"Undo" for music sync

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tlhogard@gmail.com
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:39 pm

"Undo" for music sync

Post by tlhogard@gmail.com »

Is there a plan to add an "undo" for mistakes in Music Sync? I worked very hard to sync my music, but made a mistake in the drill writing and it caused me to have to redo the music sync. Now, my count one (and, hence, the rest of my drill) does not line up. If I had an "undo" option in the first place, this would not be an issue.

tlh
William
Posts: 620
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:59 pm
Location: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
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Re: "Undo" for music sync

Post by William »

Hi tlh,

There is no immediate plan to add undo to the music sync system, however I can see how that would be useful. That being said, there are plenty of ways to manipulate the synced music so you shouldn't have a problem fixing whatever issue came up while syncing.

Your description is vague on what exactly the issue is that you are seeing so will describe a couple properties of the music sync feature that might help you resolve future issues more easily.
  1. Synced music markers are not strictly associated with sets, they are only linked by order. This means that the performers' drill and the number of counts in that set won't change if the synced music changes, only the tempo will change. For example, if I have 2 sets and 2 music sync marker at 0:00 and 0:10 then you will have your first set be 10 seconds long. If you then sync the music again to add another music sync marker at 0:05, you will still only have 2 sets worth of drill, but now that set is only 5 seconds long.
  2. You can re-sync the music at any point in the music. In the Music Sync tool you can drag the current time marker to anywhere on the timeline and start syncing from there. Sets that have already been synced will be overwritten as playback is happening. This is to allow you to essentially re-sync a part of the music without affecting the rest of it. You can also add new sync markers or remove existing sync markers this way.
  3. You can move the first sync marker to be at exactly 0 if your music starts right away.
    Screen Shot 2021-07-03 at 1.46.19 PM.png
    Screen Shot 2021-07-03 at 1.46.19 PM.png (42.53 KiB) Viewed 10874 times
  4. You can unlock the timeline and move sets relative to the music in the main timeline. You can either adjust just the set you are clicking on or adjust all following sets. This is nice if you've added or removed measures from the music so you don't have to re-write the entire production, you can just insert or remove sets as necessary and adjust the sets to match the new position in the music.
    Screen Shot 2021-07-03 at 1.47.37 PM.png
    Screen Shot 2021-07-03 at 1.47.37 PM.png (47.9 KiB) Viewed 10874 times
I hope some of this information has been helpful for you. If your issue wasn't covered with the above information then I would like if you could describe it in more detail so we can look at use cases in the software that we haven't considered before.

Have a great day!
William Lee
-----------------
CEO
Box5 Software
https://box5software.com
tlhogard@gmail.com
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:39 pm

Re: "Undo" for music sync

Post by tlhogard@gmail.com »

I have spent the last two hours trying to sync the music.

1. I tried "move the first set to the beginning of the music" command. Performers move before the music starts.
2. I tried unlocking and moving the sliders. Performers step off the opening step on time, but all other sets are off.
3. I tried "change start to 0". That was worthless. Now they just move early at a different set.
4. I tried adding dead time to the beginning of the music file. That made it worse.
5. I tried starting the mp3 recording right at 0. That made it just as bad.
6. I tried clearing the music and restarting. Well that wasted a lot of time, because even though I cleared it, the old sets popped up in the music sync timeline and I had to delete each one individually because there is no "clear all sets" in the music sync timeline.
7. I tried setting sets with out music and just putting things manually, but then I worried that I would not be able to enter the sets.
8. Your timeline slider is maddening because, even when I slide on the time line, my performers step off the opening at the beginning of the music, but the music is on the 3 step! And the rest of the sets are STILL off by 1 to 2 counts.
9. When I "Unlock" the time line, the slider jumps to where I placed it; when I re-lock the timeline or push play, the start position jumps back to where it was originally place, so I have no idea where to place the slider.

Maybe I am missing something. But I shouldn't have to wonder. After reading your reply, here is what I have found:
1. Okay. Thank you.
2. And when you accidentally overwrite a set you didn't mean to because your hand slipped of the mouse when you were trying to stop the sync, you have to redo your work because there is no undo function.
3. I did move the first sync marker to zero. It did not change anything.
4. The timeline dragging caused every set set afterward to step off at the wrong time.

I wish you guys and Field Artist would get together and put their music sync and time line features with the rest of your product. As it is, both of you have either created a mediocre product that is difficult to use or have made the instructions so vague that I can't figure them out. I really am frustrated. I am sorry, but I have wasted hours on something that I so looked forward to trying to do something so simple.

I want a paper manual. How can I get a paper manual?
William
Posts: 620
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:59 pm
Location: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Re: "Undo" for music sync

Post by William »

Hi tlhogard,

I'm sorry to hear that you are frustrated, that is certainly not our intention. We want to make EnVision as easy to use as possible so this is valuable feedback to see where the pain points are in the current process.

To address your last point first, I have put together a stripped down version of the help page that can be printed. Look for it on the EnVision Help Center page on our website, at the very bottom of the page under the Download and Print section.

For your immediate problem, it seems like you might be using an MP3 with too high of a bitrate. The nature of the audio playback that we use means that higher bitrate audio files become harder to accurately synchronize with. We recommend using an MP3 of no more than 128kbps to ensure that playback is accurate. If you're not sure how to do this then you can send us an email at contact@box5software.com with your music file and we can convert it for you.

Again, I'm very sorry that you are feeling frustrated and we will definitely use your list as inspiration to make EnVision better in the future.

Have a great day!
William Lee
-----------------
CEO
Box5 Software
https://box5software.com
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