It has always been our intent to use ZS4 for the production of t@b music videos. This document will outline some thoughts pertaining to the production methods which we are employing/testing. So here's an overview of the...
Sequence of events in some of our productions.
To begin with, we usually sketch out the audio/music in a program like Ake-Valk or Q-Baze, using MIDI scoring features. This is when we establish a few basic factors for the piece like: speed (beats per minute), measure and part length, key and basic rhythm. This step also results in one or more basic themes and riffs.
We then proceed to export an initial monitor track from our audio-studio program. This will typically be a stereo rhythm track, potentially with a bass and/or chord track outlining the musical progression. We make sure that this track is a nicely sounding stereo *.wav file with a 48kHz sampling rate (ZS4's internal sampling rate).
This initial monitor track ends up in two places: it forms the very initial clip in our new ZS4 project, and it is loaded onto a walkman style device, which actors in our video (ariana/andy) will use to keep them on time and in tune :)
Repeatedly we then proceed to do the following: armed with a video camera, our walkman with tiny earplug-headphones on the head of our actor/instrumentalist, we record both audio and video into the camera. We transfer this into our personal computer, import the new clip into our project and position it using the "musical time toolbar" as well as "markers", potentially applying loops (for repetitive tracks like basic percussion loops), and generate the ZS4 output necessary to determine which instrument we record next (onto the video camera).
At the end of this repeating step we have a ZS4 project with all the audio-visual tracks of our music video positioned correctly with all video related effects already in place (chroma keying, compositing etc), the audio is basically "cut", this means "at the right position", but still sounding dry and un-appealing. So we export the audio (just the audio!) of the relevant ZS4 tracks using the "export from beginning" toggle in the export panel. This will make it easy to align the beginning of all audio tracks in a multi-track audio studio, where we usually mix and master the audio track for our music video. We make sure that the resulting audio-master is, like the initial monitor track, a stereo/48kHz wave file.
In order to create the video (AVI) master file, we then export the main ZS4 project using the "audio-master" file box to enter the file name of the audio master. This (in our PAL example) results in a 720x576 (PAL) AVI file with 48kHz stereo audio, which can then be used with various encoders (mencoder, reel-producer etc...) to create streaming video files in the desired formats.
Please check remarks below for further details.
Remarks to Step 3
When importing the monitor track as first track of our new project, it will automatically be lined up at the beginning with the main mixer (media mixer track). It is vital that we NOT import or move any media track to begin before this track.
We also set the media mixer's and the monitor track's "musical time bar" to the same beats per minute and beats per bar as the Kick-Walk or Q-bass projects values.
Remarks to Step 4
Most of our (t@b) video work is done on a SUSE/Linux box, there we use Kino to capture video and mencoder to encode the captured video as AVI/mjpg for use with ZS4.
The following appears to be true for Windows capture: If you capture to an AVI format without compressed audio (basic PCM audio) then ZS4 should have no problems reading your captured video files. If you capture to AVI/DV (mini DV/firewire) format, be SURE to capture as DV TYPE 2 file, otherwise ZS4 will be unable to read the audio portion of the DV capture.
When importing subsequent video tracks, we display the "wave" panel for that track (upper ZS4-pane) and first mark the beginning of the first bar (of a loop) with the "Mark" button (leftmost red flag in wave panel) and potentially the "mark loop end" button to mark the end of a loop. In the "arrangement" pane (bottom right) we then position the time to the correct position for the "mark" of the newly imported track and then then click the "snap mark to position" button (at bottom of arrangement pane) to relocate the starting marker of the newly imported track to the current time position.
When using an imported video segment as a loop with given musical time dimensions (bars, beats, bpm etc) we should make sure that the loop duration corresponds EXACTLY with the micro-second duration of an actual bar (or part, or beat). for this we follow these steps in the track->wave panel.
Zoom into wave as necessary and position track time at precise beginning of loop. Test position with "play" button.
When position is set, use the "mark" button (leftmost red flag in wave toolbar)
Make sure the musical time parameters are set correctly (bpm etc).
Use musical time toolbar to move to precise end position of loop.
Mark loop end by clicking on the righmost red flag of the wave toolbar.
Remarks to Step 6
The export-with-audio master feature is available as of version 0.940 of ZS4. The way this is done with v0.939 and earlier is: mute the audio on ALL tracks and subtracks of your project, import the audio master into the main mixer (project track) and then export the full AVI file from there.
We've been using mencoder to create *.mpg files and Real-Producer to create *.rm files. We have also experimented with the Widows Media Enkoder, but with dismal results. VirtualDub on the other hand seems to be able to read ZS4 output files under windows. By far the best results for internet music video we achieved with the real media encoder, which makes very small video files look AND sound excellent, even at low bit rates.
Making a music video AFTER audio production is complete
ZS4 can of course be also used if an audio production is already complete and the video process starts AFTER that. Here are a few tips and recommendations for that case:
If you used a "click track" or equivalent in the audio production, it pays big time to remember the beats per minute in the audio as well other trivialities like beats per bar etc. Like in audio effects (echo etc) this helps derive settings for video tools (loops/effects) that are perfectly "on time" or "in sync". Enter these values on the projects "musical time toolbar" in the arrangement pane.
It is especially cool for a ZS4 video production if you have not only the audio master available at the beginning, but also separate audio tracks, the beginnings of which must match of perfectly flush with the beginning of the final master. These separate audio tracks can then be used to trigger video effects (in perfect sync with the audio track).
When doing the "video overdubs", try to blare a corresponding audio track on loudspeakers to make it easier to position the video clip in the ZS4 project more easily.
Use the audio master feature when exporting the final video master.
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