How to use WaveLatch
From the shoot day's folders to a synced sequence in your editor. Three steps, and everything worth knowing about them.
- 1. Dropevery folder into the window
- 2. Syncone click, and it listens
- 3. Sendto your editing app
Before you start
Four things. That's all.
- The right computer
A Mac with Apple Silicon on macOS 12 or later, or Windows 10 or 11.
- Sound on every camera
Every device needs to record sound, even from its built-in mic. The sound is how WaveLatch knows where it sits. No timecode or slate needed.
- One folder per device
Copy each card into its own folder, as it is. Don't rename files, and don't mix two devices in one folder.
- An editing app
Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro (Mac only).
Your files stay where they are. WaveLatch doesn't copy them, upload them anywhere or change a single one.
Install and open
You do this once.
- Download WaveLatch for Mac from the site.
- Open the downloaded file (
.dmg) and drag WaveLatch into the Applications folder. - Open WaveLatch from Applications.
- Download WaveLatch for Windows from the site.
- Open the installer. If a blue window shows up, click More info, then Run anyway.
- The install finishes by itself and WaveLatch opens.
Your 14-day trial starts by itself
It starts the first time you open the app, no sign-up and no credit card. During the trial the app needs the internet at least once every 3 days. The days left show at the top of the window, next to the settings gear.
Bought a licence? Enter the key
- At the top of the window, click Trial · 14 days.
- Click Enter key.
- Paste your key (
WL-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) and click Save.
Activating the key needs the internet. After that it works offline too, and only needs to go online once every two months to check the licence.
Bring in the footage
The whole shoot day, in one go.
- Drag every folder into the WaveLatch window: cameras, recorders, phones. Or click or pick folders manually.
- Forgot a folder? Drag it in too. It's added to the rest.
- The side shows what was found: how many files, cameras and audio devices, and the device list. When it says “All in. Hit Sync.”, move on.
Dropyour footage here
Drop to add
or pick folders manuallyNo need to clean the cards. Photos, proxy files, duplicate copies, sidecar files and project files are skipped automatically.
File types: MP4 · MOV · MXF · MTS · M2TS · AVI · MKV · BRAW · R3D · WAV · AIFF · MP3 · M4A · FLAC
Hit Sync
WaveLatch listens to the sound of every file and finds exactly where it sits, to the frame.
- Click Sync.
- Wait. You'll see a percentage and what's happening (for example “Listening to audio”). Want to stop? Stop.
- Every clip lands in place, and the side shows how many synced out of how many.
What each colour means
- Full colour
Synced. You can rely on it.
- Amber, with ~
Worth a look: placed by the device clock only. Click “worth a look” on the side to show just those.
- Grey stripes, at the end
Not synced. It waits at the end, after the “not synced” marker. Hover to see why.
TC on a clip: sound and timecode agree. 4ch: a multitrack recorder, and every channel comes along.
Check and fix
Most days there's nothing to fix. When there is, it takes a second.
Undo remove ⌘Z
- See the details
Hover a clip to see whether it synced, its length, frame rate and timecode.
- Remove a clip
Right-click it, then Remove clip. Or select it and press Delete. It stays out of the export.
- Bring it back
Undo in the message that pops up, or ⌘ZCtrl+Z.
- Reorder tracks
Drag a track's name up or down. That's the order they'll have in your editor.
- Zoom
⌘Ctrl + scroll, or + and −. 0 fits the whole day.
- Start over
New project at the top clears the window. Changed your mind? Undo.
Keyboard shortcuts
| + − | Zoom in and out |
| 0 | Fit the whole day |
| ⌘Ctrl + scroll | Zoom around the pointer |
| Shift + scroll | Scroll sideways |
| ← → | One frame (with ⟦Shift⟧: ten) |
| Delete | Remove the selection |
| ⌘ZCtrl+Z | Undo the last removal |
| ⌘ACtrl+A | Select every clip |
| Esc | Clear the selection |
WaveLatch doesn't save projects: the result is what lands in your editor. Need it again? Drop the same folders, and it's faster the second time.
Send it to your editor
Pick your editing app. They all start from the same button.
- Click Export on the side, under the Sync button, and pick your app.
- The first time you send, WaveLatch asks where to keep export files. Choose a folder once; you can change it later in Settings.
- On the Premiere Pro row, click Send straight to Premiere.
- Premiere closed? It opens with a new project and the sequence inside.
- Premiere already open? You'll be asked “Premiere is already open”. Add to the open project puts the sequence in the project that's open now.
- On the Premiere Pro row, click or save a file and choose where.
- In Premiere: File›Import… (⌘ICtrl+I).
- Pick
WaveLatch_sync.xmland click Import. The sequence shows up in your project.
Import…⌘I
Shoot_sync.xmlNext to the XML a folder named <name>_mic is created with the recorder's sound pieces. Don't delete or move it, or the original files. Otherwise Premiere shows Media Offline.
Want a multicam? Turn on Matching timecode in Settings before exporting. Every camera gets the same timecode, and Premiere can build a Multi-Camera Source Sequence from it by Timecode.
File only
- On the DaVinci Resolve row, click Export and save the file (
.fcpxml). - In Resolve, inside a project: File›Import›Timeline… (⌘⇧ICtrl+Shift+I).
- Pick the file and click Open.
- In the window that opens, leave Automatically import source clips into media pool ticked and click OK.
- The timeline appears in the Media Pool, one track per camera. Double-click to open it.
ImportExport
Save Project
Shoot_sync_DR.fcpxmlDon't drag the file into Resolve. A drag fails with not a supported file type. Use the menu only.
Resolve doesn't accept files from outside, so it has no send button. WaveLatch shows these steps on screen after saving.
- On the Final Cut Pro row, click Send straight to Final Cut.
- Final Cut opens and asks which library to import into. Pick one.
- A synced project waits in the new event, and with several cameras, a multicam clip too.
Choose a library to import into:
My Library New Library…- On the Final Cut Pro row, click or save a file.
- In Final Cut: File›Import›XML….
- Pick the file and click Import.
ImportExport XML…Share
Shoot_sync_FCP.fcpxmlDon't move or rename the original files after exporting. Final Cut looks for them where they were.
Final Cut Pro exists on the Mac only, so it doesn't appear in WaveLatch for Windows.
“6/6 media verified” in the message means WaveLatch checked every file is in place.
Settings
The gear at the top of the window. The defaults suit most days.
Gaps between takes
- Close the gapsAny break longer than 3 seconds shrinks to one second. A short, easy sequence.
- Keep real timeThe sequence follows the clock: an hour's break is an hour of empty sequence.
Order of takes
- By videoEach camera in its own file-number order.
- By audioFor a camera whose clock was never set.
- By file numberFile names only; the recording time is ignored.
Changing this re-syncs by itself, in seconds.
Include what did not sync
On. Whatever didn't sync goes at the end of the sequence, marked, so nothing gets lost.
Matching timecode
Off. For Premiere: every camera gets the same timecode, for a multicam. Your files are never changed.
Export folder
Where files are kept when you send straight to an editor. Change to pick another.
Language, appearance, sound
13 languages, dark or light, and a short chime when a sync is done.
When something's off
Every message the app can show, and what to do about it.
A clip didn't sync. Now what?
It waits at the end, after “not synced”. Hover it to see why: no sound, silence, or nothing else was rolling at that time. Keep it (it goes at the end of the sequence, marked) and place it by hand in your editor, or remove it.
“No shared sound between the devices”
The devices didn't hear the same thing at the same time. Check that every folder is from the same shoot and that every camera recorded sound.
“One folder holds files from two devices”
Two devices that recorded at the same time are in one folder. Split them into a folder per device and drop again.
Some cameras are amber
These devices didn't hear the rest, for example a crew in another room. They were synced to each other by sound, and to the rest by the camera clock. Worth a quick look.
The clips came out in the wrong order
In Settings, under “Order of takes”, try “By audio” (if the camera clock was never set) or “By file number”. The sync updates by itself.
The sequence has huge gaps
In Settings choose “Close the gaps”. Every long break shrinks to a second, and the sync doesn't move.
My editor says Media Offline
The original files were moved or renamed after exporting. Put them back, or relink them in your editor (Link Media). In Premiere, the _mic folder next to the XML has to stay put too.
Resolve says not a supported file type
The file was dragged into the window. Resolve imports a timeline only through File›Import›Timeline….
It says Premiere isn't found, but it's installed
WaveLatch didn't find Premiere in its usual place. Click or save a file and import it in Premiere with File›Import….
It says “Trial · needs internet”
The app needs to reach the licence server for a moment. Connect to the internet and open it again. Your footage isn't sent anywhere.
“That key is already active on its maximum number of computers”
The key is registered on another computer. Write to us and we'll move it.
Something failed. How do I report it?
In the error message, click Send report. A ready email to us opens with technical details only, no files and no file names, and you see it before sending.
Updates, licence, privacy
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Updates
The app checks by itself. When there's a new version, Update now appears: a few seconds, and it relaunches. No need to download again from the site.
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Licence
One payment, forever. For one editor, or a studio of 3. Moving to a new computer? Write to us and we'll move the key.
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Privacy
Everything happens on your computer. Footage, files and file names never leave it. Only the update check and the licence check go online.
Ready for your next shoot?
14-day trial with every feature, no credit card.
Still have a question? Write to us