Interesting multi-cam problem at DVinfo.net

Mike Hannon · July 9th, 2009, 06:03 AM

[I posted this in the Adobe forums but thought I would try the helpful guys here too!]

This is my situation:

I'm doing a short film where I need to edit a number of separate interviews I have shot. Each interview was two people at the same time. I had two cameras, one wide static shot showing both interview subjects and the other close, panning as required. The externally recorded sound was a mono mic on each person into the left and right channels of a stereo recorder.

This is my my question:

What is the best way to edit all this? I have tried the multi-cam workflow but I have had problems with it. Each interview has its own sequence with Camera A and B on tracks one and two. The sound is duplicated on Audio 1 and 2, except with a Fill Left and Fill Right to isolate the relevant mic. If I use the multi-cam workflow then I only get Audio Track 1. I know that there is an option to switch audio with each camera cut, but that is no good because the audio won't change just because I switch from a wide to a close shot. When one person is talking I want to mute the other person's mic.

To be honest it would be ideal if I could work with the copies of the original files from the interview sequences instead of nesting sequences. This is because I shot in 1080 and am outputting in 720 and will be doing some reframing. If I work with nested sequences then I have to go back to my original sequence, finding the in and out points of the relevant bit and do my motion transforming there and then return to the nested sequence to continue editing. I think it would be easier working with copy and pasted clips. The only problem is that I can link the audio clips and one video clip, but not all four!

Can anyone suggest an elegant solution? This is a fairly major project (around 14 hours of interview footage) so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Mike Hannon · July 9th, 2009, 07:42 AM

I think I have found a solution for the audio that will work, although I still don't know if this is the best solution.

I leave the external stereo audio as one track on the pre-nested sequences. In the multicam sequence I can drop the Fill Left or Fill Right effect onto the audio clip depending on who is talking. If I need to pan audio, I cut the clip and put the opposite Fill effect on the next clip and put an audio transition between them.

It still doesn't solve the problem of having to go back to the original sequences in order to use the Motion controls to reframe. This is indeed fairly tedious as it involves finding the point in the multicam sequence that I want reframed, pressing M, copying the timecode in the source window, going back to the pre-nested sequence, pasting the timecode in the timeline window, making a cut, adjusting scale and position. And possible finding the out point and reverting to the default.

Does this sound like madness?

Richard Wakefield · July 9th, 2009, 08:33 AM

i'd do this:

- unlink audio 1+2 from video 1+2, and paste them under your new nested multi-cam sequence, on the main timeline

or

- bounce audio tracks 1 + 2 down into 1 .wav track, then have this new track as your main audio in the multi-cam timeline

Mike Hannon · July 9th, 2009, 11:22 AM

Hi Richard,

thanks for your reply. The audio is actually two different mics going to the left and right channels of a stereo track on a Zoom H4, so it is already unlinked and is one track originally.

I had duplicated this audio to a new track in the original sequence to separate out the two mics so I could edit them separately. I think using Fill Left and Right with a transition across a cut will solve my problem of separating out the two tracks in a multicam workflow, while still being linked to the video. This allows me to edit away happy that I can change camera using the multicam controls, and can switch audio using Fill Left or Fill Right.

My other problem is that in the multicam sequence I am stuck with the motion controls of the pre-nested sequence. The only way to reframe a video clip is to find its reference point in the prenested sequence and make my change there. It's a few steps and it's a little bit of hassle. Maybe I should look on it as post-production type stuff and relegate it to a stage after the final edit is complete but before colour correction, and get the whole lot of it out of the way in one fell swoop.

July 9th, 2009, 06:03 AM	#1
Mike Hannon Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 55	Interesting multi-cam problem [I posted this in the Adobe forums but thought I would try the helpful guys here too!] This is my situation: I'm doing a short film where I need to edit a number of separate interviews I have shot. Each interview was two people at the same time. I had two cameras, one wide static shot showing both interview subjects and the other close, panning as required. The externally recorded sound was a mono mic on each person into the left and right channels of a stereo recorder. This is my my question: What is the best way to edit all this? I have tried the multi-cam workflow but I have had problems with it. Each interview has its own sequence with Camera A and B on tracks one and two. The sound is duplicated on Audio 1 and 2, except with a Fill Left and Fill Right to isolate the relevant mic. If I use the multi-cam workflow then I only get Audio Track 1. I know that there is an option to switch audio with each camera cut, but that is no good because the audio won't change just because I switch from a wide to a close shot. When one person is talking I want to mute the other person's mic. To be honest it would be ideal if I could work with the copies of the original files from the interview sequences instead of nesting sequences. This is because I shot in 1080 and am outputting in 720 and will be doing some reframing. If I work with nested sequences then I have to go back to my original sequence, finding the in and out points of the relevant bit and do my motion transforming there and then return to the nested sequence to continue editing. I think it would be easier working with copy and pasted clips. The only problem is that I can link the audio clips and one video clip, but not all four! Can anyone suggest an elegant solution? This is a fairly major project (around 14 hours of interview footage) so any help would be greatly appreciated!

July 9th, 2009, 07:42 AM	#2
Mike Hannon Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 55	I think I have found a solution for the audio that will work, although I still don't know if this is the best solution. I leave the external stereo audio as one track on the pre-nested sequences. In the multicam sequence I can drop the Fill Left or Fill Right effect onto the audio clip depending on who is talking. If I need to pan audio, I cut the clip and put the opposite Fill effect on the next clip and put an audio transition between them. It still doesn't solve the problem of having to go back to the original sequences in order to use the Motion controls to reframe. This is indeed fairly tedious as it involves finding the point in the multicam sequence that I want reframed, pressing M, copying the timecode in the source window, going back to the pre-nested sequence, pasting the timecode in the timeline window, making a cut, adjusting scale and position. And possible finding the out point and reverting to the default. Does this sound like madness?

July 9th, 2009, 08:33 AM	#3
Richard Wakefield Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 680	i'd do this: - unlink audio 1+2 from video 1+2, and paste them under your new nested multi-cam sequence, on the main timeline or - bounce audio tracks 1 + 2 down into 1 .wav track, then have this new track as your main audio in the multi-cam timeline

July 9th, 2009, 11:22 AM	#4
Mike Hannon Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ireland Posts: 55	Hi Richard, thanks for your reply. The audio is actually two different mics going to the left and right channels of a stereo track on a Zoom H4, so it is already unlinked and is one track originally. I had duplicated this audio to a new track in the original sequence to separate out the two mics so I could edit them separately. I think using Fill Left and Right with a transition across a cut will solve my problem of separating out the two tracks in a multicam workflow, while still being linked to the video. This allows me to edit away happy that I can change camera using the multicam controls, and can switch audio using Fill Left or Fill Right. My other problem is that in the multicam sequence I am stuck with the motion controls of the pre-nested sequence. The only way to reframe a video clip is to find its reference point in the prenested sequence and make my change there. It's a few steps and it's a little bit of hassle. Maybe I should look on it as post-production type stuff and relegate it to a stage after the final edit is complete but before colour correction, and get the whole lot of it out of the way in one fell swoop.