The clap of a slate provides a marker for syncing sound and video.
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When professionally recording video, you typically capture the audio on a different device. Although this may result in better quality audio than you would obtain by using the default microphone installed on a video camera, you do need to sync the audio and video together in a video editor. If you failed to use a slate or clapper at the beginning of the shot and are having issues syncing up the audio and video, there are some techniques you can use to correct any problems you are having.
Step 1
Open the video editor you are working on and load the project with the audio and video tracks you are having issues syncing up.
Step 2
Listen in the audio for any sudden noises such as the clap of a hand, items striking one another or something falling on the floor. You want to find anything that makes a sudden noise. The shorter and more distinct the sound, the better.
Step 3
Watch the video track to see when the sudden noise occurs on the video. If you cannot see the item making the noise on video, you need to select a different sound.
Step 4
Listen one frame at a time to see if the sound is currently occurring before or after what you see in the video.
Step 5
Move the audio forward or backward one frame at a time. Continue doing this until the audio syncs with the video.
Photo Credits
- Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images
