Blackmagic Forum

Looking at a 4-camera shoot using BM Camera iPhone app. We want synchronous timecode and will be using Tentacle Sync. Do we need one per device, or only one for the master camera?

You only need one tentacle sync e.

The other cameras/iPhones can connect to it.

Here is a response I had emailed last year asking same question since their website isn't quite clear.

"Hello John,

We have not reached the limit of connecting a phone to a Tentacle, but two phones can easily connect via Bluetooth and sync the TC. For more information on how to connect your Tentacle, you can refer to the following link."

No matter how you manage the timecode, one thing to be aware of is that the iPhone does not record a constant frame rate, even in ProRes. I recommend doing both head slate and tail slate on every take. Depending on the length of the recording, you may need to blade and slip sync within your multicam if you need it to be frame accurate throughout.

Jamie LeJeune wrote:No matter how you manage the timecode, one thing to be aware of is that the iPhone does not record a constant frame rate, even in ProRes. I recommend doing both head slate and tail slate on every take. Depending on the length of the recording, you may need to blade and slip sync within your multicam if you need it to be frame accurate throughout.

100% agree with Jamie. Been there and learned that the hard way. Slate it!