You recorded an interview with three camera angles and a lav mic. Or a panel discussion with five angles, each with its own audio. Selects syncs all of them without timecode, slates, or manual work.
Selects Agent and syncing
When you create a new project, the in-app Selects Agent handles the main timeline setup automatically:
Adds and syncs your files:
Selects Agentdetects and places your A-roll footage and audio onto the main timeline and syncs them when the project is first created.Skips sync for single-track projects: If you have only one video track or one audio track,
Selects Agentrecognizes this and skips the syncing step. It will prompt you to start analysis instead.Adding more files later: If you add more video or audio files after the initial setup, you can ask
Selects Agentto analyze and sync the newly added files. You can also manually place the new files on the main timeline and then ask the agent to sync them.
How syncing works in Selects
Selects uses timestamps or audio waveform data to align your footage. It analyzes the audio waveform of each file (both video and audio files) and matches them based on distinctive patterns. When the fingerprints match, Selects knows those files were recorded at the same moment and aligns them.
No timecode required. No slate or clapboard. Just cameras rolling.
What Selects can sync
Selects supports 10 or more camera angles in a single project. It also syncs separate audio recordings like lav mics, boom mics, and wireless feeds with your video. If you shot with one camera but recorded a separate audio track, Selects handles that the same way.
Adding more files and syncing
Selects Agent handles the initial sync automatically when your project is created. To add more video or audio files after that:
Drag and drop them into the workspace from your computer.
Add the A-roll and audio files onto the main timeline in the correct tracks.
Caution: Do not add B-roll, music, or sound effects here. Selects automatically sorts them into their own sections and analyzes them. They will be ready to use when you start editing.
Adding multicam footage
For multicam projects, each camera angle needs to be on its own track, stacked vertically in the timeline. For footage shot at different times, place those clips side by side on the same track. Selects needs this layout to recognize your footage as a multicam sequence.
To add multicam files:
Drag the files from the
Source Filespanel directly onto the main timeline.Stack each camera angle on its own track. Place clips shot at different times side by side on the same track.
Once placed, ask
Selects Agentto sync the new files.
Sync and review results
After syncing, each file is positioned relative to the others, so you can see at a glance whether they're aligned or if one is drifting. If the syncing was completed successfully, you will see a pop-up saying "Sync complete” in the bottom right corner.
If any tracks could not be synced, Selects highlights them in red and asks you to review them.
Click
Review unsynced clip(s)to see which tracks failed.Select the highlighted clips and press
Backspaceto remove them from the main timeline.Click
Sync main timelineagain to complete the sync.Play the preview to check if the clips were synced properly.
Note: This only removes the clips from the timeline. They are not deleted from your project.
Manual adjustment
If a clip looks out of sync, you can adjust its position manually. Select the clip and drag it left or right on the timeline, or use Option + → or Option + ← to nudge it into place.
This is useful when a camera started rolling late or when audio was recorded with a slight delay. After you adjust, Selects recalculates the alignment automatically.
You can make manual adjustments to the sync only before starting the analysis. Once the project is created and the analysis is completed, you will not be able to return to the Prep page to adjust the sync manually.
Important: Check your sync before starting the analysis
Analysis reads directly from your sync, so the transcription is only as accurate as the alignment. If the sync is off, the analysis will be too. Please review it now and adjust manually if anything looks wrong.
Start analysis ONLY after you've confirmed the sync is correct.
Common sync issues
Selects may not be able to sync a file if:
Cameras were rolling at different times with no audio overlap
A clip is too short (under 10 seconds is risky)
The recording environment was too noisy and the audio fingerprint is degraded
If a file will not sync, check that all cameras were recording simultaneously for at least a few seconds of shared audio. A clap, a counted slate, or any reference sound at the start of recording makes sync much easier.
Speaker and presence detection
During sync, Selects analyzes the audio to detect up to 70 speakers and identify when each person is speaking or on camera. This feeds into the AI analysis stage and helps with speaker identification later.
Next steps
Once sync is confirmed, you are ready to begin the AI analysis of your synced timeline. Learn more about How AI Video Analysis Works in Selects
FAQs
What if I already created a project with out-of-sync media?
If you already created a project with out-of-sync media, you will need to start over with a new project. Go back to the homepage, re-import your media files, and confirm the sync is correct before starting analysis.