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Workflow from Multi-cam Shoot w/ different cameras and settings
Hey all,
Long time moocher, first time poster. Hoping someone can help me out here. I’ll be forever grateful, and in awe of your skill.Just finished shooting a sort of test-run pilot for a web series and am having trouble trying to figure out the best workflow given that we ended up using four different types of cameras for the multi-cam shoot.
I should note that even though almost all of the footage was shot in some form of HD, I want to edit in SD 720 x 480 because I’m going to need to do a lot of digital zooms and cropping. (Like I said, it’s for a web series so the resolution isn’t a huge deal).
Here’s what I’m working with:
Computer:
15″ MacBook Pro (with Snow Leopard)Software
Final Cut Studio 3 (Final Cut Pro 7)Cameras used were:
Camera #1 – Sony PMW-EX1 (will be my audio source as well)
Video Rate: 23.98 fps
Frame Size: 1920×1080
Compressor: XDCAM EX 1080p24 (35 MB/s VBR)
Data Rate: 4.3 MB/sec
Pixel Aspect: SquareCamera #2 – A Sony HDR-SR1. Footage shot and captured in AVCHD.
Video Rate: 29.97
Frame Size: 1440 x 1080
Compressor: Apple ProRes 422
Data Rate: 14.7 MB/sec
Pixel Aspect: HD (1440×1080)Camera #3 – Sony HDR-HC3 (miniDV)
Footage shot in HDV 1080i. However, I must have screwed up in the capturing because here’s how the format is listed in FCP.
Video Rate: 29.97 fps
Frame Size: 720 x 480
Compressor: DV/DVCPRO – NTSC
Data Rate: 3.6 MB/sec
Pixel Aspect: NTSC – CCIR 601
Anamorphic: Check*I’m guessing I need to recapture the footage from the HDR-HC3 differently in order to get the best possible quality. How should I do this?
Camera #4: Sony VX-2000 (miniDV)
Before HD, this was once considered a decent pro-sumer camera, or so I’m told. Anyway:
Video Rate: 29.97 fps
Frame Size: 720 x 480
Compressor: DV/DVCPRO – NTSC
Data Rate: 3.6 MB/sec
Pixel Aspect: NTSC – CCIR 601Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, my question is “what do I do now”? What’s going to be the best method for handling these various different settings in trying to cut everything together, especially when you consider that I’m going to have to do a lot of digital zooming and cropping.
Do I create a standard sequence preset, drop the footage from each camera into an individual sequence, allow it to render and export to a new file that can then be re-imported to a new project where all the settings will match?
Do I try to match to the paint settings from my Sony PMW-EX1 immediately or after I’ve cut everything together?
Basically, if this were your project, what would your workflow be (keeping in mind that you’re going to want to do some split screens, cropping, scale increases, etc…)? And what would you do in the future to make things easier at your next shoot?
Many thanks in advance to anyone who wants to try and help me figure out just how to make the best of this mess.
–Michael
Michael David Hutchinson
“That most limited of all specialists, the well-rounded man.”–F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘The Great Gatsby’ -
3 Replies
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Well the first rule of multicam is to have matching cameras with regards to codec, pixel aspect/count and framerate. If you want to use the multicam feature in FCP all the angles have to match so you will have to use Compressor to convert to a common codec.
It really doesn’t make sense to shoot the one camera at 24p when everything else is 29.97i, unless you are trying to get a different look for that camera vs a smooth switch.
So my advice is more of what to do next time. which is to match cameras 1-3 and if you can replace camera 4 with something that can match the other 3.
For this one it might be just as easy to do it the old fashion way of using 4 video layers and cut the show but eliminating the angles you don’t want. If you are going to going to do zooming and cropping of the HD footage you will have to do this on a SD timeline.
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Many thanks for your prompt and very helpful response. The shoot was a mess from start to finish and we had a limited amount of time, so as soon as the set and lighting were ready, it was go time, and for some reason, it never occurred to me to match camera settings.
Anyway, I’m converting everything to a common codec right now. Here’s what I’m doing (if you get a chance, please let me know if this makes any sense to you or if I should be going about things a completely different way).
First, let me explain why I have to do the image re-sizing and cropping. I won’t go into too much detail as per my agreement, but it’s essentially a fake courtroom type show.
My PMW-EX1 is focused on the “Judge,” one of the cameras (the Sony VX-2000) is roaming, getting audience reaction and what not. Camera #2 (the SR1) takes a two-shot of defendant and plaintiff. And camera #3 (HC3) is zoomed in tighter, jumping back and forth between plaintiff and defendant.
Because we didn’t really have time to set up the shots and I was on the EX1, I didn’t get a chance to monitor the video from the other cameras.
It was only when reviewing the video during transfer that I realized how poorly composed so much of the video turned out to be. Lots of zooming, adjusting of the angles and picking up unwanted background images, etc… When I saw this, I realized that the only way to make it look somewhat decent would be to do a lot of cropping, while adding some fake two-shot framing borders.
So, I realized that I’d have to edit everything in a SD timeline.
What I’m doing now is separating the cases into new video files. There are 6 cases in total, so I’ll end up with 24 different video files.
So, I started with the footage from the Sony VX-2000 and created an Apple ProRes 422 HQ 1920 x 1080 24p sequence. Having used the razor blade to divide the segments in a previous sequence, I then copied and pasted the segment to the new sequence with a name like “Case001_VX-2K.”
After rendering the video, I then chose to export as a new movie with these Sequence Presets (Apple Pro Res 422 HQ 1920×1080 24P).I’ll then do the same for the other video files until all have been converted to this format.
Then I’ll start a New Project with standard 720×480 NTSC sequences for cases 1-6 and import the up-converted video files.
Not sure if I’ll use the multi-cam feature or not. I’ve done it before with three different types of cameras and settings, but in this case, since I’ll be doing so much split screen work, I think you’re right about doing it the old fashioned way.
My apologies for this poor description of my current workflow. I hope you or someone else can make sense of it and let me know if I’m going about things all wrong, or if this actually makes some sense.
Will definitely take your advice for my next shoot and will also spend a good deal more time setting up the cameras so that I know I’m getting the composition I want.
Any tips for now or later would be hugely appreciated.
Many thanks and all the best,
MichaelMichael David Hutchinson
“That most limited of all specialists, the well-rounded man.”–F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘The Great Gatsby’ -
Great thread, it helped me a lot. Can I sync up my codecs on a Cannon GL2 and a Sony HDR-FX1?
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