Need a brief connect the dots on Multicam and Timecode

[Dean Sensui]

Here’s how we do it.

When all cameras are rolling, have the talent clap his hands once for a slate mark. Use this for sync reference.

After the material is digitized into FCP:

— Select clips for each camera angle.
— Find “slate” points and cut the clips there.
— Move clips to a bin.
— Highlight clips.
— Go to Modify dropdown menu and select Make Multiclip
— Select “Sync using in points”.
— Check “on” all clips.

Your multiclip will then be created and can be found in the bin.

Drag this multiclip into a sequence.

— In Viewer: Show Multiclip Overlays; Show Source Angle Effects should both be “on.”
— Go to View dropdown menu — Playhead sync — Open
— Go to View dropdown menu — Multiclip Active Tracks — Video + Audio
— Go to View dropdown menu — External Video — All frames (not sure if this is essential)

When you click on your sequence and hit the space bar, you should see all camera angles in the viewer playing simultaneously and the “program” or selected camera angle should be playing in the canvas as well.

To select a camera, just click on the angle in the viewer.

At the end your multiclip will be cut into their respective camera angles. You can go back and fine tune the cuts, too.

Dean Sensui — http://www.HawaiiGoesFishing.com

[Zander]

great tidbit, ive just started working (or trying to understand i have no real multicam footage so ive been fudging it)

on the shooting side, there are little devices that essentially tell all your camera’s exactly what timecode tehy are at, kinda like having a record button for all your cameras in one place, i supose, im not really sure, other then id guess it’s expensive and plugs in somewhere, (the helpfiles/manual have the name for this tool just search for multiple camera edditing)

also smart slates (once again, reallly really expensive, did i mention realy) are good for this, just sinc up to the slate

anyslate in fact will be better then none, as a clap, though distinctive in sound, if your not doing sync sound, your going to have to merge clips and i cna promise you, the human hands seem identicle on the clap for nearly 3 to 5 frames, a slate is a little more exact and distinct (and a simple white board slate can be found for a pitance, 40 bucks at most)

essentially your gonna want a visual and audio clue if you can (audio is kinda a check for what you need)

onto the edditing,

syncing up can be done several ways, as previusly stated, the beging of your clip works wonders, this works because when untuched a clips inpoint is defaulted to the begining, this goes for the end as well, so with an unmarked clip, you can sync up using the beigning or end. Another option is to set in and or outpoints and sync using these, or you can sync using time code. which is awsome, if they all have the same timecode, but remember to do this all the camreas have to be set up this way.

anotehr thing to do, is if you have a shoot where you are using multicams for more then one or 2 takes, or scenes or whatever.(and this works really well if you do have timecode synced[once again i strongly recomend figuring out how to do this, weather it’s talking to the camera op or to the camera provider, rental house or manufacturing, or ask our old friend google]) you can create a multicam sequence, in which u can litteraly creat your movie or show or what ever in one drag and just watch. to do this, select all of your clips that you want in there, control click it and go to create muliclip sequence, or go to the modify menu and do teh same. from here, you can sync up in 2 ways, using start time codes (if all your sequence is on 1 tape, or you adjust your timecode by the tape or you can do it with matching timecode. where all teh clips with timecodes matching that of the largest clip of anyparticular stretch will be set into a multiclip. If say, you have one camera that stops recording at 5 min in and another at 5.5 min, you can adjust the percentage these clips can match the largest clip, and there by have final cut desipher wich clips sync where (a very nice featur but a double edge sword, please make sure that all your clips are where they should be) when final cut can see that there is a reasonable difference betwenen you clips, first it will seperate them by name, then it will put a devide inbetween them, (to make my point clear, try it with 2 sets of duplicated clips [i.e. 4 duplicates of 2 different clips] and fiddle with it, youll see it for yourself and have a chance to explor multicam edditng etc.)

so once finalcut has extrapolated the time code data it will then allow you to view everything in order i supose, when your done letting finalcut extrapolate, open your multiclip sequence and you will see each set of clips distinguished as layers in the timeline (sorry a little aftereffects speak) as different clips. you can then move an adjust where they start and end then begin to eddit them multiclip wise (btw i recomend setting up keyboard shortcuts as fcp tells you, err um forces you i should say, you can always make them super combo buttons like cmnd shft option 1 and addthem to a multi button tool like a shuttle wheel) the other option syncs up by where the begining and only the begining of your clips, this im not to familiar with, other then using my example style of 2 seperat movie files, it devides them no matter what timecode i enter.

i hope all this helps, you or someone, or is even legibal/understandable, or even knowlegeable.

hope i didn’t start to simple either.

-Aaron

Aaron Zander-Student edditor
If it’s out there and it does somethign to something,
teach me how to use it
Powerbook g4 1.5 GHz (it might not be big, but i can take it on set
fcp 5, ae 6.5pro adobe cs2

[Cable Guy]

Thanks for all the great info. I think the clap/slate will work well for me. Sync on the audio and video. Although a wired/hardware solution is interesting and follows our current path of buy gear to figure things out, I probably should rely on, and improve my skills to do it in the edit process first. Having done some audio editing prior to jumping into video I should be OK.
Great points, direction, and process. As the jack of all I better learn to solve it through practice.
Thanks a ton.
The cable guy.

[Nichofilm]

This is a problem I have been wondering about where I have been filming with a 3 camera shoot of a series of outdoor plays ‘in the round’ where it would be intrusive to have a clapper and the play happens regardless of the filming.

I haven’t tried it yet, or worked out how to sync it to the video, but I wonder if a quick peep on an ultrasonic dog whistle would help – show up on the timeline but not be audible in the production?

[Bob Woodhead]

Beware of extra hassles when not using matching timecode clips in Multicam. Mostly poor matchframing from the multiclip edited into the timeline. I’ve edited 3 music videos using non-synchronous TC clips, and though it appears to work, you’ll find some weirdness as you go. (I have tested it using matching code clips, and it was flawless, so if you can ever find a way to using matching code, that’s the way to go.)

[Zander]

well in theory, if you have your cameras, and you know where tehy are all about to start, or you can get recpording even 5 seconds before the actors come on, yell out, begin recording (camera opps begin recording) and then do a single clap, or 1 loud something, run across stage and do 5 jumping jacks for a timing aspect, or what ever toots your horn, the problem is tape switching, fortunatly thers intermission, adn if your filming, there may be allowance to let you on stage at intermission.

the wissle is interesting,, would it pick up? i don’t know but thats an awsome idea

Aaron Zander-Student edditor
If it’s out there and it does somethign to something,
teach me how to use it
Powerbook g4 1.5 GHz (it might not be big, but i can take it on set
fcp 5, ae 6.5pro adobe cs2