PluralEyes, whose sole purpose was to sync audio to video, is being retired or entering into a ‘limited maintenance mode’, in corporate speak. But we will remember PluralEyes with fondness as it gave thousands of new content creators the ability to make lots of stuff. We look back at how it all started and why it’s coming to an end. PluralEyes had a simple message which chimed with thousands of content creators. Image credit: Maxon PluralEyes was launched in 2009 and it’s no coincidence that Canon’s 5D Mark II came out at around the same time. The MKII wasn’t designed as an audio product (although it did have a scratch audio track) but an imaging one with its full frame sensor creating creamy and beautiful footage. The camera became a no-budget music video creator’s favorite, but the only problem was synching the track with the video in the edit. Almost like magic and without knowing anything about timecode, you could import footage and audio into FCP and access PluralEyes as a plug-in. Hit synchronize and watch your timeline shuffle together like a well-drilled line of soldiers; the DSLR video revolution had begun. Of course, you could get synch by nudging your video around and using the shark fin-shaped clap you had shot at the start of the track but PluralEyes saved you so much time to carry on creating. And it only cost $149 from a small software company called Singular. Using hand claps was not always ideal, especially in...
Published By: CineD - Monday, 13 February, 2023