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best workflow for multicam editing with a large number of separate clips and dual system audio
Hello!
Coming from FCP7, I’m having a hard time finding a good workflow for multicam editing with lots of different clips from a single event. After editing the synced clips, I’ll export sections of the whole project into 10 short tutorial videos.
My project is a music lesson with two camera angles and two external audio sources. I started and stopped the camera and recorder a lot, so the result is around 20-30 small clips, all synced up in a multicam clip.
Now, I have a few goals for the end result:
1. mark all the sections of video/audio I’d like to split out into separate videos
I do this in the project timeline with a single multicam clip. Should I be doing this some other way, perhaps using ranges?
2 Some sections of the clip will fade back and forth between angles
This works OK just using the standard angle viewer cut technique.
2. Other sections must be split screen between the two angles
I’m not sure how to do this without duplicating the whole multicam clip. If this is the only way, should I duplicate it after doing all the audio editing work mentioned below?
3. Audio should be stereo panned for some sections
Normally I do this in the multicam clip angle editor, but ideally I could work with the audio and video of each section of the larger multicam clip clip separately. Is this possible?
In general I feel I’m missing something basic about FCP X that might make this easier, where I can work with each section separately. Thanks for any help!
Joshua
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6 Replies
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[Joshua Sierles] “1. mark all the sections of video/audio I’d like to split out into separate videos
I do this in the project timeline with a single multicam clip. Should I be doing this some other way, perhaps using ranges?”
Yes. Use either favorites or keyword collections. Select the range, and hit f for favorite, or hit command-k for keyword collections and then name it.
[Joshua Sierles] “I’m not sure how to do this without duplicating the whole multicam clip. If this is the only way, should I duplicate it after doing all the audio editing work mentioned below?”
That would be a good way, yes.
[Joshua Sierles] “3. Audio should be stereo panned for some sections
Normally I do this in the multicam clip angle editor, but ideally I could work with the audio and video of each section of the larger multicam clip clip separately. Is this possible?”
No, any changes in the angle editor will ripple recursively through the edit and there is currently no way to flatten a multiclip, and matching back to original material can prove to be difficult.
Another suggestion would be to make several multiclips, one for each section.
Jeremy
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Jeremy,
Thanks for the detailed reply. I figured the angle editor edits would ripple. My problem is I’m synchronizing all the clips externally in Pluraleyes. It would be a pain to do them all one by one, but I see the benefit in this case. Instead of ‘flattening’, is there any way to split a multicam clip into many? From inside the angle editor, I see I can only create a compound clip from a collection of clips.
If not, I think I have two options.
One would be to create a separate Pluraleyes project for each video section that has different characteristics from the others.
Another would be to avoid multicam altogether. I mainly use it because it’s easy to create cuts simulating live camera changes. But Pluraleyes will sync into a timeline with or without a multicam clip. I used to do this in FCP7 by deleting sections of clips to allow a clip under it in the timeline to show. Would you recommend simulating multicam behavior this way in FCPX, given the issues presented here?
Cheers!
Joshua -
It really depends on what you need.
If you need multicam functionality, then making multiclips is the way to go. If not, simply having the synced angels stacked on top of each other isn’t a bad away to work, especially if you only have two angles.
It does sound like making multiple multiclips (meaning one multiclip per “section”) would help you at the very least.
Jeremy
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Don’t use Plural Eyes to make your multiclips. You have the same functionality in FCPX with more flexibility about what you do and don’t include.
Andy
https://www.timesavertutorials.com
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It seems that way Andy – thanks for the suggestion. So would you say it’s better to split clips into projects in Final Cut, then pass to pluraleyes, or sync them all in pluraleyes, then create multicam clips from specific sections of a timeline? I’m not sure if the latter is possible. However, Pluraleyes is definitely a lot faster for synchronizing larger projects.
Joshua
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I’ve never tried Plural Eyes for FCPX, but I know it was pathetically slow in FCP7. However, I’m not sure if Plural is actually faster than X itself, particularly if you use the marker technique to speed things up.
But for advice, I’d definitely sync them in X as individual sections rather than being tied down to one massive multiclip out of Plural Eyes.
Andy
https://www.timesavertutorials.com
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