How to create this effect (multitracking improvised music video content)

Hi everyone, new to the forum and happy to be aboard! I've started a little jazz bass video tutorial series on youtube for the university where I teach and for the bass community at large, and due to a gradually increasing understanding of FCPX and how to record audio and video, each installment has come out slightly better than the last. Here's a link to my youtube channel where the videos can be seen (the latest ones are the best recording quality): www.youtube.com/channel/UCy-qgQuCQfdLzz_VztMY-Vw?feature=mhee

For future installments, I'd like to do some multi-instrumental scenes of the sort that are found in this wonderful video from Jacob Collier:

My question is how to approach doing even a two-part version of this. I know how to create the two video boxes on screen against a background, and doing the first (accompaniment) clip won't be an issue. But the difference between what I'm hoping to do here and what Jacob is doing in the link above is that I'd like to be improvising in the second clip rather than miming to a prerecorded soundscape. I can wear headphones while playing the second clip so that I can hear the first clip, but I am at a loss as to how to sync the two video clips when I am finished. I don't think auto sync will do it unless there's something I'm missing, and just dragging the timeline boxes seems like a micro disaster waiting to happen. Any ideas about how to accomplish something like this?

Thanks in advance!

I'd record the audio of the first clip to channel 1 in the camera, and your instrument to channel 2 in the camera. Then, you can auto-sync them together.

But, if you manually sync them, know it is way easier the faster than most folks think. I've done tons of manually syncing audio together before there was any auto-sync functions anywhere. It is pretty easy.

BenB wrote: I'd record the audio of the first clip to channel 1 in the camera, and your instrument to channel 2 in the camera. Then, you can auto-sync them together.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. When I record, I use a stereo mic into the camera, then upload the contents to FCP. The plan is to record a second video track of me improvising over the first track. How could I get clip 1 on one side and clip 2 on the other?

But, if you manually sync them, know it is way easier the faster than most folks think. I've done tons of manually syncing audio together before there was any auto-sync functions anywhere. It is pretty easy.

Is there a good tutorial on manual syncing somewhere? I'd love to learn how to do this. Every time I've tried, I think I've gotten things lined up, but over time the audio gradually goes further and further out of phase as the clips play on. Thanks!

I know when I record covers, I record in a DAW in addition to my camera. If I've added a lot of instruments in the DAW, I can bounce just the guitar and vocals out of Logic (that correspond to the camera audio) to sync up with the video, then line up the full audio bounce with that. Then delete the guitar/vocal track (the one I used for sync). It's even easier when I haven't added anything extra to it. Synchronizing in FCP X works most of the time for me.

How many different recordings are you making before your improvisation? If it's a lot, you're really going to be better off with a DAW. It's going to be easier for you to keep in time and you know your tracks won't drift out of sync because you're only bouncing one track to use in your final project.

Run the instrument mic into the Channel 1 input of the camera. Run a line from the playback device into Channel 2 input of the camera. If you want to record the instrument in stereo, Then run a stereo pair into your DAW. The point is to get one audio channel to be the original you're sync'ing to. Otherwise you'll have to manually sync. Which isn't really that difficult at all. As a musician/composer myself, if I were doing this project, I'd just sync it all up manually.

kyletron2000 wrote: How many different recordings are you making before your improvisation? If it's a lot, you're really going to be better off with a DAW. It's going to be easier for you to keep in time and you know your tracks won't drift out of sync because you're only bouncing one track to use in your final project.

For now, I just want to start with one improvised track over a pre recorded track. Maybe if i was better at the manual sync, this would be easier. Is there a "micro nudge" feature i don't know about? Just dragging clips with the mouse feels like a total crapshoot.

Select a clip in the Timeline, use < and > to nudge one frame at a time. Or type in + or - followed by the timecode you want to move it by. Obviously + moves it to the right, - to the left. I sync manually a lot, and find it really fast and easy.

Make your clips tall in the timeline, and make the audio waveforms larger, that will help a lot being able to eye those up.

And don't make the newbie mistake of staying zoomed out too much. Zoom the hell in close so you can really see the detail you need. Mouse control gets more precise the more zoomed in your are, also.