. Position the clapper at the same location where the playback speakers are set up (= same time delay). Don't move the cam until after ACTION starts, if at all possible.
3. During a take, playback your master file(+click track) and record using mike on cam (or better, using a split to feed also the line input of the cam, then there's no delay or convolving of the sound = easier sync matching).
4. Run each take from the very beginning of the music (even if you don't finish the piece during that take). Record using Time-of-Day time stamp.
5. Log each take and what it refers to, plus any other notes you deem necessary.
6. Load the cam's takes & source music (WITH the click track intro, but without the click-during portion) into separate parallel tracks of the editor.
7. Do a stepwise comparison: A (source music) vs. B (cam take1), A vs. C(cam take2), A vs. D... Lock your A track first so it cannot move in time.
8. Move the cam clips in their tracks to match up via eyeballing. Zoom in, do it again but finer. Do it again and again, etc., until each clip shows the clapper & click waveforms at exactly the same sample moment as the master reference (you may need to phase reverse a waveform to make sure their rise goes in the same direction). Now you are synced.
9. Edit your clips, making sure to not move any of them time-wise. Apply FX, Compositing, Titles, processing, etc. DONE!

The syncing could be made much easier if you also use an audible LTC track (on 2nd channel?) and use something like DSLRsync to refer to that and modify the clips' timestamps/timecode to actually match the master/reference. Then you just drop them into the timeline and tell it to locate to its internal timecode (assuming your timeline's numbering is already set up correctly). Or using DSLRsync, you just export a prepped timeline and open it up already pre-aligned in your editor (only works with certain editors).

Scott

[AAC]

Any online tutorial suggested ?
I'm using Panasonic AG - AC160, never touch the time code.....

[Cornucopia]

No.

If you are attempting a music video shoot, you should be able to do so without the need for a "tutorial" any further that the tips just suggested. Particularly if you are using something as good as an AG-AC160! Heck, it supports true timecode, including Genlock.
BTW, I am not referring to the visual "timestamp" menu function which, IIRC, will burn-in the date/time onto the video (a No-No).

If you "never touch the timecode" before, maybe now is the time to start.

I am quite confused about your posts: one the one hand, you have a very decent semi-pro/industrial camera and are attempting a somewhat complex shoot+edit; on the other hand, you need "tutorials" and shy away from timecode...
Something doesn't quite jibe.

IIWY, I'd learn how to mod some cabling in order to use a smartphone as a combo LTC generator+music playback source and have them both piped into the 2 channels available on the cam, then use DSLRsync. Or, music into audio + LTC as a genlock source!

It's really just a matter of: do you want to spend some extra time in preparation, or do you want to spend more extra time in editing/syncing?

[AAC]

I used my AG-AC 160 for events, conference and interview.
Now I would like to learn more interesting stuff. I believe my planning is similar to multi camera sync. I tried in some school performance with 2 camcorders from different angles but never success. That's why I'm looking for tutorial to advance myself.