How Editors Cut Video in Sync with Music

[katiemcc]

I have noticed in movies that the clips are often in sync with the music and they both have perfect timing. I was wondering how this worked. Do you decide on the song and then plan out how long each clip will be to match the music? Or do you film the clips and then just trim it down in post to match the music?

 

[Kim Welch]

There are different ways of doing it. It's like foley or sound effects are done in different ways. I think it's kind of like voice over in some cases but with music and sound effects there are methods with software like Avid and Final Cut and others where you can make the sound happen at exactly the frame you want. For example exactly when the glass breaks. Music can be a bit different because you can edit your sound files to loop and if you're a composer you can actually write your music to fit the video. So, I know that might not be a great answer but it can give you some ideas. There are also a lot of video tutorials. Here is one <iframe width="854" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SLbHfFdQStY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[BartWeiss]

I have noticed in movies that the clips are often in sync with the music and they both have perfect timing. I was wondering how this worked. Do you decide on the song and then plan out how long each clip will be to match the music? Or do you film the clips and then just trim it down in post to match the music?

Often the picture will be cut to the music track. In FCP X and other programs you can see the wave forms and see where the beats are. Often editors have hit a marker if they need something to hit (usually the M key) and then slide the picture to hit that.
Also note that our eyes react differently to music than to dialogue. With music our eyes will think things are in sync that are several frames out, but with people talking one frame off and we will feel that it is wrong.
I have often cut things with different beats per second and you could not tell the difference.

With the other way around, if music was placed in after the picture was cut, and music was not composed for the film,
you can recut the music (look on credits, you will see a music editor). Their job is to find ways to make the music work and for the audience to not hear the edit.
Hope this helps.
bart

 

[katiemcc]

Thank you. This was really helpful!!

 

[katiemcc]

Thanks for the video. It helped me understand it more

 

[aditi]

Helpful video. Thank you for sharing.