Question about using 1080p in a 720p sequence for reframing in a multicamera edit

[David Rehm]

I would leave it like you have been doing it – nested in the 720p sequence. That is the way I shoot and edit as well. However I have, with 1080p footage, pushed the boundaries of Scaling with pretty good results. I usually will go 130-140% with no real noticeable quality loss. I have a couple of times even went up in the 170’s(%) and it worked for the particular shot.

Have any links to your work? Would love to check it out.

David

[Bret Williams]

Definitely work in the 1080p sequence. That way you’re never throwing away data as you said. In the end, you can export a 720p sequence from the 1080 and it’ll be the same result. Same perceived sharpness to the footage that was blown up, but then scaled back. But you’ll also have a 1080p master that has full definition on the 1080p clips.

And just to throw your brain a twist, your 720p sequence is going to get blown up to 1080p anyway as most monitors are 1080. So that pixel for pixel mapping really only exists on the computer anyway. So, if you scale it all back to 720 in a 720 sequence, then your monitor blows it up to 1080, it’s as if everything is blowing it up 150%. And at least it would all be blown up evenly. A 1080 sequence will have some native and some blown up. But like I said you can always create a 720p output from a 1080 if you need to.

[Matthew Jones]

I do, https://www.vimeo.com/ClubedoChoroUK This is the group I’m doing all my work for atm, Brazilian jazz musicians. You can see the places are very crowded, the music is in the middle too, it’s not like filming a stage so having that re-framing leeway is indispensable.

[Matthew Jones]

What you say sounds sensible. :S My next question would be… how on earth can I switch everything back to 1080p within my existing multicam projects. Since the multicamera sequences are already linked to 720p nested sequences… and I can’t possibly recut everything, it’s many hours. Maybe I’ll have to take the hit and just upscale what I’ve already edited and keep this in mind for the future. Unless anyone knows a way of substituting a 720p sequence for a 1080p sequence within a multicamera edit.

[Jp Shaggy]

david. I was just wondering exactly how we go from the 1080 to 720 and then nest it. I don’t understand that part. Please help. I’m pretty much desperate

[Ht Davis]

Create a new 1080p sequence, Copy\paste all the work from the 720 to the 1080, don’t adjust the sequence to fit video. Select all video, set to adjust to fit frame. Should already be at 1080, but just in case…

Why\logic
If you have a 1080 sequence with cameras, your video is 1080;
Nest it to sequence A, then sequence A is an output module for your multi cam (a control deck with an output preview). IF sequence A is set to 720, check the preview size. IF it is 720p as well, you will see 720 quality.
Do the same for sequence b, renest the content from sequence A, and viola. Same rule applies. It will pull the video from the sources in your multi cam, and then recode them for your preview first. Then you just output that sequence to whatever you want.
Bottom line:
You start with 1080, you can end with 1080. You’re just piping some into 720 in one sequence. IF you already downscaled your multi cam sequence (the starting point), you can get around this problem as well. Same way…
First…
Copy everything in your original multicam wrapper sequence into another sequence at your desired size (1080)…. First, group it all, then select and copy it as it is, and paste it as it is.
Now import your 1080 footage (if you haven’t already). Ungroup the footage in the new multi cam, and replace each piece with one from the bin.
Next step is tedious…
If you have multiple video\audio tracks in your original nested sequence, you need to duplicate that structure. If you’ve made any sub clips at 720, you’ll need to make them at 1080. This is moot if you simply offline the 720 files and link instead to your 1080, then have them resize to fit your 720 sequence…
Now that you have all your stuff in order… …2 ways to go.
You can start by copying from your 720, or you can start by going from your new multi cam and placing in your new 1080 sequence.
Copy the edits in your 720 to your 1080. You can do this by saving effects, fades etc as presets all along your timeline. That way you only have to activate the preset for each clip\edit. You will also have any spare clips from your 720 timeline… …You should replace these with their counterpart from the BIN , But do this AFTER you create a preset from any effects. When you’ve finished, you should have your 1080 matching your 720. Now to fix audio… You shouldn’t have to worry much about audio presets. You’ll simply have to make your edits across both audio and video tracks the same way. Once you’ve made sure all the edits across both are done and have presets, you can move on to the next steps.
Remove the 720 multi cam video track completely. This will take it’s audio along with it. Now you have a duplication of your 720 video and you can move on with your life.