1. Choose one timing reference
Use the exact playback version heard by the cameras. Keep the count-in, intro and arrangement consistent with the recordings. If the final release master differs, do not assume every take will still align: establish timing with the on-set version and resolve the master change deliberately in your edit.
Check a short import of the reference before adding the entire shoot. Listen to it in the browser and confirm its duration. A recognized file extension does not prove that its audio can be decoded correctly on your device.
2. Keep the camera folders useful
Keep camera originals in their existing folder tree. A simple working arrangement is one reference folder, camera-specific performance folders, and a separate cutaway folder. That is a preparation convention on your disk, not a PimCut storage or media-management feature.
Import a folder when that option is available so relative paths can be retained. Dragged individual files may expose only names. Keep filenames stable after analysis, and check for duplicate names across cameras before relinking in your NLE.
If you work with proxies, keep a dependable original-to-proxy mapping and matching timing. PimCut does not make proxies, transcode your shoot or back up the media. Those tasks stay in your existing production workflow.
SHOOT /
├ reference / on-set-song
├ camera-a / performances
├ camera-b / performances
└ cutaways / details
SHARED REFERENCE TIME →
3. Check formats without confusing audio and picture support
PimCut’s camera-audio extraction path handles MP4/MOV-family containers, including .mp4, .mov, .m4v and .mp4v, plus .m4a audio. A container is not a codec: the audio inside must still be readable. Test one representative file from every camera or recording setting before importing the full batch.
ProRes footage can be synced through readable embedded audio even when the browser cannot display its picture. HEVC and other picture previews depend on browser/device support. A missing thumbnail is not, by itself, proof that audio sync failed; a missing or unreadable audio track is a different problem.
Optional pro-codec still previews have a 320 MiB per-file ceiling and a decode timeout. That ceiling is specific to the optional still-preview path, not a general maximum size for your camera originals or an export guarantee. Raw-camera formats and every possible codec combination are not universally supported.
- Reference audio plays and has the expected duration.
- Each camera sample exposes readable audio, not only readable picture.
- Proxy duration, timing and source identity match the intended originals.
- Preview limitations are separated from sync results.
4. Think in coverage, not just take count
Several takes of the opening verse do not cover the final chorus. Make a quick section-by-section list of usable performance angles. Mark which parts have wide, medium or close coverage and which have none. More files do not necessarily give the first cut more choices.
Keep performance takes distinct from inserts, scenery and other cutaways. Performance alignment needs the shared playback in the camera audio. A silent detail shot may still be useful B-roll, but do not label it a verified performance angle just because you intend to cut it over the song.
After analysis, review the available coverage and any gaps. PimCut’s first-cut proposal is music-first and beat-matched; it is not a speech edit, a finished music video or a substitute for performance choices. Unconfirmed sync proposals should not become active cut sources.
5. Check before you commit to the assembly
Review uncertain takes with Listen & fix, then check important takes near the start, middle and end of their overlap. Inspect the proposed cut for repeated angles, uncovered song sections and cutaways that need editorial judgment.
Export the appropriate project document only when you are ready for the NLE handoff. Keep the original media available for relinking and check the imported audio, frame rate and source timing before refining the edit. Analysis runs locally in the browser; the export file refers to media rather than uploading the footage.
- Exact on-set song version selected.
- Camera folder tree and proxy mapping preserved.
- Usable performance coverage checked across the whole song.
- Uncertainty reviewed and gaps understood before export.