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Using Timecode Synchronisation

Genesis Post supports processing videos containing timecode metadata. This allows your final tracking data to align perfectly with other capture systems (such as audio, facial mocap, or reference cameras) that shared the same master clock during production.

1. Synchronizing the Clock

Before you begin recording, you must ensure all hardware in your volume is on the same clock.

  • Master Camera: All cameras and any external capture systems must be synced to the same master timecode clock at the point of capture. To align the Z Cams with the external clock, connect an LTC source into the master camera SDI timecode port.
  • Camera Settings: Open the browser interface for the master camera, head to the Timecode tab, and verify the source is set to External. Ensure that the Project FPS for the cameras is set to the same value as the timecode FPS from your source.
  • Tentact Sync Configuration: Set up the device via the mobile app, and either set the Tentacle Sync to the current phone time, or jam it to an existing LTC master clock in your studio.

 

2. Verifying Timecode with FFprobe

Once setting up your cameras, you should check that your videos contain the correct timecodemetadata. You can use ffprobe to check this. Run the following command in your terminal from the folder containing your video to inspect the metadata:

ffprobe -v quiet -print_format json -show_streams video_name.mp4 | grep -i timecode

Expected output

For Genesis Post to read the metadata correctly, the timecode must be in the following standard format: hh:mm:ss:frames

(e.g., "timecode": "08:48:44:10")

 

3. Workflow & Output

  1. Import: Bring your videos into Genesis Post.
    1. For more information on this check out this document.
  2. Process: Submit the takes for processing with the timecode sync method.
  3. Timecode in the output files: Download your .fbx result files.
    1. Import the resulting fbx file into your engine (Maya, MotionBuilder, Unreal Engine). Because the output files retain the original timecode, you can drop your exported data directly onto a 3D software or video editing timeline, where it will automatically snap to the correct position and sync with any other system's data captured at that same moment.