looking for resources

[lonesomehank]

howdy......i am about to start work on a 12 minute animation film......responsible for all of the sound (music/sound fx/foley).......this is a huge project for me.....never done anything like this before.....am working with DP 4.5 and a MOTU 2408 MK3......i am wondering if there are any resources out there (discussion forums/articles/websites) that talk through the process of taking all of yr. sound sources (music/effects) and synching them all to picture.....it is not the generating of sound that is the stumbling block.....it is taking all of the elements and fusing them in a cohesive/tight manner.....this is a vague request for sure....but maybe someone can point me in the right direction.....thanks

[Helen]

Well, it looks like you need to start looking at SMPTE time code.

Basically, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers figured out that in order to sync sound to film you had to number every frame in consecutive order. The numbering system they came up with is SMPTE time code, and while it has several variations (due to the different frame rates of different types of film and video) it's basically displayed as such:

01:09:15:28

..which tells us that you're on the first reel of film, the 9th minute, 15th second, and 28th frame.

For more info Google "SMPTE time code". Look for explainations related to music and scoring, I think those explainations usually are the clearest. You could also try www.smpte.org for more info.

Also look in your DP manual for 'SMPTE time code' and read how to use it within DP to sync sound to film.

You'll also need to find out the frame rate of the film you're working with. The director, or at the very least the editor, of the film should be able to give you that info.

Welcome to the world of watching a movie one frame at a time!