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Problem with FCPX 1.0.3 and concert Multicam event
Despite following detailed tutorials (including Andy Neil’s excellent ones on Creative Cow) I’ve failed a couple of times to create a synced Multicam event with the new FCPX 10.0.3. This may be because the tutorials seem to concentrate on a short music playback video, whereas I’m trying it with a 90 minute concert. Being new to FCPX probably doesn’t help either:-)
The material was shot on 4 main HDV cameras, with some extra concert stuff shot on a Canon 5D, a Canon XHA1, and with master audio on a Zoom H4N.
The problem may be that my project is not a simple playback event, with continuous audio and video from start to finish. Because the concert duration is about 90 minutes the 4 HDV cameras had to stagger a recording break while they changed tapes. Also my Zoom audio had a ‘hiccup’ or two with the result that I have a missing 30 seconds at the top, and a short gap later before the rest (most) of the concert is recorded in one long WAV file.
So I have the concert covered by four main HDV cameras, each of which is broken into two main files, e.g.
Cam 1 (part 1 and 2)
Cam 2 (part 1 and 2) … and so on.The Canon XHA1 HDV stops and starts during the event, so there are a lot of small clips, and likewise the Canon 5D has a number of discontinuous clips.
I’ve done a fairly detailed Keyword breakdown, and applied Camera Names and Angles to the cameras. Cams 1-4 are named ‘CAM 1’ to ‘CAM 4’, and each is given their unique Camera Angle names – Left, MID 1, MID 2, and Right. The HDV XHA1 is named ‘CAM 5’ with Angle ‘Right 2’ and the Canon 5D is ‘CAM 5D’ with Angle ‘Float’. I named the Zoom audio clips ‘Zoom 1’ and ‘Zoom 2’ but gavet them the same ‘Zoom’ Angle, since it made sense to keep it on the same track.
I’ve tried a couple of times with FCPX to make a Multiclip, but it’s failed to create it properly. Usually two or three cameras are synced with the second part of the concert footage. In every case I’ve left ‘use audio for synchronisation’ ticked.
I could lay down the camera takes sequentially on the timeline – CAM 1 Part 1, CAM 1 Part 2 on one track, CAM 2 Part 1, CAM2 Part 2 on another track etc, and with the Zoom WAV audio on its own track (most of the concert is one long take) – I feel that FCPX could sync a Multicam event from there, but it seems that approach is not possible in FCPX. It has to look at a jumble of clips and try to work it out. I can use the ‘First Marker On the Angle’ option, but my understanding is that can only help sync one part (Part 1 or Part 2) of the camera(s) clips with the Zoom.
Sorry about the long post, but I wanted to explain things clearly. I know it’s early days for everyone with 10.0.3 but I’d really appreciate any useful suggestions.
Thanks,
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10 Replies
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Download the trial of PluralEyes and try it instead.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
Thanks Oliver.
I have Pluraleyes, so maybe I’ll give the FCPX beta a try.
Regards.
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If auto-sync fails- and it should not if there’s even a remotely decent common sync reference between the angles (make sure time of day on the clips is correct, etc). You can always create a multicam clip from one angle and add in the rest manually- add angle, drag in done. It’s a lot more work initially than auto-sync but the results are the same and you only have to do it once.
Noah
Call Box Training.
Featuring the Panasonic GH2 and Panasonic AC160/130. -
Rather than trying to sync them all at once sync the first set of cameras, them using the selected audio track, sync in the additional cameras. The two halves of the audio recording will probably have to be synced separately, perhaps I’m separate multicam clips. Make sure all the audio is running at the same sample rate.
All the best,
Tom
“Final Cut Pro X for iMovie and Final Cut Express Users” from Focal Press
Class on Demand DVDs “Complete Training for FCP7,” “Basic Training for FCS” and “Final Cut Express Made Easy”
Coming in 2012 “Complete Training for FCPX” from Class on Demand -
Thanks Noah.
The reference audio is excellent on all cameras. Don’ know for sure about time of day.
That ‘one angle idea’ sounds like a good suggestion.
Thanks,
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Thanks a lot Tom.
I’ll give that a try.
Regards.
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I just finished cutting a concert in which we had 3 ACHVD, 1 T3i, and a Zoom H4N for audio. I found it worked best to use “Synchronize Clips” with the T3i clips and the Zoom audio to make one synchronized clip and then I used multicam with all four cameras (including my new synchronized clip) and the wav file. Worked like a charm.
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Once you get all your clips in the multi clip, and they are close but not completely synced, try these things:
-Set your Zoom audio to “Monitoring Angle”. Then right click on the out of sync clip, and then “Sync To Monitoring Angle using audio”
-If you set sync markers in your clips, and then tell it to sync via audio, it goes faster. use that to your advantage.
If all else fails, personally, I’d just sync them by hand once in the multi clip. It surely is less time than repeatedly trying to have FCPX do it and fail. If you take a few minutes to read the features inside a mutliclip view, you realize Apple has given you all the tools you need to sync things VERY quickly by hand and eye.
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I just finished my first 10 camera job in FCPX using multi clips. Some advice:
Go into the event and have FCPX transcode all your used clips into proxy files. Then go into Prefs and tell FCP to use them. It speeds things up by magnitudes.
Nate Weaver
Director/D.P., Los Angeles
https://www.nateweaver.net -
Thanks for those suggestions, Michael and Nate.
I think I’ve actually cracked it, using something approaching your suggestions. Maybe synchronising each camera separately would have been better, but this worked.
I decided to concentrate on the Concert Part 1 clips from the 4 main cameras and synced them successfully to the main section of my Zoom separate audio. The Zoom audio covered most of the 90 minutes, and I was able to add in and sync the missing bit of audio later.
I then manually added Angles for CAM 1, Part 2 and so on and synced the Part 2s in extra Angles, which I then manually moved into the same CAM angle as the Part 1 cameras. So that got my main 4 cameras in sync, while minimising the number of Angles.
The extra HDV and Canon 5D proved more difficult. FCPX couldn’t work out the sync, so I had to add each clip manually in the approximate location and manually sync them in extra Angles. After syncing I moved all the clips into a single Angle for each camera. I had one FCPX crash at the end, but a restart seemed to leave all OK and in sync. Once the clips were in the approximate location FCPX was able to sync them without problems.
So it worked out OK in the end. Next time though I’ll have to try and use some kind of marker, like a slate, for separate sections of any long events.
Thanks again to all who offered helpful workflows.
Regards,
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I had a very similar problem with FCPX 1.0.4. I recorded a jazz concert with 3 cameras. 2 of the 3 cameras were stopped when they had a prize give-away on the stage before the last song. When sync’ing, the last 2 clips from those cameras were joined with the beginning clips.
The only way I could solve the problem was to break the long clip into 2, then sync the 1st portion of the concert, then the final. Worked perfect that way.However, I did a wedding last weekend with 3 cameras, and as of last night, I can’t get any audio sync to work at all. I ingested media into FCP X telling it to create proxy and to analyze audio. This is the first time I have ingested thru FCP X. Normally I ingest thru iMovie, then use mPEG Streamclip to convert to ProRes, then import those files into FCP X. I may try that and see what results I get.
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