How to sync a film edited in proxies without production audio

[rbuncher]

• When creating proxies, for Red camera files, for a feature film, the technician for the editor didn't sync the production audio. So they cut with just the camera scratch track from the mixer. Now they are ready for dialogue edit. They edited in Premiere Pro. But with no sync audio.
  My advise was that they would need to hand sync all the production audio for the dialogue editor. That was my experience several years ago when I was in a similar situation, being handed a cut project with no sync audio.
  Am i correct about this? Has any thing changed? Is there a way to sync such a mess? There is Time code on everything.
  Again, they are using Premiere Pro.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi rbuncher,

Check out this guide for potential answers around film workflow. I think you can sync automatically with both timecode and waveforms in multicamera sequences (which you use like merged clips). See "Choose the synching method." This allows for an audio turnover for your mixer. Let me know if you have questions.

Thanks,
Kevin

[R Neil Haugen]

I agree with Kevin ...and the correct process for this work in Premiere isn't the 'merge clips' option, that's designed for quick & dirty matches. It doesn't keep the audio metadata.

Use the Multicam process. It's designed for all matching of video & separate audio no matter if you have multiple cameras or not. Keeps your full metadata ... and edits better.

If you've got timecode, that should be usable. I'd try that first. Then go to the audio for syncing if the timecode doesn't work.

You can sync a bunch of separate camera/audio pairings at once, actually. Select the clips in the bin, and "Make multicam" ... Premiere will match any audio & video clips, making a different "multicam clip" of every pairing it finds.

And the link Kevin gave isn't working my computer, I'm pretty sure it's the new document with lead writer Jarle Leirpoll, a wondrous new bit on best setup and operation for 'long-form' and episodic work. But should be read by all Premiere editors, it's that good and that practical.

Neil

Adobe Long-form and Episodic Best Practices Guide

(and Jarle 'extended his comments' on the multicam process on his website ...)

Jarle’s blog expansion of the pdf Multicam section: Premiere Pro Multicam