Industry Standard workflow for syncing offline dailies with audio - for offline edit

[Pasha Patriki]

I have a request to provide DNXHD 36 dailies for the editor, and for the first time I was asked whether I could also sync the dailies with audio.
The word "audio conform" was also used....
I don't have much experience with audio syncing - so I am looking for help... The word "conform" made me think that it is expected to conform the audio back to original files later, much like we do it with R3D?
SO perhaps just syncing with audio in RCX-Pro isn't enough? Somehow the audio needs to be backwards referrable to original wave files?
Am I expected to create some sort of bins for Avid where video and audio files are separate however they are synced when imported into AVid?
I am not an Avid user, so pardon me if this sounds stupid.


what is the industry standard way of delivering digital dailies synched with audio for Avid-based post?

Thanks in advance.

[MichaelP]

Usually you will get a full spec from editorial as to what is expected for dailies - in addition to codec and data rate, there will also be burn-in types, size, color and placement, sync dailies or not, any additional logging, etc. Typically a dailies process also does a report back to the DP to any issues they need to be aware of such as soft focus, back focus issues, and other image related matters. Will there be viewing copies for producer, director and DP? DVD or files? Then how they want their dailies logged - scene, take, comments, etc. So it all depends on what the definition of "dailies" is coming from production and editorial.

But for Audio, which is what you're asking, you are correct - Conform audio means they want to go back to the original BWF in the sound post process. So the metadata you provide from the syncing needs to contain at the very least the BWF file name in a column that can be used for EDL generation. In Media Composer, there are 5 columns that can be used to do that:

1, Tape
2. Source File
3. Camroll
4. Labroll
5. SoundRoll

You also need to ask whether they just want the "mix" track syncing and not all the microphone ISO's if these files are multitrack. Typically the editor will only work with the mix track but sound post will want all the ISO tracks when doing the dialog edit. REDCINE X has changed over the past few versions and some of the BWF metadata (Track Info and such) has been removed. The BWF filename is part of a path name and unfortunately not isolated to its own column (I would suggest SoundRoll) to make the post conform process easier. Also note, that it is common that timecodes don't always match exactly, so you will be responsible for resyncing to ensure the claps image and waveform match exactly. There is a video on the RED site showing how you can manually resync shots that need to be adjusted.

I still prefer to sync audio within Media Composer as none of the "dailies" system do audio metadata retention and persistence of metadata to the full needs of the post process for feature film work - for television and other productions they are fine as the workflow needs are slightly different as well as turnaround times. And if you have playback timecode on set (such as a musical show like Glee) then that introduces a whole other layer of complexity - especially if there are multiple songs within the same take and the music starts after start of scene. In those cases, sync sound can only be done in Media Composer to make all that work.

Also, feature productions will still work in a 35mm film project as it allows them to resync audio on 1/4 frame boundaries and have all the feet+frame and frame counts available to them for VFX tacking and fim outs if needed. The SDK used by dailies systems from Avid does not yet allow addressing the rendered files as such so there is no ability to slip on 1/4 frame after the fact should they need to. Also, the transocde process in the dailies system truncates the file to be same length as video, so any handles or additional audio in the original recording will be lost. This is the one of the main reasons I like importing BWF files directly into Media Composer for syncing. In one operation I can strip the isO tracks, sync the Mix track, and then slip the audio in 1/4 increments for perfect sync all very quickly (faster than in these dailies systems) and have all the metadata available for post.

I have been working with several of the dailies creation software manufactures to improve the dailies process for audio and they are getting there - they all rate about a B to B+ at this point depending on program. REDCINE X used to be a B for me, but went to a B- when they lost the track info and other BWF/iXML metadata. But on the other hand, the ALE it exports is a treasure trove of other metadata, just needs the tweak on audio improvements. And then if Avid updates the SDK to allows 1/4 frame addressing, it will be very close to doing it in Media Composer which could also use a few updates, but comparatively is still the best place to sync dailies.

Make sure you have that meeting of what "dailies" means to everyone. In this day of digital, the tools may have gotten cheaper, but the workflow requirements remain the same, and they are not all equal.


Michael

[Pasha Patriki]

Michael, thanks for the fantastic in-depth description! Using MC vs. RCX and how metadata is retained is exactly what I was wondering about.
So - if I was to offer synching the dailies in MC as a value-aded service to the project - what would be the best way to deliver that? An avid project file with imported and synched DNHXHD and BWF?

[MichaelP]

I would ask them what project type (film or not for the 1/4 frame resync) so their project type matches. From there you will provide bins and media and original AAF and ALE files as created by REDCINE X. You can ask them for organization, but at the very least it will be a bin for the original picture dailies, one for the original BWF, and then a bin of synced dailies as well as MOS and wild track logged as per their needs. each bin would represent the day's shoot for picture and sound. And that's just for creative picture editorial needs. But get everything in writing as to what the specs and needs are to be sure everyone is literally on the same page.

Michael

[Job ter Burg]

What Michael says....

[Peter Moretti]

Michael is a GEM!!