There's no doubt that Apple granted many a wish when they added the multiclip function to Final Cut Pro—particularly for video producers who make their living shooting multi-camera productions such as live events, weddings and music videos. But as liberating as the multiclip function has been, there's still a certain amount of labor and teeth gnashing that goes along with using it. That is, until Singular Software came along last year with PluralEyes (currently at version 1.1 and also available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions for Sony Creative Software Vegas Pro).

Singular's PluralEyes does only one thing but does it so spectacularly that you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. That "one thing" is synchronizing your audio and video clips without having to worry about such nuisances as timecode or clapboards—all you need is $149 in your wallet and you're good to go.

Rather than try to overcomplicate what PluralEyes does, I'll quote Singular's online resources, which are as short and sweet as they come:

1. Create a sequence named pluraleyes.
2. Add the clips to the pluraleyes sequence.
3. Start PluralEyes.
4. In the PluralEyes dialog, press the Sync button.

Okay, I hear you—there must be a catch, right? Nothing is ever that simple. Truth be told, there are a few very minor caveats. For instance, clips added to a pluraleyes sequence have to go on their own track in order for the software to do its magic. The synchronization itself is done using audio tracks only, so you'll need clips with both video and audio in order to use it. But otherwise, PluralEyes delivers on what it promises, and then some.

PluralEyes Intro Video
Trouble seeing the video above? Click here.

To put the software through its paces, I captured some two-camera footage from an old Halloween makeup instructional video shot in 1987. The original footage was recorded on Video8 and (years) later bumped to DVCAM. Both Video8 camcorders were using on-board microphones (nothing external) with no sync or slates of any kind, and for the most part the production audio was unusable—a lot of background racket from a noisy shooting location and occasional conversation between the makeup artist and the subject.

I was admittedly skeptical as I captured a few minutes from each tape via SDI using a Blackmagic DeckLink card from my Sony DSR-2000 DVCAM. After laying both clips into a new sequence, renaming it pluraleyes per the instructions and saving the project (all required steps), I fired up the PluralEyes application. Unlike most Final Cut Pro add-ons, PluralEyes is not a plug-in but rather a standalone application with an accompanying License Manager, where you enter your license key to unlock the program.

PluralEyes itself is a model of simplicity. In a small window that emulates Final Cut Pro's look and feel, you'll find four buttons: Sync, Multiclip, Cancel and at the bottom, a Change button for Sync Options. "Sync" gets the process going, while "Multiclip" skips the step of creating a new sequence and just builds a new multiclip from your existing sequence, which is useful for small tweaks.

The "Cancel" button is grayed out, since it doesn't do anything until you're actually running a Sync process. Clicking "Change" brings up four Sync Options, which may help stubborn clips get recognized easier: Clips Are in Chronological Order, Level Audio, Use Markers and Try Really Hard (more on those in a moment). There's also a small question mark in the lower right corner of the Sync Options window, which brings up extensive help if you get stuck (complete with links to tutorial videos to demonstrate each option).

On the first attempt with my two-camera footage from the late '80s, I loaded up PluralEyes and, without changing any options, clicked on Sync and let the program do its thing. After a short few moments of "Preparing data," the application began "Analyzing" and in a few short beats, switched to "Finished." Could it really be so simple?

I'm happy to report that yes, it was. After switching back to Final Cut Pro, I was greeted by a new sequence highlighted with a green tab, and my two-camera clips were lined up perfectly in sync, despite the questionable production audio. PluralEyes also creates a FCP multiclip, which confirms the excellent job it did of syncing the separate clips as I played them back side-by-side in the Viewer. It's important to note that it doesn't matter if your clips have timecode or not—PluralEyes is using the respective audio tracks of each clip to make its magic happen.

Singular recommends that most users try syncing without resorting to the Sync Options at first. If that doesn't totally work out (and I'd be surprised based on my tests), you can select one or more of the Sync Options, which may help your individual situation, especially for complex sequences with a lot of clips.

The "Clips are in chronological order" option is aimed at live event recording, where you likely have clips arranged one after another instead of all over the place as with a traditional one-camera shoot. If your clips are in order, it helps to let PluralEyes know that via the Sync Options so it can process those clips faster and more reliably.

"Level audio" is useful for sequences with a lot of clips whose audio levels might be all over the place, particularly if one camera is using an external mic while another is using the on-board mic. Since Singular is also responsible for the free, excellent The Levelator software aimed at podcasters, you know the results will be worth the little bit of extra processing time it might take with this option turned on.

"Use markers" is helpful in cases where PluralEyes might be off on the sync of two clips that you're sure should actually be in sync. You can use Final Cut Pro markers to identify those spots, and PluralEyes will respect that manual override as it analyzes your media. You'll need to assign matching markers in all of the relevant clips, complete with identical names, for this option to function.

Finally, the "Try really hard" option (got to give a company props for such creative naming!) lets PluralEyes work five to 10 times longer than normal, useful for those insanely stubborn clips where nothing else works.

PluralEyes is the brainchild of Singular Software founder Dr. Bruce Sharpe, who has a Ph.D. in mathematical physics—no doubt required to perform the kind of magic that this software is doing. Plural Eyes requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later as well as Final Cut Pro 5.1.4 or later, and the software is being actively developed, with a 1.2 public beta already available for download at this writing.

If there's any potential downside to PluralEyes, it's the $149 price of entry, which might make it out of reach for casual or infrequent users. Thankfully, potential buyers can download a free trial version from Singular's Web site to try it out before they buy, and the company also offers a sample project to run the trial through its paces if you don't have footage of your own. The company's Web site also features extensive how-to and video tutorials which demonstrate what it's capable of better than anyone could ever describe here. Lastly, some users might lament the fact that PluralEyes is a standalone application rather than a dedicated Final Cut Pro plug-in, but for me it was never an issue and the program likely works more efficiently as a result of that decision.

Cost aside, if you often find yourself editing multi-camera footage, PluralEyes is without a doubt worth the price of admission. It will spare you from the tedious and time-consuming nightmares of syncing your footage and let you get down to the business of doing what you do best: Editing your clips and getting paid. Can you afford to put a price tag on that?

PROS: Fast, simple interface that does what it promises and does it well, offers advanced features tucked away for a small percentage of users and situations

CONS: Some may feel the price of admission is too steep, standalone application rather than dedicated plug-in

MSRP: $149