February 16, 2010

Why Wait to Shoot Multicam?

If you think multicam editing is just for high-budget productions – think again. This is some of the best fun you can have editing on FCP! To get started with your own project, gather three or four people who have matching cameras, go find an event, and set the cameras along one side, as though they were facing a stage. After you start recording, make sure you record a time reference to sync the different cameras. If you can’t use a slate, try a camera flash, an audio pop, or just point to a clock to a score board. Get creative! Tape your garage band or your childrens’ sports team. There are just three stages to multicam editing, so anyone can master the process.

CREATE 

Capture the footage of the event from the different cameras. Open each clip into the Viewer, and mark an In point (or Out) at the sync point you recorded. In the Browser, select the clips you want to use together, then choose Modify > Make Multiclip. To view the group of clips at the same time, just double-click the new multiclip icon in the Browser.

ORGANIZE

To organize or modfiy a multiclip once it's been created, try the following:

• To see the clips in a larger Viewer, change the window arrangement to Two Up.
• To rearrange the order of the camera angles, Cmd-drag one image into another location.
• To remove a clip from the group, Cmd-drag an unselected clip out of the Viewer window.
• To improve or correct sync of a clip, hold Shift and Control and drag the image left or right.
• To switch just the audio or video angle, click the Playhead popup and choose Video, Audio, ␣ or Video+Audio. Click the audio and video clip(s) you want to be begin with.

EDIT

Mark an In point for the multiclip in the Viewer scrubber bar. Then mark an In point in the Timeline (or position the playhead) and press the Overwrite or Insert button. In the Canvas, click the Playhead sync popup and choose Open. In the Timeline, play the multiclip and and click whatever image in the Viewer you want to cut to next.