Color correcting a single camera angle within a multicam sequence

[Patrick Finnegan]

Hi Jordi, Sorry for the late reply, and I may be too late but I’ll answer anyway.

The short answer is “no, not really.” I can imagine a few ways around this but haven’t tested them because I feel there are better ways to approach this problem. I’ve been doing multi cam shoots and editing more than I eer imagined and have gained some valuable experience that I would love to share. If you still have questions regarding multi-cam process, please post again. I will be watching this time, I promise!

In the mean time my advice is always to get problems fixed as early in the process as possible. Shoot lots of footage and work on getting that art perfected. You can always get help with post from you friends here and elsewhere on the web. I guess what I’m saying is “Shoot first and ask questions later.”

OK, I know that was bad.

I am also writing a series of articles on the multi-camera shooting and editing process that I will be posting when my site / blog is up. (turn-turtle.com)

[Patrick Finnegan]

Hi Jordi, here’s an update. It’s official, flattening breaks the connection to the multi cam clip. There remains a connection to the original source clip though so you can select that clip in the timeline and use the match frame shortcut (F) to open the original source clip and edit it there.

Here’s more information from the rough draft of my blog article. Please don’t repost this content.

There are four ways I can think of to color match all cameras in a multi camera shoot.

Let me start out by saying that a solid white balance alignment on all cameras before filming will save you a lot of time in post. Still there are times that one camera sees things differently for various reasons and color matching still needs to be done. I’d also like to point out that I see the color process in two distinct phases – matching and grading. Matching gives all the clips a similar color balance, exposure, contrast and saturation. Grading is a matter of style and feel and is applied to all clips.

Option 1 – Match color for all camera clips before you even create a multi-camera source sequence. Most people think of color correction as a post-production process. So this may be counter-intuitive for some. But just recently I have come to the conclusion that, at least for the kind of work I do, color is best handled in the two steps mentioned above. Matching is done early in the process right after sound sync, before you even create a multi-camera source sequence or nest your clips.

By the way, in my opinion, Premiere Pro’s menu incorrectly calls this a multi-camera source SEQUENCE. I feel this is incorrect for two reasons. First, the icon for the object that is created is a clip icon, not a sequence. Second, after you run this command you then have to use the “Create New Sequence from Clip” command so it seems that what you created in the previous step is a clip not a sequence. But I digress.
OK, so with the color matched by the camera’s white balance process and any necessary color matching done, you can now create the multi-cam clip and multi-cam sequence and move to the rough cut.

Option 2 – Do color matching after your final edit but before color grading if you intend to grade. The best way to do this is best understood if you grasp the connection between the multi-cam source clip and the sequence you created from that. First, keep in mind that what you created is a SOURCE clip. It’s the source for the sequence you create from it. Also remember that Premiere is non-destructive. So when you create the sequence from the clip there remains a link between the two objects. Want proof? Try creating a multicam source clip, creating a sequence from that and them try to delete the source clip. What error did you get? Something to the effect of “This selection has references to one or more sequences,” right?

So then, knowing that, you can conclude that you can open the multi cam source clip in the timeline, apply any effect or filter to one of the clips and it will carry over to any sequence that is based on that clip. Make sense?

Option 3 – Let’s say you have finished the editing and you notice that some the sub-clips created by the cuts have different temperatures. Maybe for that moment the sun came out or went behind clouds. Or maybe a bulb went bad and you couldn’t stop the filming or event to go and change it. In any case, just that one section needs to be corrected. In this case you can apply color adjustments to just that section.

Option 4 – Color matching after the edit using the flatten command and opening the source with match frame. In this case, you just right-click on the sequence and choose “flatten” from the Multicamera options. Next, click on the cut you want to change and press “F” for Match Frame. The Source clip will now open in a source monitor. Apply the effect / filter to the source and it will be applied to all the cuts from that same source file. This basically works like option 2 except that you are working on the most basic of source clips, the original clip. So it’s the clip that the multi cam clip was based on that the sequence was then based on. Clear as mud? Yeah, me too.

All these options may seem confusing, but it really is the beauty and flexibility of Adobe’s “more than one way to get the job done” concept that lets their tools fit into many different workflows. Just try them and pick the one that suits you best. For me, option 4 until I learned about Option 2. Option two was my choice until I learned about option 1. Option 3 is helpful only under some very specific circumstances.

Finally, let me suggest that you consider throwing an adjustment layer over each clip before doing any of these. I really like the ability to turn that layer on and off to see before and after so I can get a good read on everything I’ve done so far to alter the clip. Some have even suggested you create one solely for color and another for other effects and filters.

Hope this helps!

[Trig Simon]

As I am editing, I may find one camera that is recording too dark, but the other three are fine. This may only happen for a minute or two…until the cam op is told to brighten it up or he catches it himself. As in FCP7, I was able to make an adjustment on that one camera, and it would stay there until I needed to change it. But the other cameras would stay where the were.
With Primiere Pro CC, you lighten one camera and all the cameras get changed. So, you have to wait until you make a cut down the line before going back and changing each and every incidence of that camera.
Using an adjustment layer can be done, but it has to be cut out of the way when the other cameras are under the head.
There should be an easy fix, since I would think enough editors have the same situation and would like to see it happen.

Thanks, Patrick.

Trig Simon
Video Images by Trig
832 Main
Toledo OH 43605
419-693-0872
http://www.videoimagesbytrig.com

[Patrick Finnegan]

Hi Trig,

First I wanted to mention that your site seems to be down.

I like the phrase “under the head” – it takes me back! But it also gives me a tip about what might be the issue here. Those of us who remember literal cutting can have a hard time grasping the mystery behind a non-destructive, non-linear editing system. What you need to do is grasp the connection between the original source clips, the multi-cam source sequence (“Multiclip” in FCP) and the sequence you create from that. To that end…

I am currently writing a series of articles on Multi-Camera Filming and Editing. One of these I believe will help you, it may even “rock your world” and turn you into a PPro guru by helping you understand how PPro “thinks.” It’s not very long but it’s a little longer than is appropriate for a forum reply. It includes a very quick set of sample Premiere Pro project steps (I’m working on providing sample media but you should be able to execute them with your own media.) Just email me at

p f j m (at) w o r l d i n c o n c e r t (dot) c o m

Remove all the spaces and replace the (at) and (dot) with the appropriate character.

I will send you the work in progress. All I ask is that you let me know what you thought about it, how it helped and/or how it could be improved.

By the end of March, my website, https://www.turn-turtle.com should be up annd running. By the end of May, https://www.worldinconcert.com should be live as well. These are two business startups that I am involved with. Turn-Turtle Educational Media is a educational media design and training firm. World In Concert Studios is an audio and video production service bureau.

Turn-Turtle.com will have a discussion forum for our student community. It will be limited access for those who have taken our courses but once it is up and running, if you’re interested, email me again and I will grant you and Jordi free access. Again, all I ask for is your opinions and maybe some topic ideas from your view (people doing the work in the “real world.”)

Hope I can help!