Lip sync video and write up

On Monday 20th of June our class spent a day in the studio working on lip sync exercise. Students were assigned to roles on the set, such as the floor manager, directors, camera operators, actors and the clapper loader. The floor manager's responsibility was to check that the crew members are ready for a take and announce the beginning of filming with three calls: "Stand by!". "Cameras roll!" and "Playback!". Clapper loader was to exhibit the iPad with MoviSlate8, application resembling a clapper board, to the cameras and start the playback when told to by the floor manager.

We were introduced to two new items of equipment: the clapperboard and the dolly. The clapper board holds the information identifying the next scene and creating a sound that aligns the audio and video. The dolly is a device resembling a cart that is placed either on rails or wheels and carries the camera. It is operated by two men, one being the camera man and taking the required shot, the other pushing the dolly with the dolly grip.



















After everyone became familiar with their responsibilities, the shooting started. We were separated in three groups, each with the task to film lip syncing to Ed Sheehan's song "Shape of U". With the floor manager's call "Playback!" the shooting began; actors were performing the actions directed earlier, the operators took shots directed.

The purpose of the MoviSlate8 app became clear in the editing suite. If the iPad's screen was visible on the footage, the videos were cut in the moment where the application had identical times of the countdown, thus syncing the image and the sound. If the camera wasn't filming the iPad, the footage could be synced with the sound, as there were a beat of the snare and the floor drum before the song began. The application allowed to synchronise the footage and the song quickly and easily. 

My most frequent mistake was to move the footage along the timeline instead of cutting it in the appropriate moments. This put the selected clip out of sync, which could jeopardise the whole editing process. Fortunately, I corrected these mistakes shortly after making them.

I never synchronised footage with the use of a clapperboard or an equivalent application before. It turned out to be very helpful and greatly speeded up the editing process.