Michael's Indian Dancers video

[PeterFacey]

There's quite a high degree of continuity of the diegetic sound on this video, across numerous cuts in the picture, even though Michael wrote "The audio is just what was recorded with the camera's built-in mics." I'd like to hear more from Michael as to how this was achieved in the editing room.

The article is here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/cacophony.shtml

[michael]

I didn't mean that the audio was unedited, just that I didn't use an external mic or second system.

Michael

[PeterFacey]

No, I didn't mean that either. I was thinking more that to get a continuous sound track you have to leave the camera recording all the time. One can then replace parts of the action shots with cutaway shots, but letting the sound track from the action shot run on. But a problem comes if you want to cut from one action shot to another, whilst preserving an apparently continuous sound track AND still having the music in sync with the action. You seemed to achieve this, for example in the opening sequence where I counted seven cuts in the picture but only one possible discontinuity in the sound.
But it may be that you were aided by the music having a fast rhythm and repetitive melody.

I just wondered if this was a big consideration in the editing, or if there were any tricks you could share.

[michael]

Both the brass band and the drummers were quite repetitious and rhythmical. It was easy to cut together on the beat.

I also took the longest audio take and used it as the sound "bed".

Michael

[Morgan_Moore]

I think one of the tips of single cam shooting is spotting repetetive activities and cutting them together

Learning what will fool the viewer and what wont and does it matter ?

Of course rolling a long take for a sound bed is another simple tip

this is done by filming two dances (see her coming down the steps loose and close up)

none of the dancing matches the audio - do you care or notice

S