Can you SYNC with TIMECODE together with AUDIO as well?

Does anyone know if you can use timecode, assisted by audio based syncing, to sync footage and audio? The timecode to get it close and the audio to get it right on. Many cameras do not have Genlock (in-production sync-able timecode) but do have their own, individual, timecode (like the cameras we will most likely be getting). It’s hard to set the cameras all to the exact same time (and timecode has a habit of drifting off). We do long shoots with 3-4 cameras. Is that possible to do that in FCP 10? We have used Pluraleyes for a long time, and it works great, but that is kind of a messy workflow with a lot of extra steps I would like to cut out.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

Syncing clips, not multicam, is based only on audio. It works pretty well for most things. PluralEyes is supposed to be better for problem files, though I've heard of problems with it in FCP projects.

To clarify I am referring to the multicam syncing workflow.

That's not a problem then. You can check in the multicam sync function to use the creation time as a sync guide. If you still have audio syncing turning on it will use both. The creation time as a guide and the audio to actually do the syncing.

Unfortunately I think you're facing a situation where it is one or the other. FCPX's native audio syncing works in a strict order when attempting to merge audio and video 1st is an audio reference, second is timecode and third I believe is the manual method using markers as a sync point.

If you don't think the native audio reference is good enough for you to get it bang on then you might have to give it a pass using the audio reference method and then just nudge the audio in either direction until its exactly where you want it.

Have you considered using Resolve 9 for your audio syncing incidentally? You might getter a better result there and its a great solution for producing batches of dailies... just sayin'. THe lite version is free from the Blackmagic design website.

Hope that helps.

Have you considered using a Clockit.
You can record LTC via the audio in. In case you don't use external audio it can be configured in a way that only the first 2 seconds of a shot contain LTC.

-Andreas

I hadn't heard that Resolve could do that. I'll check it out. I'm hoping with cleaner camera audio tracks that the sync function will do better.

Just to clarify - genlock has nothing to do with time code. It is a way of synchronizing video signals so they can be mixed such as dissolving between two cameras with a video switcher (vision mixer).