Judging an a/v sync isn’t easy. Not only are there several different sync goals that a viewer might have, but over the coarse of a 40 minute sync, it becomes difficult to remember which parts were really good and which were lacking. But it would be nice to be able to say with some repeatability and reliability how well a sync works, so to that end I propose the following type of measurement of a sync.
The sync is divided up into 15 second intervals, and each of those intervals is judged according to how well it works. Then there can be numbers (weighted averages) assigned to the entire sync or each song, for example, that indicate how well the sync worked on average. There may be disagreement about how well one of these segments of a sync works, but I don’t think the problem will be nearly as bad as the disagreement that follows from judging entire syncs. In a small amount of time, it is easier to say that a sync contains something interesting or it doesn’t, and if there is honest disagreement, it should be easier to find a common ground. For the Stairway to Oz contest, I used a method like this to do my part of the judging, and it seemed to work well.
But there are levels for appreciating syncs that aren’t suited to this type of analysis. The starting point has to be important to say that the audio and video are synching. If a piece of music goes well with a piece of video in the sense that the music makes a good soundtrack, but it doesn’t really matter where the music starts, then it’s not about the two being synchronized, it’s more about an artistic matching. This type of judging isn’t about artistic matching. This type of judging is designed to judge how well they sync as if the entire sync is made of a bunch of 15 second syncs. So it’s not really about how enjoyable the sync is to watch, unless you love it when stuff goes together and don’t care about much else.
The first full length sync that I’ve judged like this is the famous Dark Side of the Rainbow. After watching it dozens of times, I still couldn’t really say for sure which parts I thought were the strongest, and which were the weakest. It should be noted that this uses the Pre-89 version of the video, which is slightly different (less than a few seconds) than the modern video, which Baker B. brought to my attention: http://breton.home.boone.net/darksideoftherainbow.html I agree with him that this is the best of the variations.
Before listing numbers, I need to say what each number means.
I decided to break it up into essentially two scales, positive and negative, corresponding to synching and not synching in the following manner:
10 |
means
outstanding sync. Startling and
perfectly timed |
9 |
means
exceptional, but lacking in some small way |
8 |
means
exceptional, but lacking in some way |
7 |
means
excellent, but not shockingly excellent. |
6 |
means
very nice, but not wonderful |
5 |
means that
it's good for a sync that's going well |
4 |
means
it's got a little something, but nothing yet that you'd want to point out as
being cool. |
3 |
means
everything's going alright, but it's nothing special |
2 |
means it leaves
a little to be desired, but it's OK. |
1 |
means
it's hanging in there. |
0 |
means
it's falling flat. |
-1 |
means
it's a little bad. |
-2 |
means
it's getting annoying |
-3 |
means
it's solidly not synching |
-4 |
means it's
starting to grate |
-5 |
means
nobody should be saying that the two go together |
-6 |
means
it's really grating |
-7 |
means
it's really bad |
-8 |
means
horrible |
-9 |
means
hated it |
-10 |
means
nobody's gonna make you watch that again |
The scale should be fine tuned to make it as linear as possible, but this seems like a reasonable start.
Here’s how well the songs score. First we have the title, then the time segments that each song covers, then the average score, then the number of intervals sampled for that song. For simplicity, I rounded each song off to cover an integer number of intervals.
Song Times Score
Intervals
Speak to Me/Breathe |
0.0 - 4.0 |
1.31 |
16 |
On the Run |
4.0 - 7.30 |
-0.43 |
14 |
Time |
7.30 - 14.40 |
2.86 |
29 |
The Great Gig in the Sky |
14.40 - 19.20 |
5.53 |
19 |
Money |
19.20 - 25.55 |
2.73 |
26 |
Us and Them |
25.55 - 33.35 |
3.80 |
30 |
Any Colour You Like |
33.35 - 37.0 |
-0.43 |
14 |
Brain Damage |
37.0 - 40.50 |
4.44 |
16 |
Eclipse |
40.50 - 42.55 |
5.44 |
9 |
|
|
|
2.90 |
A score near zero means that there is no sync, so an overall score of 2.9 means that, on average, some significant synching going on.
But saying which songs were best on average isn’t the only kind of thing that we would like to know about a sync. Another thing to note is which parts of a sync scored very high. But to do that, we need to look at individual segment scores, which follow.
Segment |
|
|
Overall (from -10 to +10) |
|
1 |
0.0 - 0.15 |
|
-1 |
Speak to
Me/Breath |
2 |
0.15 - 0.30 |
|
-1 |
|
3 |
0.30 - 0.45 |
|
-1 |
|
4 |
0.45 - 1.0 |
|
-1 |
|
5 |
1.0 - 1.15 |
|
-1 |
|
6 |
1.15 - 1.30 |
|
2 |
|
7 |
1.30 - 1.45 |
|
1 |
|
8 |
1.45 - 2.0 |
|
1 |
|
9 |
2.0 - 2.15 |
|
1 |
|
10 |
2.15 - 2.30 |
|
3 |
|
11 |
2.30 - 2.45 |
|
3 |
|
12 |
2.45 - 3.0 |
|
3 |
|
13 |
3.0 - 3.15 |
|
1 |
|
14 |
3.15 - 3.30 |
|
3 |
|
15 |
3.30 - 3.45 |
|
4 |
|
16 |
3.45 - 4.0 |
|
4 |
Speak to
Me/Breath |
17 |
4.0 - 4.15 |
|
7 |
On The
Run |
18 |
4.15 - 4.30 |
|
3 |
|
19 |
4.30 - 4.45 |
|
4 |
|
20 |
4.45 - 5.0 |
|
2 |
|
21 |
5.0 - 5.15 |
|
2 |
|
22 |
5.15 - 5.30 |
|
2 |
|
23 |
5.30 - 5.45 |
|
-3 |
|
24 |
5.45 - 6.0 |
|
-2 |
|
25 |
6.0 - 6.15 |
|
-3 |
|
26 |
6.15 - 6.30 |
|
-3 |
|
27 |
6.30 - 6.45 |
|
-3 |
|
28 |
6.45 - 7.0 |
|
-3 |
|
29 |
7.0 - 7.15 |
|
-5 |
|
30 |
7.15 - 7.30 |
|
-4 |
On The
Run |
31 |
7.30 - 7.45 |
|
-4 |
Time |
32 |
7.45 - 8.0 |
|
-3 |
|
33 |
8.0 - 8.15 |
|
10 |
|
34 |
8.15 - 8.30 |
|
5 |
|
35 |
8.30 - 8.45 |
|
3 |
|
36 |
8.45 - 9.0 |
|
4 |
|
37 |
9.0 - 9.15 |
|
3 |
|
38 |
9.15 - 9.30 |
|
3 |
|
39 |
9.30 - 9.45 |
|
2 |
|
40 |
9.45 - 10.0 |
|
2 |
|
41 |
10.0 - 10.15 |
|
2 |
|
42 |
10.15 - 10.30 |
|
4 |
|
43 |
10.30 - 10.45 |
|
2 |
|
44 |
10.45 - 11.0 |
|
1 |
|
45 |
11.0 - 11.15 |
|
5 |
|
46 |
11.15 - 11.30 |
|
4 |
|
47 |
11.30 - 11.45 |
|
2 |
|
48 |
11.45 - 12.0 |
|
3 |
|
49 |
12.0 - 12.15 |
|
2 |
|
50 |
12.15 - 12.30 |
|
2 |
|
51 |
12.30 - 12.45 |
|
3 |
|
52 |
12.45 - 13.0 |
|
5 |
|
53 |
13.0 - 13.15 |
|
2 |
|
54 |
13.15 - 13.30 |
|
4 |
|
55 |
13.30 - 13.45 |
|
4 |
|
56 |
13.45 - 14.0 |
|
3 |
|
57 |
14.0 - 14.15 |
|
2 |
|
58 |
14.15 - 14.30 |
|
3 |
|
59 |
14.30 - 14.45 |
|
5 |
Time |
60 |
14.45 - 15.0 |
|
4 |
The Great
Gig in the Sky |
61 |
15.0 - 15.15 |
|
6 |
|
62 |
15.15 - 15.30 |
|
4 |
|
63 |
15.30 - 15.45 |
|
3 |
|
64 |
15.45 - 16.0 |
|
7 |
|
65 |
16.0 - 16.15 |
|
6 |
|
66 |
16.15 - 16.30 |
|
6 |
|
67 |
16.30 - 16.45 |
|
5 |
|
68 |
16.45 - 17.0 |
|
7 |
|
69 |
17.0 - 17.15 |
|
7 |
|
70 |
17.15 - 17.30 |
|
5 |
|
71 |
17.30 - 17.45 |
|
6 |
|
72 |
17.45 - 18.0 |
|
4 |
|
73 |
18.0 - 18.15 |
|
6 |
|
74 |
18.15 - 18.30 |
|
4 |
|
75 |
18.30 - 18.45 |
|
5 |
|
76 |
18.45 - 19.0 |
|
6 |
|
77 |
19.0 - 19.15 |
|
6 |
|
78 |
19.15 - 19.30 |
|
8 |
The Great
Gig in the Sky |
79 |
19.30 - 19.45 |
|
7 |
Money |
80 |
19.45 - 20.0 |
|
5 |
|
81 |
20.0 - 20.15 |
|
3 |
|
82 |
20.15 - 20.30 |
|
-3 |
|
83 |
20.30 - 20.45 |
|
-7 |
|
84 |
20.45 - 21.0 |
|
-2 |
|
85 |
21.0 - 21.15 |
|
0 |
|
86 |
21.15 - 21.30 |
|
4 |
|
87 |
21.30 - 21.45 |
|
2 |
|
88 |
21.45 - 22.0 |
|
3 |
|
89 |
22.0 - 22.15 |
|
1 |
|
90 |
22.15 - 22.30 |
|
4 |
|
91 |
22.30 - 22.45 |
|
2 |
|
92 |
22.45 - 23.0 |
|
2 |
|
93 |
23.0 - 23.15 |
|
3 |
|
94 |
23.15 - 23.30 |
|
5 |
|
95 |
23.30 - 23.45 |
|
3 |
|
96 |
23.45 - 24.0 |
|
4 |
|
97 |
24.0 - 24.15 |
|
5 |
|
98 |
24.15 - 24.30 |
|
2 |
|
99 |
24.30 - 24.45 |
|
2 |
|
100 |
24.45 - 25.0 |
|
4 |
|
101 |
25.0 - 25.15 |
|
7 |
|
102 |
25.15 - 25.30 |
|
7 |
|
103 |
25.30 - 25.45 |
|
4 |
|
104 |
25.45 - 26.0 |
|
4 |
Money |
105 |
26.0 - 26.15 |
|
0 |
Us and
Them |
106 |
26.15 - 26.30 |
|
0 |
|
107 |
26.30 - 26.45 |
|
2 |
|
108 |
26.45 - 27.0 |
|
2 |
|
109 |
27.0 - 27.15 |
|
0 |
|
110 |
27.15 - 27.30 |
|
1 |
|
111 |
27.30 - 27.45 |
|
3 |
|
112 |
27.45 - 28.0 |
|
4 |
|
113 |
28.0 - 28.15 |
|
4 |
|
114 |
28.15 - 28.30 |
|
5 |
|
115 |
28.30 - 28.45 |
|
2 |
|
116 |
28.45 - 29.0 |
|
10 |
|
117 |
29.0 - 29.15 |
|
9 |
|
118 |
29.15 - 29.30 |
|
6 |
|
119 |
29.30 - 29.45 |
|
4 |
|
120 |
29.45 - 30.0 |
|
6 |
|
121 |
30.0 - 30.15 |
|
8 |
|
122 |
30.15 - 30.30 |
|
7 |
|
123 |
30.30 - 30.45 |
|
3 |
|
124 |
30.45 - 31.0 |
|
3 |
|
125 |
31.0 - 31.15 |
|
7 |
|
126 |
31.15 - 31.30 |
|
2 |
|
127 |
31.30 - 31.45 |
|
2 |
|
128 |
31.45 - 32.0 |
|
2 |
|
129 |
32.0 - 32.15 |
|
3 |
|
130 |
32.15 - 32.30 |
|
5 |
|
131 |
32.30 - 32.45 |
|
3 |
|
132 |
32.45 - 33.0 |
|
5 |
|
133 |
33.0 - 33.15 |
|
2 |
|
134 |
33.15 - 33.30 |
|
4 |
Us and
Them |
135 |
33.30 - 33.45 |
|
4 |
Any
Colour You Like |
136 |
33.45 - 34.0 |
|
4 |
|
137 |
34.0 - 34.15 |
|
1 |
|
138 |
34.15 - 34.30 |
|
-1 |
|
139 |
34.30 - 34.45 |
|
-2 |
|
140 |
34.45 - 35.0 |
|
-3 |
|
141 |
35.0 - 35.15 |
|
0 |
|
142 |
35.15 - 35.30 |
|
-2 |
|
143 |
35.30 - 35.45 |
|
-3 |
|
144 |
35.45 - 36.0 |
|
3 |
|
145 |
36.0 - 36.15 |
|
-2 |
|
146 |
36.15 - 36.30 |
|
0 |
|
147 |
36.30 - 36.45 |
|
-2 |
|
148 |
36.45 - 37.0 |
|
-3 |
Any
Colour You Like |
149 |
37.0 - 37.15 |
|
1 |
Brain
Damage |
150 |
37.15 - 37.30 |
|
1 |
|
151 |
37.30 - 37.45 |
|
6 |
|
152 |
37.45 - 38.0 |
|
7 |
|
153 |
38.0 - 38.15 |
|
4 |
|
154 |
38.15 - 38.30 |
|
5 |
|
155 |
38.30 - 38.45 |
|
7 |
|
156 |
38.45 - 39.0 |
|
6 |
|
157 |
39.0 - 39.15 |
|
3 |
|
158 |
39.15 - 39.30 |
|
2 |
|
159 |
39.30 - 39.45 |
|
5 |
|
160 |
39.45 - 40.0 |
|
7 |
|
161 |
40.0 - 40.15 |
|
6 |
|
162 |
40.15 - 40.30 |
|
5 |
|
163 |
40.30 - 40.45 |
|
4 |
|
164 |
40.45 - 41.0 |
|
2 |
Brain
Damage |
165 |
41.0 - 41.15 |
|
3 |
Eclipse |
166 |
41.15 - 41.30 |
|
4 |
|
167 |
41.30 - 41.45 |
|
7 |
|
168 |
41.45 - 42.0 |
|
7 |
|
169 |
42.0 - 42.15 |
|
7 |
|
170 |
42.15 - 42.30 |
|
7 |
|
171 |
42.30 - 42.45 |
|
9 |
|
172 |
42.45 - 43.0 |
|
3 |
|
173 |
43.0 - 43.15 |
|
2 |
Eclipse |
So that’s a start. If anyone would like to debate the scores for individual sections, or discuss any of this, please write me at mike@mikecasey.org