About
Multicamera editing is the process of synchronizing many camera angles to create a video recorded at the same time. Time code or common audio tracks are used to create as sync point. After you have synced your clips together, you can edit or cut between the multiple angles in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.
What? You can give your video the look of a big production team with two or more camera views simply by creating a multicamera source sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.
Process – Read first
- Practice Test Shoot and Edit – If this is your first time creating a multicamera sequence, it’s a good idea to practice or to test run before the big event actual assignment. Don’t wait for the big day or assignment to experiment.
- Shooting, Setting up for video shoot – Set up your cameras and tripods, two or more cameras in order to have different views. Make sure you are recording audio on ALL cameras. Have one camera, you main camera, with an external microphone. Make sure the audio is working and you can hear the audio with headset or earbuds. It’s vital that you have at least one good audio track. If you can, attach external microphones to all your camera. NOTE: The audio will be used for syncing your video clips from all the different camera views.
- Clap your hands 2 or 3 times, create sync points – You will need an audio indicator for ALL clips. Every time you start to record a new video clip when you are shooting for a multicamera sequence, start each clip with clapping your hands two or three times. If you had to start over, then start recording with all cameras, then do your clap.The sound markings or audio claps will be used to synchronize all the camera views.
- Create Multicamera Source Sequence – The camera angles are added to a multicamera source sequence. This is a special sequence that contains the multiple video angles. See below for details.
- Add Multicamera Source Sequence to new sequence for editing – The new sequence is the multicamera target master sequence. See below for details.
- Record the Multicamera edits – A special view in the Program Monitor, called the Multi-Camera, is used for switching between camera angles. See below for details.
- Adjust, refine edits – You can make edits to your rough edit and refine with standard editing and trimming. See below for details.
Creating Multicamera Sequence – You will need to download all of your video clips from all your cameras. Place them all in one folder on your desktop or hard hard drive. (NOT A FLIP OR JUMP DRIVE!)
Watch Syncing Multicamera Clips
Creating Sync Points
There’s more than one way to determine the sync points for the multicamera. Audio is a good method as all camera have audio recordings, even if it poor quality. Premiere Pro will synchronize the clips automatically. That why it’s vital to have clean audio with a sound marker, like clapping your hands at the start of the clips.
Create Multicamera Source Sequence
- Create Multicamera Media Bin – You need to bring your clips into Premiere Pro project and keep them together in bin. Choose File, then New, select Bin.
- Name the bin MultimcamMedia, or something you will know exactly what it is. Another method for creating bin – In the Project Panel, lower right corner, click on the icon of the folder. A new bin is created, name is MultimcamMedia
- Import Clips – You can simple Right Click, then select Import, and navigate to you clips for the multimcamera sequence. Make sure you have all your clips imported.
- Determine best clip with best audio – The order you select the clips is the exact order they will be added to the sequence. This means the clip you select first in your bin in the following step for creating the multicamera sequence will become the audio track used for the multicamera source sequence. Make sure you determine the clip will be the first clip by listening to the audio and viewing the visual qualities.
- Select the clips for the multicamera Media bin – First determine what clip as the best audio before proceeding. It’s likely the clip with the best audio, recorded with an external microphone.Right click your best clip, with the best audio, select Create Multi-Camera Sequence. You can also go to clip, then create Multi-Camera Source Sequence. On a Mac, Command, the select your first clip with best audio, then click on the other clips to be added to the multicamera sequence. (Control on a Windows computer.)
- Special Panel appears: Create Multi-Camera Sequence – A special panel named Create Multi-Camera Sequence will appear on your computer and you will need to make a few selections.
- Sequence Point – Select Audio in the Sequence point on the panel
- Camera Selection – In the audio portion of the special panel, select Camera 1, unless you changed the names.
- Clip names – Under Camera Names, select Clip Names or Emmuerate Cameras and click OK. The special panel will now close.Premiere Pro is now analyzing the clips and creating a new multicamera source sequence, adding it to the bin you created for the MultimcamMedia.
- Go to your Multicamera Bin – A new multicamera sequence is located in the bin. Double click the sequence to view it in the Source Monitor, upper left corner of Premiere Pro CC window.
- Drag playhead to see the clip, viewing the multiple angles. Note: Some camera angles will be black as cameras started recording at different times.
Create multicamera target sequence
- Locate the multicamera sequence you just created. (Name might be something like C1_Master.mp4Multimcam.)
- Right click the multicamera sequence, select New Sequence from Clip. The multicamera sequence is now ready, appearing in timeline
- Add multicamera editing button under Program Monitor – Go the Program Monitor, usually in the upper right corner, select the plus button, +. Look for the symbol with several boxes, hover over the buttons until you find the multicamera edit button and then select and drag the icon to the bottom of the current display window, click OK.
- Enlarge multicamera window – Select a right side of the multicamera window to enlarge work space.
- Save new multicamera workspace – Go to window, then Workspaces, then save a new workspace, name workspace: Multicam, then Ok. (You can toggle between multicam workspace and program monitor by selecting the icon you just created for the multicam.)
The Edit with Multicamera
Switching between cameras
You are now ready to now ready to edit and will be doing it in real time using the Multicamera view in the Program Monitor or the new Multicamera workspace.
Multicamera edits – Cutting the video
- Select the Program Monitor and then Multi-Camera.
Play the sequence to see what video you have and become familiar with your clips. - Maximize Multicamera Panel – If you didn’t already setup the Multicam Workspace, you can just maximize the workspace by using the ` or grave key. Or just go to Panel Group Settings, icon that looks like a stack of papers or sandwich, Maximize Panel Group.
- Move the playhead to the start of the sequence, press the space bar to start playback or looking at the multicam sequence.
- Click on the images or clips during the playback. When the sequence is done playing, there will be multiple edits. The clips will have labels from each camera view.
- Restore program monitor to normal view, if you wish, by selecting the `, grave key or, go to the Panel Group Settings. (Ignore this if you have a custom Multicamera workspace.)
- Keep playing the sequence and reviewing your edits you made.Audio Adjustments – Select the audio track, then go to the Audio Mixer in the Source monitor, upper left corner, adjust to audio to about -6DB. (For student’s in my class and also anyone, but this might need to be adjusted.) Why -6DB? This will help put your audio in a place that won’t damage your ears if you listening on a headset or ear bud.
Re-recording edits
The edits you just made are not set in stone and you might need to make adjustments, especially if this is your first time working with multicam.
Here’s how to make changes:
1. Move the playhead to the start of the Timeline panel.
Press Play button in the Multi-Camera view and start watching the playback.
2. When the playhead reaches the point you want to change, just select the active camera or view you want.
3. Stop the playback by pressing he spacebar.
Click on the Program Monitor Settings button menu, select Composite Video to return to a regular viewing workspace or mode.
Final multicamera edits
You can continue to refine or update your multicam clip in the Multi-Cam view. You can edit, trim as you do in a regular or on multicamera squence. The Rolling Edit tool can be very helpful, found in the tool area between the Project and Media Browser and the timeline. The Rolling Edit Tool allow you to just slide the clip to see more or less of the clips you are adjusting.
Refining Multicamera edit, roll edit tool
Avoid Flattening Sequence
If you select flatten multicamera sequence, all audio adjustments are lost.
(I’m not showing you how to do this. If you really need to flatten audio, go to the Help panel to learn more.)
Resources
Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015 Release by Maxim Jago
Multimedia Toolkit 