Syncing Sound with iPhone video capture

[albatrosspro]

Hello-- I'm trying to experiment with making some films using my iPhone. Due to the nature of the project, the focus of this will be high-sensitivity audio for speaking and ambient sounds, however I also want some video to go with it.

I had been thinking that I would just use one of the Lightning-adapter mics you can get for around $99. However, I'm also curious about getting equipment that I can continue to use even if I upgrade my setup. Is there a way to sync the iPhone vids with audio from, say, a USB source? I have seen people connecting USB to Lightning, but that gets tricky since sometimes you will need an external power source. Also keep in mind that these are projects that will involve lots of small takes and editing together. (So manually syncing would be a nightmare.) Then, finally, there is the possibility that Apple will drop Lightning with the upcoming iOS releases... however chances of this seem low.

I feel a little confused with all the options so any ideas would be great.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Syncing doesn't have to be a nightmare, as long as you plan it well.
Audio wise you're probably safest getting a portable recorder, a USB microphone, or a USB interface and microphone.
SDcard, USB and XLR aren't going anywhere fast whereas, as you say, lightening might.

When recording audio separately, I always enable audio on the video device too then throw it away later in software. It makes the initial sync up so much easier.
With regard to small takes, just don't do small takes.
Let the thing roll and announce what you're doing. If you mess it up, announce the same plus "take two" but there's no good reason to stop and start the recording.
When you get the 'the' take, note it down; Take 5, or whatever.

There's plenty of software that will let you manage audio and video together but recommendations will depend on your platform.

Hope that's useful.