frame rate & AV sync - COMPLETELY LOST !!! Please help !!!

Hi to all.

I want to create a video clip.

It is a piano performance captured from 3 cameras.

The most important thing for me is audio and sync.

Piano player is pressing piano keys very fast and I want this to be perfectly synchronized with the audio from the beginning to the end.



so



I have 3 video sources

  1. Go PRO - 29.97 fps

  2. Samsung Galaxy S8 - 30.01 fps

  3. Screen capture - 30 fps





    What is the best way to combine it and be “in sync” ???

I know that if there are different frame rates for the video and audio after a while it will eventually get out of sync

Should I convert all the videos to 30 fps or 29.97 fps ? How to do this ?

Should my project in Adobe Premiere be set to 29.97 or 30 fps ?



And there is dfps (drop frame) setting as well which makes everything even more complicated.



I can take care of the audio in Cubase and export a WAV mixdown.

I have 4 options in Cubase to choose for export

29.97 fps

29.97 dfps

30 fps

30 dfps



So which one should I use for Audio ???







This is very confusing to me.

I have 3 video files - 3 different fps

then I have audio file that i have to choose fps as weel

also i have to choose the timecode (fps) in adobe premiere

and when export i have to choose fps as well…





Thank you very much for helping me out.



I could do everything alone with 1 video or 3 videos with the same sample rate but now I am honestly lost

and don’t see a light to find a way out of it.



Please help.

1) Film frame rates: First, create an NLE timeline set to the output resolution you would like, eg: 30fps 1080p. ie, a single reference point. Then simply drag all media onto the timeline just created - one video track for each of the three camera ‘angles’. That takes care of everything - all will be previewed and used according to that single timeline reference point. No need to covert frame rates etc etc.

One caveat ‘may’ be in relation to different video codecs & some NLEs handle different sources better than others. But really, these days most NLEs should be able to cope. You may also use the NLE’s internal transcoding features to change everything to one format & for speedy processing purposes if you wish, Adobe Media Encoder for example, but is usually time consuming and disk space intensive because of the larger, edit friendly codecs like Pro Res or DnxHR. I’d be inclined to avoid that for the moment & the NLE should be able to handle native .h264 codecs in the timeline.

Frame-rate and sample-rate: Anything you want to set for the common timeline really, but I’d probably avoid drop frame for simplicity (is only US broadcast-centric really). 25fps PAL, 24fps film & 30fps are all common. Smaller frame rates also mean smaller final renders. Also depends on delivery destination. If for personal /web use etc, use whatever is conventional in your home country, perhaps 30fps /48kHz should do it.

In terms of final render, you can always change your mind and ‘deliver’ for any number of formats, screen sizes and frame rates. That is a function of the NLE output render options, not the input formats.

2) Video sync: You will need to sync all three video clips in the NLE timeline, depending on if you have same or different video start points for each of the three cameras. You can also use timecode or time to sync; NLEs have various automated features to take care of that (more or less). Another option is to just eyeball the wild video audio waveforms and sync them up (I assume the cameras all recorded sound of some sort). Useful to have a slate tone or handclap at the beginning of each video to make this simple. If not, there will likely be a common ‘strike’ or note somewhere early where you can also do this.

3. Premier: You mention using this NLE, so – go read the manual and/or study some of the video tutes about editing camera angles (multi clips). Also the sync tools as per above. Personally, I would suggest checking out (free) DaVinci Resolve, for everything here.

4. Cubase:. Create a project in the same frame rate as one of the clips and perhaps use the ‘wild sound’ for visual reference purposes. Set the sample rate the same as the NLE project, say 48k. Mix and export the finished audio mix. Frame rate is irrelevant here for audio export, just the sample rate. You may not even need to bother about loading a video clip. When mixed, export, load & sync the mixed audio to the reference clip(s) in the timeline. Eyeball should be fine, as per already sync’d clips above in (2).

Hope that helps. Is not nearly as complicated as you suggest. A single NLE timeline destination format is the key.

Maybe Format Factory Convertor can help google it.

Well Video formats and audio within. Its like a deathpool… All i know is try to convert to one format, and then start editing. And i do not know if cubase is a good video player or editor. I use now Vegas 14 all i can say its a video editor and cubase is my audio editor.