Need Help with Multi-Cam Editing.

[Rick Mac]

If I were you I would do it the easy way and purchase
a copy of Excalibur. It has a MultiCam Tool that creates
a preview of all of your cameras in the preview window, and
allows you to switch your cameras like having a video switcher.
Also has a ton of others tools that supercharge Vegas.

https://www.classondemand.net/classondemand/vegas-training/excalibur.aspx

[Don Bloom]

barring that although I am a HUGH proponent of Excalibur Edward has a newletter or 2 all about multicam editing with Vegas only. I forget the exact number but check his newsletters and its there.

Don

[Don Bloom]

OK I think this is the newsletter which discusses multicam editing solely within Vegas July 2003, Vol 1-No. 9

Chck Edwards signature for the link to the newsletters.

Don

[Rick Mac]

Here is a link to one tutorial

https://www.martyhedler.com/homepage/Vegas_Tutorials.html

[Will Standley]

Rick,

I actually own Excalibur v1.5 but have never installed it.

(I’m still using Vegas 5.0.)

Do I need a later version of Excalibur? Will it work with my Vegas 5?

I hope to update Vegas later this year but not now.

FYI, I bought Vegas 4.0, upgraded to 5.0 when it came out and did a couple of projects. I’m just now getting back to doing some video.

Thanks for the help.

Will

[Will Standley]

Got it. Thanks.

[Edward Troxel]

Yes, Vol 1 #9 gives three manual methods of multi-cam editing in Vegas and one automated method via scripting. There’s also a video showing how the multi-cam operation can be done via scripting on my Excalibur page. Spot also has a couple of scripts for multi-cam editing as well.

Edward Troxel

[Edward Troxel]

Moving from Vegas 4 to Vegas 5 changed some pieces of the scripting. Version 2.0 was the first version set to work in Vegas 5. Version 5.0 will still work in version 5 (there’s a separate download for Vegas 5 versus Vegas 6 or 7). I would strongly recommend upgrading to the latest version. You can find full details at http://www.jetdv.com/excalibur

If you were using Vegas 6.0b or newer (i.e. Vegas 7), you could now also do “Live Switching” which simply means you would not have to stop the timeline playback in order to add the camera switches. With Vegas 5, you play to the new camera switch location, pause the playback, add the camera angle, and then restart playback.

Here’s a list of changes since version 1.5:

Version 2.0 12/22/2003
1. Added ability to ignore markers in Multi-Cam Wizard if they begin with “>”.
2. Corrected problem when removing previous nodes in Voice Over Wizard.
3. Added ability to specify any transition and preset for each dissolve in Multi-Cam Wizard.
4. Entire Wizard name may now be clicked instead of only the radio button.
5. Now remembers the last Wizard used and automatically selects that wizard.
6. Entire Checkbox description may now be clicked instead of only the box.
7. Added ability to change the velocity in multiple locations via speed indications in markers (positive speeds only).
8. Added four “presets” (!, @, #, and $) to simplify the specification of transitions for each dissolve in Multi-Cam Wizard.
9. Added ability for Gap Wizard to also “Gap” as well as “Overlap”.
10. Added new Wizard, the Duration Wizard.
11. Added “Hot Keys” to the wizard names. Pressing ALT + the underlined letter will choose the wizard.
12. Added “Reverse Clip” to Velocity Wizard.
13. Modified standalone fade scripts to work with ALL selected events instead of only the first selected event.

Version 2.0(V5) 03/25/2004
Excalibur now requires Vegas 5 to run.

1. Eliminated need to add the Generated Media to the Media Pool upon running.
2. Eliminated problem with the Voice Over Wizard when the voice track started at the beginning of the timeline.
3. Expanded option sizes to allow for screens using larger fonts.
4. Toolbar Icons Added

Version 2.0b (V5) 5/17/2004
1. Fixed crashing error when using Multi-Cam wizard with an unnamed video track.

Version 3.0
Excalibur now requires Vegas 5.0b or newer to run.
1. Added ability for Sync Wizard to automatically select all events on all tracks.
2. Added ability for Sync Wizard to automatically apply a 2×2 or 3×3 PIP.
3. Added ability for Sync Wizard to overlay a camera numbering aid.
4. Added ability for Multi-Cam Wizard to remove the Sync Wizard PIP.
5. Added ability for Multi-Cam Wizard to add the alternate camera angles as takes to the master track.
6. Updated GUI to a tabbed format allowing future expansion.
7. Added tooltips for the various options with an option to not display tooltips.
8. Removed unneeded options in Multi-Cam Wizard.
9. Removed “Reverse” option in Velocity Wizard.
10. Removed Solo Wizard.
11. Added ability to remove non-comment markers after running Multi-Cam Wizard.
12. Added “Simplified” and “Advanced” modes to Multi-Cam Wizard.
13. Added check for consecutive changes to the same camera.
14. Added ability to restore the individual camera tracks to their unsplit state (needs the “no holes” option selected).
15. Added 4×4 and 5×5 PIP options to Sync Wizard.
16. Added option to not allow for “Safe Area” when creating PIPs in Sync Wizard.
17. PIPs created in Sync Wizard now have a border effect in preparation for Tally Light usage.
18. Added new wizard – the Tally Light Wizard.
19. Standalone scripts added for camera switching and setting the Tally Light (1 – 9).
20. Orphan Wizard now groups the returned media with the original media.
21. Changing options for a tool will now also select that tool.
22. Added ability for Marker Wizard to take all markers and renumber them sequentially.
23. Added ability for Multi-Cam Wizard to only process the current Selection Area.

NOTE: For best results, cameras should now be named 1 – 9 (as needed).

Version 4.0
1. Total reworking of the entire background processes in how the script works and better integration of ToolTips
2. Resizing of the screen – now requires 1024×768
3. Combined Excalibur, Tsunami, and Neon into a single program
4. Each tool can be run without a GUI using the saved default settings.
5. Each tab can be displayed or hidden allowing only the desired tabs to be seen.
6. Demo mode now runs for a set number of days and the demo can be unlocked to the full version.
7. Video Wall will now respect the Safe Area. Choosing “Ignore Safe Area” will make it operate as it did before.
8. Added ability for Video Wall to place all events on the same track in the same position allowing multiple events per track
9. Added ability for Extract Good Clips to modify the playback rate of the extracted clips.
10. Extract Good Clips can now either create sub-clips or simply copy as in Vegas 4.
11. PIP created by the Picture-In-Picture tool can now be entered as a percentage size.
12. Orphan Wizard will now return the missing item for all selected events on the same track.
13. Added note field to the Save Veg Wizard.
14. Added option for Fade Wizard to set the fade curve type.
15. Multi-Cam Takes will now rotate in the same order.
16. Tallys are now on a separate track allowing rendering of the PIP’s to get a higher framerate.
17. Tally indicators now dissolve to indicate transitions.
18. Voice-Over Wizard track names are now selectable from a drop-down box
19. Voice-Over loud and soft volumes now selected via a slider with dB indicators.
20. Added ability for Gap Wizard to ignore the Command markers
21. Added ability for Gap Wizard to only process selected events
22. Added “Start At Cursor” option to the Marker Wizard.
23. Added Create New Camera Switch tool to create personalized individual camera switches (Icons NOT provided)
24. Added Match Aspect tool
25. Added Multi-PIP effect tool with multiple effects
26. Added Newspaper Twirl tool
27. Added Playback Rate tool
28. Added UnderSample Rate tool
29. Added Properties tool
30. Added Logo Resize/Position tool
31. Added Stereo Split tool
32. Added Stitch Wizard
33. Added Regions to Command Markers tool
34. Added Razor/Incite Import tool

Version 4.1
1. Fixed the Save Veg Wizard to use the proper month (was one off)
2. Changed the Save Veg Wizard so that the month and day would have a leading zero if less than 10.
3. Fixed possible error after entering an incorrect full release registration key.
4. Fixed conflict when running both Excalibur 4 and the Veggie Toolkit.
5. Fixed selection problem in Time Bandit.
6. Fixed problem opening the “About” screen if the registration key was too short.
7. Fixed problem for countries not using mm/dd/yyyy date format.
8. Changed Asset Collector options to default to “None” if no other settings are set as default.
9. Added check to verify the MasterTally and MasterTally2 tracks still exist when running the camera switches.
10. Fixed Sync Wizard so it would work in standalone mode
11. Fixed Velocity Wizard so the Freeze Frame box works
12. Fixed the Create New Camera Wizard to references the correct DLL name.
13. Fixed Align A/V so it will check if a video or audio event is not selected.
14. Fixed Multi-Cam to ignore blank markers.

Version 4.2
1. Added Alpha Channel options to the Video Properties tool.
2. Storyboard Wizard can now save snapshots as JPG or PNG.
3. Storyboard Wizard can now use the marker labels as the base file name.
4. Storyboard Wizard can now append the timecode to the file name.
5. PBS Wizard can now apply Match Aspect instead of needing a separate step.
6. PBS Wizard can now automatically pan the images.
7. PBS Wizard can now turn on Reduce Interlace Flicker.
8. Velocity Wizard can now apply the specified velocity or freeze frame on all selected events under the cursor at the cursor location.
9. Fixed Multi-Cam dissolves to not cause out of sync events on the Master track in Vegas 6.0a.
10. The Excalibur.dll file can now be executed directly in Vegas 6.

Version 4.5
1. Mobile Pro Media/Gary Kleiner is no longer a party to this product.
2. Added Resample options to the Video Properties tool.
3. Added Field Order options to the Video Properties tool.
4. Added ability to leave “>” in the comment markers in Multi-Cam.
5. Marker tool is now a Marker/Region tool and can add regions as well as markers.
6. Added ability for the Marker/Region tool to name a marker or region the active take name.
7. Reworked directory structure so the names would appear better on the Keyboard tab in the Vegas preferences.
8. Instruction Manual can now be opened from the menu.
9. Removed the “Advanced” button in Multi-Cam – all options are now always visible.
10. Added the full version number to the Title bar.
11. Full update of the demo/full registration keys. Will automatically revert to demo mode if a previous version was installed.
12. Added Find Unused can now place unused media on the timeline and/or a “Find Unused” bin in the media pool as requested in the Sony Forums.
13. Removed “First Marker” tool.
14. Removed “Last Marker” tool.
15. Created new “Video Effects” tab.
16. Moved Ssstttuttering Video to the new tab.
17. Added Strobe tool on the “Video Effects” tab.
18. It is no longer necessary to stop playback in order to use this product. This is especially useful when applying the camera scripts.
19. Added Tally indicators for PAL. Any files beginning with “Tally” will appear in the tally list.
20. Select Events can now split using the Selection Area option even if there is no selection area.
21. Fixed Match Aspect to only affect selected events.
22. Added Pixel Aspect Ratio options to the Video Properties tool.
23. Fixed Multi-Cam so that multiple events between markers would be moved to the Master track.

Version 4.6
2. Added Split at Markers tool which will split all selected events at the marker locations
3. Added Events to Markers tool which will take the selected events and position them at the marker locations adjusting lengths as required
4. Added Audio Track Effects tool which will add the selected effects to the selected audio tracks
5. Added Keyframe Smoothness tool which will adjust the smoothness of all Pan/Crop keyframes on all selected video events
6. Fixed problem where offset was not being adjusted in Time Bandit
7. Fixed problem where Gap/Overlap was used to make smaller overlaps did not work
8. Fixed New Camera Switches now go to the correct location
9. Fixed error in Strobe when no events were selected
10. Excalibur can now be closed by pressing ESC
11. Extra markers no longer added before cursor if “Start At Cursor” or selection area
12. Volume Envelopes optionally added to audio tracks when running Sync Media
13. Multi-Cam Master Track optionally cleared if Multi-Cam run a second time
14. Multi-Cam dissolves can now occur Centered, Before, or After the Marker location
15. Multi-Cam will now optionally remove the Master Tally and Overlay tracks
16. Master Tally and Overlay tracks will not be re-created if they already exist if Sync is run multiple times
17. Multi-Cam Sync now supports mixed media on the timeline or a mis-matched timeline/media
18. Speed Improvments when running Multi-Cam in certain situations
19. Voice Over now allows multiple voice tracks to be selected
20. Voice Over now allows multiple music tracks to be selected
21. Voice Over music tracks can be routed to a specified bus and volume adjustments are made to that bus
22. Voice Over Narrative tracks can be routed to a specified bus
23. Voice Over Narrative tracks can receive the opposite volume adjustments specific to that track
24. Voice Over Narrative bus track can receive the opposite volume adjustments of the music tracks/bus
25. Markers/Regions tool can now split all events on all selected tracks at the newly added Marker/Region location(s)
26. Markers/Regions now starts at the beginning of the timeline unless otherwise specified
27. Restore Missing A/V will no longer create multiple “Orphan” tracks
28. Restore Missing A/V will intelligently locate the “Orphan” track if it does not already exist
29. Restore Missing A/V will now work for all selected Video and Audio events
30. PIP tool can now be applied to the current selection area
31. Four Points tool can now add points to any or all envelope types at once depending on what tracks and events are selected
32. Apply Effects can now add multiple effects at one time
33. Apply Effects can now add effects to selected video tracks

Version 4.6.1
1. Fixed Sync when unlabeled markers were on the timeline
2. Fixed Opening of Manual problem on some machines

Version 4.6.2
1. Added Quick Label tool which will add labels on the timeline

Version 5.0.0
1. Added Remove Transitions tool to remove transitions from all selected video events turning them back into crossfades
2. Added Apply Transitions tool to randomly add selected transitions to all selected video events
3. Multi-cam major speed improvements when processing the Master Track, Tally Update, and adding camera switches
4. Multi-cam automatic tally refresh can be limited to a specified number of cameras
5. Multi-cam can now auto-build the project tracks upon selection of the camera clips
6. Multi-cam auto-build can have multiple clips per track (i.e. multiple tapes were needed per camera)
7. Multi-cam PIP size will be auto-selected based on the number of video tracks
8. Multi-cam can now auto-render the PIP’d view to help increase the preview framerate
9. Multi-cam Tally color can now be changed after syncing has already occurred
10. Multi-cam camera tracks are no longer split into smaller pieces
11. Multi-cam can be “undone” simply by deleting the “Master” track
12. Multi-cam “Leave ‘Holes’ in camera tracks” option has been removed
13. Multi-cam “Restore the individual camera tracks” option has been removed
14. Save Veg now has a “Save As” mode which will pop up a dialog asking for the save note but not the full GUI
15. Voice Over can now use envelopes created by the Blue Cat automation FX to determine when there are voices
16. Media Snapshots will now also work with regions
17. Media Snapshots sequence number is now optional
18. Media Snapshots can now be added to the Media Pool
19. Asset Collector sequence number is now optional
20. Asset Collector now lets you specify the full render output name
21. Asset Collector now lets you optionally include the Markers for chapter points
22. Asset Collector now lets you optionally set the “Stretch to Fill Frame” flag
23. Audio Effects add order can now be specified when adding to selected audio tracks
24. Audio Effects can now add the same effect multiple times
25. Audio Effects can now be individually removed from selected audio tracks
26. Video Effects add order can now be specified when adding to selected video tracks or events
27. Video Effects can now add the same effect multiple times
28. Video Effects can now be individually removed from selected video tracks or events
29. Video Effects tool moved to the Video Effects tab
30. Set Length now allows proportionally adjusting the length of events (i.e. all selected events make 1 second longer)
31. Four Points can now be applied to any track level or velocity envelope (including automation envelopes)
32. Four Points can now be applied to all tracks or only selected tracks
33. Markers/Regions can now be limited to the current selection area
34. Markers/Regions can now add CD tracks based on events or set intervals
35. Markers/Regions will no longer exceed the selection area or project length when adding Regions or CD Tracks
36. Markers/Regions can now fill the selection area or project with the specified number of Markers/Regions/CD Tracks
37. Video Scrapbook will now optionally apply a random rotation to the images
38. Quick Labels now allows selection of Font/Font Size/Font Style/Font Color
39. Quick Labels now allows selection of Background color or “transparent”
40. Quick Labels now has a visual representation of the label placement
41. Quick Labels now can do a count up/down using timecode
42. Better checking for invalid renderers and audio/video effects
43. Fixed problem when adding an envelope point when the project start time was not 00:00:00:00
44. Fixed problem when a product called VidScope was opening when looking at the presets available in the audio FX it added

Version 5.0.1
1) Asset Collector – Full Render Base Filename is now being saved.
2) Asset Collector – Selected renders saved as default are now selected correctly.
3) Multi-Cam Tally will now dissolve correctly on the second camera switch (only affected the TALLYs).
4) Markers/Regions can now use the media comment for the label.
5) Quick Label can now use the media comment for the label.

Version 5.0.2
1) Fixed the “null” error when using Gap/Overlap
2) Changed Gap/Overlap so that the FIRST event is not moved when using selected events

Version 5.0.3
1) Video Scrapbook will no longer rotate the image if the option to rotate is not selected
2) Gap will now allow working with only selected events

Version 5.0.4
1) Added separator between date/time and the Note in the Save Veg tool.
2) Fixed Multi-Cam master track creation for events that had multiple keyframes in effects.
3) “Save Veg As” OK button will now work by pressing Enter.
4) Installation program automatically detects Vegas 7.

Version 5.0.5
1) Fixed Multi-Cam “auto build project” when using camera numbers as part of the file name.

Version 5.0.6
1) Fixed the disappearing tabs in Vegas 7.
2) Revised Tab configurations will no longer be saved in Vegas 7 or newer.
3) Fixed issue with TimeBandit crashing on exiting on some machines with Vegas 7.
4) Multi-cam added markers to events are now limited to the selected area when doing a region.
5) Multi-cam events with fades will now have the fades removed on the Master track when using cuts.
6) Fixed Restore Missing A/V to work properly with sub-clips.

Edward Troxel