Timecode Box (B&H) - geni.us/timecode or (amazon) - geni.us/TC-1 Timecode Box (Direct) - shop.aputure.com/products/tc-1-3pc-kit?ref=CVT Deity FX3 Timecode Cable - shop.aputure.com/products/c23-for-sony-fx3-fx30-cameras?ref=CVT Sony Timecode Cable - geni.us/sony-TC Favorite Music - bit.ly/cvt-artlist Resolve Templates - bit.ly/cvt-MotionArray My Audio Recorder - geni.us/mix-pre 00:00 Auto Sync Failed Fix 01:39 What is Timecode? 02:07 Genlock 02:58 Timecode Workflow Overview 03:52 Audio Timecode 04:48 Deity TC-1 Setup 06:14 Sound Devices MixPre-6 07:09 Sony FX3 07:28 Sony A7IV Timecode 07:41 Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K 08:26 DaVinci Resolve Timecode Tricks 08:48 Add into Media Pool with Offset 10:03 AutoSync with Timecode 10:16 Audio TC Conversion 11:25 Audio Offset Column 12:51 Proxy 14:09 Camera Angles 14:54 Multicam in DaVinci 15:41 Multi-ChannelPoly WAV Multicam Clips The affilate links help support this channel at no extra cost to you. Thank you for watching!
What a life-saver this video was. Thank you for such in-depth explanation but still making it easy to follow. These start to finish videos are so much more useful than some on youtube that just pick one portion of the process and then suddenly skip to the end where everything is working.
How does time code work with isolated audio recorders, or wireless? Sometimes wireless has 'built in' tc. I get how we sync on camera audio tracks. The confusion enters with non wired audio sources, that may, or may not have integrated time code. Really clear tutorial. I understand how tomorrow works, but i always seem to be learning new things about it. I wasn't aware of proxy capabilities. Audio and tc seems to be equally as complicated as video, editing, coloring, etc. It's pretty amazing. Somewhere along the way, what you said was basic, became extremely complicated. Fortunately, you explain it all really well. 👍
Such a great explanation and there was plenty I didn't know in Resolve around handling timecode offsets. Thank you Chadwick, your work is much appreciated!
While this is full of great into, I have to admit as someone who never used timecodes I was missing a bit "explain to a 5y.o." style :D My dream is to find a workflow where I could have multiple cameras (with mics) rolling through out the day + multiple lav mic recorders and then somehow magically sync everything in one timeline. Do these timecode generators need to be connected to the cameras all the time - otherwise the camera timecode gets out of sync? I'm kinda surprised that with so much crazy tech we still don't have easy sync solution :D
What is the solution to multi day shoots with timecode? Everytime I create a multcam timeline, it's overlapping the days. Is there a way to create separate timelines by file creation date?
I wonder why the multicam using metadata doesn't work for me (and some other people reporting it around). It uses only 2 clips for each angle and ignore all the others (even if every clips have the proper metadata angle assigned)
Great video, and I know you like to say Jam Sync, but I think that this is the wrong way to do it. The whole purpose of timecode is to synchronize multiple devices to the same CLOCK. Jam Sync will do this, but only be 100% accurate the split moment you Sync. When you unplug the timecode box, you are now running 2 separate clocks. This is no bueno. I understand the problem that you are having, because you use the Sound Devices Mix Pre6 II. I too own that device, but it’s roll is a Paper Weight. Timecode butchery is one of a few reasons, but the most important one for me. You can’t SYNC the MixPre. You can only Jam it as a slave, or use it as a Jam Master. Both are unacceptable. I use the Zoom F6, in combination with 6 F2-BT’s (I use the F2’s as my ambient on camera audio recorder… works like a DREAM in run ‘n gun camera top scenario’s too… ) and put a Timecode Systems Blue in my pocket. The Blue is my Mesh Master (master clock), THE ZOOM F6 natively connects via bluetooth to the Blue, the F2-BT’s natively connect to the Blue via Bluetooth, and my cameras connect to the Blue through RF using an UltraSync One. About the same size as the TC-1 and also has a screen… The result, is that everything is on the same clock (the BLUE) at all times. Even if the Blue wanders out of range, all devices have a heat resistant oscillator as well, that will automatically resend the code by however many microseconds it *may* have drifted. It is also worth noting that you can couple a number of BLUE’s to form a mesh network. Again, with one BLUE and one CLOCK being the master. Anyways, loved the comprehensive Resolve part. Some really slick shortcuts, especially on the audio side. Love the channel, not the Mix Pre and the TC-1 needs to step up their game a bit (they are new, and I’m sure they will… ). I will however point out an error on your part in closing. When setting up any flavour of timecode and cameras for that matter, you need to take 1 thing into account. What is your final timeline frame rate going to be. Of course that (timeline FR) will be governed by where it will be viewed. Which if it is being viewed on a TV, Phone, Pad, computer monitor, your frame rate should only ever be 29.97, which is a derivative of roughly 60 [59.94], which is not only a television standard, but viewing standard as a whole (around the world). You may have 50Hz coming out of the wall, and that used to affect the analog CRT televisions back in the day…. but nowadays, all of our screens run off of DC power at roughly 60Hz. Your phones, tablets, TVs, etc… 95% 60Hz. This is why RU-vid, netflix, etc. upscale the videos when you send it at 24fps, 30fps, 25fps, 50fps, not at 60fps (59.94 Drop Frame). So why am I saying this in a timecode video… because it has a direct impact on what you set your timecode to. I only do 29.97fps on my timeline. I film at 59.94fps (how I get cinematic blur to match 24/48 and lose the warbles in a rolling shutter is another video all on its own). I set my timecode always to 29.97 Drop Frame. This allows my footage to conform to anything. The timecode will line up perfectly as well. Audio will be time-coded to 29.97, and video will be as well. When I conform my 59.94 footage into a 29.97fps timeline, I will have the flexibility to do 3 things well. 1) The timecode (metadata, or LTC) records the START time. Which regardless of 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, or 60 fps… the start time is the same. So they will at least always line up in post. 2) If I set the timecode to my TIMELINE fps, I can accurately conform to that timeline, so long as my filming fps is evenly divisible. (I’ll explain this). 3) My timeline will always be in sync regardless of whether I conform my footage to 29.97, because all that happens is that ever second frame is dropped, leaving a synchronized file of the correct length with now cadence variation in the conformation. OR, I can leave my footage as 2X slow motion, cut the timeline, insert some music, etc. and then pick right back up at the clip, because the audio and video are linked, and we pick back up fully synced where we left off. The above is how you do frame rates above 30fps with timecode. Just make sure your filming rate is evenly divisible by the timeline rate, and Bob’s Your Uncle. You can also match 30fps in filming and and timecode, but I think you should think twice about that in this day and age. You’re leaving gobs of quality and flexibility on the table when you do that, with no real benefit. OK… that’s my 26 cents. Again… great video. We should all be using timecode and its videos like this that help make that happen. Cameras should never be used as audio recorders… let’s make it stop together.
Excellent video once again even though I have Tentacle Sync in the ol' bag. If you ever want to do a video on metadata workflow that would be awesome as I don't think anyone else is doing it for sure. How you add metadata and organize and retrieve it would be great. I do a lot of field recording separate from my video work. Also if you made a course on Resolve and especially Fairlight I would definitely be signing up !
Is it possible to use the file creation time as a Time Code to sync clips? I mean, if we have the clock set correctly on all our cameras, maybe we can roughly sync everything out with a file creation time?
You can is you set the camera to free run timecode. This isn’t file creation time but will give you the gaps you need to only have to sync once on a timeline. This wouldn’t require a timecode box and would be in the ballpark.
Challenge: 4 cameras with timecode, audio with embedded timecode, ONE CAMERA WITHOUT timecode... Import, everything but the camera WITHOUT timecode syncs to timeline.. I sync the camera without timecode to the sound using waveform, but how to I make the footage inherit the timecode from the audio with embedded timecode?? that would make me able to sync it to the timeline... Possible?
If you already have sync on a timeline I wouldn’t worry about it. But - you can modify the start tc of each clip in clip attributes for the no tc footage. I would probably do a copy tc value from the viewer of the audio and then match frame, open clip attributes and paste that value into the tc field. I have never needed to do that though.
@@CreativeVideoTips that might be the brilliant solution! Strange, that its not a feature to “update timecode from linked audio” like we have the “update timecode from LTC audio”, right? It would be a pretty powerful tool to get that non embedded timecode footage (what ever source it come from) embedded into a timecode workflow, right?
Great video Chadwick! Seasoned TC user here but loved the little Resolve tips like Match Frame to Source Clip and batch changing track types in the index tab 🙂 Experience has taught me to always have a backup sync method in addition to TC - making sure each cam has scratch audio and/or slate or clap on each new clip. This can save your skin if there are problems with TC. Also manually setting the internal date and time of every cam and audio recorder to match as closely as possible is good practice especially on complex multi-day multicam shoots, helps keep things organised and in an emergency to figure out which clips belong together if the s#!t hits the fan like when I received thousands of clips with incorrect timecode arghh that was painful..
Hi Chadwick, as usual love your videos. I think you made a video a long time ago showing how to add time code to files such as those from the iPhone. As now the iPhone is producing pretty good video files in codecs such as ProRes I wondered if you would consider updating the original video which used QTC which has now been updated a lot. Also could you then use "Update Timecode from Audio Track" on those files? Lastly do you use Kyno? Thanks Dave
I am using the TC1 with five Sony FX6 cameras and a Zoom audio when I work in 4k projects ... and it gives me huge troubles to synchronize six TC1s solidly. It always fails to recognize one or two devices. So what I am doing for HD projects now is to directly record all camera feeds in the ATEM ISO stream. All you need is long HDMI fibre cables (or SDI) which are a lot cheaper than the TC1. Then you have perfectly synchronized video files. I do not use the project created by the ATEM but I import all the video files seperately and if necessary also the separate audio files. This way you can create a perfect multicam timeline for editing. I have it all on one SSD and I can edit directly from there or copy it to a local drive. Making sure you record good audio is more or a problem with that setup but that improved when I got the ATEM HD8 ISO with a good audio mixer. While I have additional MADI audio inputs I go through the audio-in of the cameras as they are recorded separately. And yes, I usually record a 4k backup in the cameras.
Thank you! I was stuck with the delay on my BMPCC4k timecode from the TC-1. I knew how to offset the timecode after import but it can only be done one clip at a time (right??) the 'import with offset' trick is HUGE!! thank you for such a comprehensive video!
Notice u also have recordings with Tentacle Sync. So what are the pros and cons of Deity TC-1 vs Tentacle Sync. Have heard that Tentacle Sync has a more rugged system--can withstand cold temperatures better & has better customer service. Comments and/or separate video dealing with these questions--statements would be appreciated. 😎😎
Great question! They are both very similar. The Deity has a screen and does not need an app to setup to a custom time, to me thats a bonus. Less bluetooth the better. However Tentacle comes with a sync software which is needed for premiere and final cut, tentacle also makes a wireless lav pack called the track E that fits with their world for timecode on board recordings. I would buy whatever I could get for less money.
I could not figure out for the life of me how to get the audio offset to work - I didn’t realize you needed to re-sync!! The killer features with Tentacle is the Track E lav recorder and the Timebar app that allows for wireless TC integration with GoPro (which I use a ton). Do you know if Deity offers similar features?
Really great video for syncing information. Deity, should put this on their site. I don't really shoot anymore but you made me want the package. Nicely done.
I've watched this video 3 times, the first time when I didn't know what I was doing, the second time a few weeks later when I thought I knew and then the third time I knew I'd messed up a shoot and was kicking myself during post!!! Thanks so much, there are layers of learning and relearning in this awesome content!!!! 😉❤️
DR auto-sync is definitely the worst part about DR. I wish Plural Eyes was still a standalone product not bundled with Red because, well, pluraleyes nails it everytime perfectly. I did the 30 day trial but wasn't going to buy the whole red package just for that. So, I guess here's to buying a bunch of TC-1's instead.
Absolutely learned something. Multicam. Multikill. I can timecode everything but my friend can't and its a nightmare. Onto your other multicam tutorials and tips.. i bet they are brilliant.
Brother you are the best, I own 4 BMPCC4K’s and I just purchased the TC-1’s from Deity and this is by far the most expansive, in-depth explanation of this system from camera to post. If I had a thousand tongues I couldn’t thank you enough. New Sub 💪🏾 I do have ONE question though that nobody has seemed to answer yet. As I stated I own 4 BMPCC4kK’s and I do alot of talking head corporate interview style shots outside of weddings, in those cases I mostly shoot with a Rode NTG-3 shotgun straight from the BMPCC4K (no external recorder). My question is can I use a TC-1 on one of the BMPCC4K as a master and jam sync the other 3 off that one Pocket Camera and sync that audio file for all 4 cameras the same as you would with an external recorder?
Very informative! This probably is outside the scope of this video, but does DaVinci have a way to generate timecode audio as a new audio track created from the "already present" metadata timecode?
Thanks. Very helpful. I actually bought Divinci because PP can’t sync via audio signal. The software tool from tentacle is about $140. I have Deity TC-1s and the Smart Slate. Just makes sense to reduce the amount of software involved in my workflow. 👍🏾&☑️🔔
Thanks, Chadwick. You are awesome!!! I wonder if there is anyway to jam sync audio timecode to my tascam DR-10L or my Tascam DR-60D MK II, while still recoding an audio track to them?
It would be a LOT EASIER if every piece of RECORDING Equipment came with a Built in Clock corrected to corrected to Corrivated Universal Time every time it was turned on. Problems Synching Multiple pieces of Equipment, to a splitting second, Would end.
Hey Bro , I didn't find a proper answer online for this How to use Auto Sync Audio Based on Waveform when the Audio and Video clips in diffrent bins in Media Pool, Kindly let me know asap. My audio in a bin my video in another bin just wanna sync them without moving both to same bin
Hello, very good material and it was fun to watch! good job. I have a question for you because I can't find it online. I have Sony FX3 cameras and I use Sony ECM-B1M and ECM-B10 microphones for them. Can I use these microphones normally as before and add a Deity TC-1 to each camera to be able to timecode the footage? I mean in general, if I have a Sony FX3, can I use the Deity TC-1 together with the ECM-B1M / ECM-B10 microphone at the same time? Could you help me on this matter?
Between my tentacles and the iPhone BM Camera app the timecode is a bit out of sync...why ....and with offsett it doesn't work for me, what am I doing wrong
Love your videos Chad! Truly. Question for you (or anyone struggling with Multicam in Davinci). I am definitely getting Deity or equivalent to sort my future TC need BUT I have tins of material way back that needs to be edited from benues etc. Problem: I have changed TC manually with software on Sony/Canon cameras and written new adjusted TC. Use that in Davinci. BUT: when I use the Create Multicamn, choosing Timecode. don't get the different angles. 1 get 1 angle and a mess. I even tried to creating a Timeline by using Timecode and looks fine on spread out. But when I try and create a Multicamn from that it's the same problem: no true Multicam Timeline. Just some mess not corresponding to the timecodes in the clips. Suggestions please?
Great video Chadwick. I have a question. I can time code sync my two z cams and my zoom f6 with this devices, no problem, but I have 4 zoom f2 bt mini recorders with Bluetooth, but those are not compatible with the deities, I believe. how can I jam sync all together ? thanks !
Complete noob question; I have an a7c and am recording audio with my Zoom F6. If I record ten different clips with my camera, and ten corresponding audio takes with my recorder, I can bring them into DaVinci, select them all and if I've setup timecode correctly, DaVinci will match the audio to the video properly? Instead of what I'm doing right now which is writing down the take number on the Zoom alongside a video file number from my camera and manually importing individually and lining them up with a clap or a snap of the finger. God help me when I forget to write down a track number 😂
Awesome video thank you, can you use cameras with different frame rates with this system? I shoot martial arts events and I have my closeup camera on 50fps for slow motion replays but have a wider camera on 24fps; would they both have to match?
Great question - timecode really only works when they all match frame rates. You can kind of hack it with a double frame rate, like 30 and 60 - but 24 and 50 will never work.
Excellent tutorial - but how did you determine the amount of TC offset required (at 8:50) between your cameras and recorder especially when it is only 1 or 2 frames difference?
Love your videos! It was weird…if you paused when the deity was connected to the BMPCC you could see it was off by 2 frames….that would give me the heebeegeebee’s on a shoot…what do we think that is?
We used to have a Sync pulse generator to lock all our Umats Betas and Dats and it was the size of a telephone box like in Dr Who! Massive box containing Quartz not Crystal
If you use one of the Deity TC-1s as a master, can you still hook it into a camera, or do you recommend keeping the master free from being hooked into a camera?
I have them, I use them, I love them. half the price of the Octo/squid version and has the screen so you don't have to have your phone hooked up unless there is a problem or you just want to monitor the TC.
Wow! Thanks so much for posting this. We use timecode all the time and didn't know about the offset in Davinci. Brilliant! Let's say you have a C cam that doesn't have timecode and you do a clap at the beginning of the shoot for that day. Is there an easy way to determine the offset to apply to that cam?
Yeah it shouldn’t be, or have to be. I just wanted to try to cover all the basis for when it’s not perfect so we all have the info we need. Thanks Kaarlo.
So I'm using 3 different Sony Cameras With audio Time code using the dietys, when I sync in Davinci they are all off by a couple frames. how do i fix this? I saw the adjustments you made for linear but how can I fix this for Audio TC? im using an Fx30 A7IV and A7III.
thank you - I'm not sure I follow the ask - are you asking for burned in timecode on the picture? or just how to export new dailies with converted audio to metadata timecode?
Have you ever tried connecting a TC-1 to an iPhone (to record video with the A-OUT from the TC-1)? I've not had success yet. Thought it might be because the recorded audio is a mix of both the A-OUT timecode and the scratch audio track (the TRS to TRRS converts the stereo to a mono mix for the mic input on the iPhone's lightning connector). I'm thinking of isolating the left channel from the TC-1 and trying that with the BMD Camera App. Thoughts?
Update - I purchased a dual mono to stereo TRS adapter and plugged the TC-1 into the left channel. That allowed me to bring just the timecode audio stream into my iPhone through the TRS-TRRS > TRRS-lightning connector and then record with the Black Magic Camera App. Worked great. Cheers.
Hi, I have a question, due the new firmware 3.0 Update of the A7IV, do you know if time Code by Multiport works for the A7iv? like the FX 3/30 series using the Multiport.
Once again, great video! I love how your solutions just kept creating new problems and you immediately offered the solution. It's just never as easy as 'just do this one thing' in this field of work. This saved me from a long string of searches:-p Great work.
thanks so much! Yeah there usually isn't always a one button solution, but thankfully you can usually get where you need to go with a handful of tricks.
It’s great to see that multi cam functions are pretty solid in Resolve! Final Cut multi cam is extremely impressive. Premiere multi cam is a complete dumpster fire.
There is a little challenge with working with multichannel audio in multicam, but I have some solutions you'll find here on the channel and a new one I plan to share in a few weeks.
And another question: Wouldn't you save all the work syncing in post by simply using a TC-1 on your MixPre aswell? Or do you still have these few frames of a difference?
No, changing FPS will break the timecode sync. You'll need to re-jam your devices or keep them plugged in to the TC generator and be very aware of which clips are different fps when you get to post. If you're shooting high FPS for slo-mo it doesn't matter since audio won't match anyway, but generally it's a bad idea to change FPS during a shoot unless you messed up in the first place.
Daaang that Match Frame to source clip option on a Multicam was super helpful! I for sure struggle with the adaptive audio track that Resolve creates by default, and that was a perfect fix for my needs 🙌
Great vid. Do you happen to know if the different settings for the Deity output "audio timecode" VS "metadata time code" is simply for setting the signal amplitude? A-OUT would be mic level and M-OUT would be line level? Also, if you know some dev friends, I need a hand to make my project more accessible to non-programmer videographers ...🙂
Hey Chadwick! Another great video, you’re killin’ it. So, here’s a question / possible video: We all shoot on multiple cameras and audio recorders. Let’s say a month long documentary project, multiple cities, multiple crews. All the Camera originals and Audio files come from their respective cards/media and get dumped On the same Resolve MBP, and same Drive + BU Drive. A) What’s the ideal way of making all of those backups (clones) into Date based folder structure (2023-0422_Project-etc)? B) When Syncing, let’s say with Timecode as in this video, since the cards are Gone and the Drives are the new “Camera Originals”, how can we DESTRUCTIVELY set the new Timecode ensuring perfect sync for the duration of the project, and anyone in the pipeline not limited to working in Resolve (for some unknown inexplicable reason!)? (Bonus: I also have workflow questions regarding the new transcriptions, and how to generate then keep those as Text docs in the same same folder structure for ever more.)
This is the most useful video ever for a guy just starting with timecode on Davinci Resolve. Thank you. As it happens, I was already subscribed, but like and comment, hell yeah.
Hi Chadwick thanks for your highly professional content, I have to ask you if with the dedicated Sony cable that you have I would be able to synchronize the time code between the Sony FX30 and the PXW-Z150 given that the latter has an SDI out, but not in the Sony manual it is specified if you can give the time code...if you are sure of it, yes, I will proceed with the purchase of the dedicated cable immediately...and thanks again for your tutorials, see you soon
Thank you! I don't know anything about the PXW camera. I can tell you the FX series accepts timecode in, but won't send it out. That means you would need a device to send the tc in. 3 options are Tentacle Sync, Deity TC-1 and a series 2 Mix Pre Audio Recorder. Also note - there seems to be a 1-2 frame offset on Sony metadata timecode. It can be adjusted in resolve - but just know that going in.
Thank you very much, I didn't know that the FX series takes the TC only at the input, now I also know that I have to purchase both the dedicated cable and the generator and thanks for having noticed that Sony has a drift of 2 frames... thanks again Chadwick, bye see you soon@@CreativeVideoTips
This is the absolute best Timecode Explanation I have found in over 10 hours of research JESUS WOW thank you for finally explaining Timecode to me in a way that I can understand it has been WILDLY confusing for me haha Thanks, man, you da best (music)
