SyncNut documentation

SyncNut lines up every camera and audio recorder from a shoot by listening to their sound, then gives you a timeline that opens in DaVinci Resolve with everything in sync and linked to your media.

Quick start

1. In Resolve, put the clips from your shoot on a new timeline, one track per camera or recorder. Where they sit doesn't matter.
2. Choose File › Export › Timeline…, set the file type to AAF, and save it.
3. Open SyncNut and load that AAF in step 1.
4. In step 2, choose the folder that holds your footage.
5. When every clip shows Ready, click Sync, then Download synced AAF.
6. Back in Resolve, choose File › Import › Timeline… and open the downloaded file.

Set up the timeline in Resolve

The timeline you export is how you tell SyncNut what to sync. It sets which clips are included and which camera each one belongs to.

• One track per device. Put every clip from camera A on V1, camera B on V2, and so on. Put each separate audio recorder (Zoom, Tascam, lav packs) on its own audio track.
• Order and position don't matter. Drop the clips in roughly; SyncNut moves them. Clips from the same camera can sit end to end in any order.
• Use plain clips. Compound clips, multicam clips and nested timelines aren't read yet. Put the original media on the timeline.
• Include everything you want synced. Files in the folder that aren't on the timeline are skipped.

Your project's frame rate is used for the synced timeline, so set the timeline frame rate the way you want it before exporting.

Export the AAF

1. Select the timeline in the Media Pool, or open it in the Edit page.
2. Choose File › Export › Timeline… (⇧⌘O on Mac, CtrlShiftO on Windows). In older versions this is called File › Export AAF, XML….
3. In the save window, set the file type to AAF Files (*.aaf).
4. Save it anywhere, such as your desktop. It's a small file with no media inside.

Add your footage

Click Choose folder and pick the folder that holds the shoot, or drag the folder onto the page. It's fine to pick a parent folder with more in it: SyncNut only reads files whose names match clips on your timeline, and it skips folders called Proxy or Proxies.

Your browser may ask whether to “upload” the files. That's the browser's standard wording for letting a page read a folder. SyncNut reads them on your computer and nothing is sent anywhere.

Each clip is read once to pull out its sound. A summary bar shows how many clips are ready, still reading, have no sound, or are missing. Click Show clips to see the full list, filter it by name, and check the status of each file. The list scrolls on its own, so a shoot with hundreds of clips stays tidy.

Cameras that record several audio channels, like the Sony FX6 or FX9, are handled automatically. Silent channels and channels with only hiss are ignored, and if the combined sound doesn't match, each microphone is tried on its own. Hover a clip's status to see which channels were used.

Sync

When every clip is ready, click Sync. Matching usually takes seconds to a minute, depending on how much footage there is. Under Options you can change:

• Name of the synced timeline. It defaults to your timeline's name plus “(synced)”.
• Put takes back to back. On by default. When cameras stop and start, each take is placed right after the previous one in recording order, instead of leaving hours of gap where nothing was rolling.
• Search range. “Whole clips” is the most thorough. A smaller range is faster on very long recordings when you know the cameras started close together.
• Put clips that couldn't be matched at the end. Keeps every clip on the timeline, with the unmatched ones after everything else so you can place them by hand.

During early access there is no limit on cameras or recorders. See pricing for what changes when Pro launches.

Import into Resolve

1. Click Download synced AAF.
2. In Resolve, choose File › Import › Timeline… (⇧⌘I on Mac, CtrlShiftI on Windows). Older versions call it File › Import AAF, EDL, XML….
3. Pick the downloaded file and click Open. Leave the import options as they are and click OK.

The synced timeline is added to your Media Pool next to the original, which is left untouched. Because it points at the same media, every clip comes in online. From there you can create a multicam clip, cut between angles, or edit as usual.

Reading the result

After syncing, SyncNut shows a preview of the new timeline:

• Solid clips were matched by sound. These are accurate to the frame.
• Striped clips shared no sound with anything else, so they were placed using the camera's recorded time. That's usually within a second; check them in Resolve.
• Extra tracks appear when two clips from the same camera overlap in time, for example when a camera split a recording into several files with a small overlap. SyncNut adds a track rather than cover one clip with another.

Warnings under the preview list anything that needs a look: clips that couldn't be matched, clips missing from the folder, and recorders whose clocks drift noticeably over a long take.

How matching works

SyncNut decodes the sound of every clip at a low sample rate and builds a profile of where sounds start and stop. It compares those profiles between every pair of clips to find candidate offsets, then refines the best candidate on the actual waveform to well under a frame. Matches are linked from the most confident pair downwards, so a camera that never overlaps your main recorder still syncs through any clip it does overlap. Clips from the same camera are never placed on top of each other, and the order in which a camera recorded its clips is respected.

All of this runs in your browser using WebAssembly. Your media is never uploaded.

Troubleshooting

“That file didn't work” after loading the AAF

Make sure you exported with File › Export › Timeline… and chose AAF as the file type, not XML or EDL. If the message says the timeline has no clips, add your camera clips to it in Resolve and export again.

Clips are “missing from folder”

SyncNut matches files by name. Check that you picked the folder that contains those clips (a parent folder is fine) and that the files haven't been renamed since they were added to Resolve.

A clip says “Can't read”

Some camera-raw formats, such as Blackmagic RAW and RED R3D, can't be read in the browser yet. Most MP4, MOV, MXF, MTS and WAV files work. If a camera recorded raw video, a separate audio recorder on the same shoot will still sync.

A clip wasn't matched

• The clip needs sound in common with at least one other clip. A camera recording only wind noise, or a clip a few seconds long, may not have enough to go on.
• If you set a search range, try Whole clips.
• Turn on Put clips that couldn't be matched at the end to keep them on the timeline and place them by hand.

Clips placed by clock are off

Clock placement depends on each camera's date and time setting. If a camera's clock was wrong, its silent clips will be off by the same amount. Nudge them in Resolve.

Resolve says the file can't be opened

Import the file SyncNut downloaded, using File › Import › Timeline…. If it still fails, reload SyncNut to get the latest version and sync again. If that doesn't help, contact us with your Resolve version and we'll look into it.

Clips come in offline

The synced timeline uses the same media links as the timeline you exported. If the media has been moved since then, select the clips in the Media Pool and use Relink Clips.

Reading is slow

SyncNut reads every clip on your timeline once, so a large shoot can take a few minutes. Keep the tab open; it carries on in the background. Footage on a fast internal or USB drive reads quicker than footage on a network share.

FAQ

Is my footage uploaded?

No. Everything happens inside your browser on your computer. See Privacy.

Does it work with the free version of Resolve?

Yes. AAF export and import work in both DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Does it change my original timeline or files?

No. SyncNut only reads your media, and the synced timeline is imported as a new one next to the original.

How accurate is it?

Clips matched by sound are placed to the frame. Clips placed by camera clock are usually within a second.

Can I use it for podcasts and long recordings?

Yes. Hour-long takes are fine, and SyncNut warns you when a recorder's clock drifts enough to notice over the length of the recording.

Is it free?

Yes, everything is free during early access. A paid Pro plan will come later for shoots with more than three cameras or recorders; smaller shoots will stay free.