Audio Recording
It is heavily recommended that you use another audio capture software with timecode to capture and synchronize audio data. Audio capture in Motive is for reference only and is not intended to perfectly align to video or motion capture data.
Take scrubbing is not supported to align with audio recorded within Motive. If you would like the audio to be closely in reference to video and motion capture data, you must play the take from the beginning.
Recorded audio files can be played back from a captured Take or be exported into a WAV audio files. This page details how to record and playback audio in Motive. Before using an audio input device (microphone) in Motive, first make sure that the device is properly connected and configured in Windows.
Audio Recording/Playback
Audio Settings
In Motive, audio recording and playback settings can be accessed from the Tools tab → Audio Settings.
Audio Recording Steps
In Motive, open the Audio Settings, and check the box next to Enable Capture.
Select the audio input device that you want to use.
Press the Test button to confirm that the input device is properly working.
Make sure the device format of the recording device matches the device format that will be used in the playback devices (speakers and headsets). This is very important as the recorded audio would not playback if these formats do not match. Most speakers have at least 2 channels, so an input device with 2 channels should be used for recording.
Capture the Take.
Audio Playback Steps
In Motive, open a Take that includes audio recordings.
To playback recorded audio from a Take, check the box next to Enable Playback.
Select the audio output device that you will be using.
Make sure the configurations in Device Format closely matches the Take Format. This is elaborated further in the section below.
Play the Take.
Device Format
In order to playback audio recordings in Motive, audio format of recorded sounds MUST match closely with the audio format used in the output device. Specifically, communication channels and frequency of the audio must match. Otherwise, recorded sound will not be played back.
The recorded audio format is determined by the format of a recording device that was used when capturing Takes. However, audio formats in the input and output devices may not always agree. In this case, you will need to adjust the input device properties to match the take.
Audio capture within Motive, does not natively synchronize to video or motion capture data and is intended for reference audio only. If you require synchronization, please use an external device and software with timecode. See below for suggestions for External Audio Capture.
Device's audio format can be configured under the Sound settings in Windows. In Sound settings (accessed from Control Panel), select the recording device, click on Properties, and the default format can be changed under the Advanced Tab, as shown in the image below.
Audio Export
Recorded audio files can be exported into WAV format. To export, right-click on a Take from the Data pane and select Export Audio option in the context menu.
External Audio Capture
There are a variety of different programs and hardware that specialize in audio capture. A not very exhaustive list of examples can be seen below.
Tentacle Sync TRACK E
Adobe Premiere
Avid Media Composer
Etc...
In order to capture audio using a different program, you will need to connect both the motion capture system (through the eSync) and the audio capture device to timecode data (and possibly genlock data). You can then use the timecode information to synchronize the two sources of data for your end product.
For more information on synchronizing external devices, read through the Synchronization page.
Suggested Capture Devices
The following devices are internally tested and should work for most use cases for reference audio only:
AT2020 USB
MixPre-3 II Digital USB Preamp
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