how do I sync audio to video (music video)?

[Federico Perale]

I explain myself.

I would like to take a few songs I know and try to make music videos from them.
it's a good challenge, and I always liked the idea.

BUT, how do I managed video and audio tracks together?
I imagine I would start the project from just the audio track itself, and it's crucial that I am able to cut sequences at exactly a precise point (corresponding to a specific note, or the start of a chorus or a verse for example)./....
or I might need to have quick clips each starting on every beat of a measure...(you got the point)

how do I do that on Vegas? what's the technique behind this? what's the best workflow?

[Edward Troxel]

Simply drag the various files to the timeline. You can then move them around however you need. Just slide them left or right until they're in the position you want.

[Federico Perale]

thanks, but I was wondering how to do that in detail.
I believe there is a way to set the timeline to BPMs....

[Thomas Moore]

Zoom in on the Audio wave form you can see the up/down "beats" that way.

[Paul R Johnson]

If you're a musician, its pretty simple - HOWEVER - you need to work on long clips, then they can be cut up once they're synced - you won't have much luck attempting to sync short clips. I tend to use the drummer if I can - so you can 'see' his downbeat on the snare or cymbal, you can 'see' the sound on the clip waveform, so you slip one against the other until they're aligned. Keys are similar, look for the stab of the hands on a loud chord - same for guitars - somewhere there's always something. Often when I'm stuck, I look elsewhere in the clip for clues. Is there a bit of the drummer in the corner you can use, rather than the singer - that kind of visual thing. If you can't see the musicians hands, then these shots are great for cut-aways to hide nasties in other edited sections. Close ups of faces nodding or looking cool work great.

If the show is live, then you also have lighting to help - looking for the point when the audience blinders fire up - can you see these in the different shots you have - if so, it's another sync point.

[Jay Massengill]

For most of us, some basic info on doing a music video goes without saying. Since this thread is dealing with the truly most basic concepts, I thought I would actually mention those basics so they don't get overlooked.

First you pick or create the actual finished music and vocal track, edited and finalized.
Then you play that track aloud during video shooting.
Make certain your camera is also recording audio to act as a guide when you put it all together.
The finished music track you used in playback on set is also the track you will use in editing to match your video shots to. This music track is the "master" that you sync everything else to in post-production.
After getting all your video footage in sync and making all your edits, the guide audio tracks that go along with that footage are muted.

The better recording of guide audio you can get on the video footage makes syncing easier.
It's best if you can send the music directly into one channel of the camera as well as to your playback loudspeakers, and use the other track on the camera for ambient audio to catch directions and director comments.

This description is oversimplified, there are a lot of other aspects to deal with, but this covers the most basic concept.

[Robin Davies-Rollinson]

I think that Federico was talking about dealing with non-sync clips, ie, laying down a music track and then adding shots cut to specific music points (beats or phrases etc)
He might find it easier to load the audio track in the Trimmer, play it, and press the 'M' key at the points that he wants, in order to place a marker on the audio.
If he then drags the audio track to the timeline, the markers will show up and he can lay his shots on the video track and trim them to the markers...
I find that Vegas isn't as accommodating as Avid or Premiere in its use of markers.

[Federico Perale]

thanks Robin
that's precisely what I want to do...

will try your suggestion

[Ian Stark]

For anyone interested in making music videos I recommend 'Make Your Own Music Video' by Ed Gaskell.

Amazon.com: Make Your Own Music Video (DV Expert Series) (9781578202584): Ed Gaskell: Books

 

Amazon.com: Make Your Own Music Video (DV Expert Series) (9781578202584): Ed Gaskell: Books

I found it to be a very good BASIC introduction with tons of good ideas and packed with examples. I stress 'basic' because it doesn't go into any areas in huge detail - it just gives you enough to go off and think it out for yourself, which I like. It ain't cheap, though. I got mine second hand for under $20 - not sure I would pay $50 for it.