Audio
Sync sound: definition and examples
What is Sync sound?
Sync sound is audio recorded at the same time as the video footage it accompanies, so that the sound and picture are aligned in time from the start. In practice this means dialogue, ambient sound, and on-set noise are captured during filming and then matched precisely to the corresponding visuals in the edit.
When you'd use it
- 1When filming a speaker or presenter whose lip movement must match the audio track precisely.
- 2When two cameras covered the same moment and audio from one needs to be matched to footage from the other.
- 3When a separate audio recorder was used on set and the recorded sound needs to be aligned to the video file.
- 4When a re-recorded line needs to be matched back to the lip movement in the original take.
- 5When the editor receives raw files from a multi-person shoot and audio sync has not been established.
Example
A creator records a product review using a wireless lavalier microphone feeding a separate audio recorder. She claps once before starting each take so that in editing, the sharp clap waveform on the audio track lines up precisely with the visual frame of her hands meeting.
Use cases
- 1Matching an external recorder's audio file to the camera footage from a single-camera interview.
- 2Aligning dialogue recorded on a boom mic to video captured by a second camera angle.
- 3Replacing on-camera microphone audio with a cleaner lavalier track while keeping lip sync accurate.
FAQ
What is the difference between sync sound and dubbing?
Sync sound is audio recorded live at the time of filming and aligned to that footage. Dubbing replaces the original audio with new recordings made separately, matched to the lip movements or action after the fact. Sync sound preserves the original performance; dubbing substitutes a new one.
Make on-brand short-form video from the footage you already have.