Multi Camera Editing and Work Flow

James Emory · August 2nd, 2003, 02:59 PM

Mult-cam software
The software I believe you are looking for is made by United Media. It can scrub up to four sources at one time in real time!

www.unitedmediainc.com

Peter Moore · August 3rd, 2003, 03:37 PM

Darrell,

I did this with Vegas to create a movie of a stage play. We had three cameras, and sound recorded, all not in sync. It was a pain in the neck, but vegas made it pretty easy, at least as easy as possible.

What I did was line up and synchronize all the video and audio tracks first. I then used the composite level envelopes to decide which camera angle I switched to. When I wanted to switch to a camera, I'd lower the composite level to the other tracks to 0, etc. That's an easy way to do it to preserve clip integrity and not worry about managing lots of clips.

Now if you do want to do it the clip way, what I would suggest doing is doing what I did, lining up all the tracks, and then create a fourth track to be your good mix. Put that on top. Then when you want to take a clip from a camera, make the splices and them COPY (do not cut) the clip) to the good track. Again, you're preserving clip integrity that way. That's the key to doing multicamera editing.

Edward Troxel · August 3rd, 2003, 03:48 PM

Peter, you need to take a look at Excalibur - makes it MUCH easier. Also, it doesn't matter if you copy or cut to the master track (in fact, when I did it that way I used the 8 key on the number pad to MOVE them to the master track) because working if Vegas is lossless. If you need anything back, you can just drag the clip to the left or right to fill in the hole. You may also want to look at the Multi-cam editing article in Vegas Tips, Tricks, and Scripts

Peter Moore · August 4th, 2003, 03:02 PM

I'll have to check out Excalibur.

I know working in Vegas is lossless but I personally easily lose track of the clips and their proper starting points, especially when I have three or more cameras and at least as many audio tracks. For instance, if I make a split somewhere, and then try to restore the early part of the second clip and the end of the first clip, I can totally screw up the integrity of that timeline because I've lost track of where the split was made. Or is there a way to fix that too?

I like keeping everything there in its original form and only playing with the final product.

Edward Troxel · August 4th, 2003, 03:26 PM

If you still have audio, Excalibur can also bring back the missing video. However, multi-cam editing is handled without making a single split to any tracks when using Excalibur. The splits are all automatically made at the end AND you have the option to leave the original tracks whole (i.e. the clip will be COPIED to the Master track instead of MOVED).

Darrell Sullivan · August 5th, 2003, 05:16 AM

I heartily recommend the Excalibur add on for Vegas. It really simplifies the multicamera editing and this is from a video editing newbie. No cutting or pasting. Just setup the "Track Motion" to show your cameras and when you get to a place for a cut, put in a mark. EXTREMELY EASY... thanks ED!

The amount of time it saved me editing the one wedding ceremony with two cameras was well worth the price.

August 2nd, 2003, 02:59 PM	#16
James Emory Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 1,892	Multi-camera cutting software Mult-cam software The software I believe you are looking for is made by United Media. It can scrub up to four sources at one time in real time! www.unitedmediainc.com

August 5th, 2003, 05:16 AM	#21
Darrell Sullivan Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 42	Definitely use Excalibur I heartily recommend the Excalibur add on for Vegas. It really simplifies the multicamera editing and this is from a video editing newbie. No cutting or pasting. Just setup the "Track Motion" to show your cameras and when you get to a place for a cut, put in a mark. EXTREMELY EASY... thanks ED! The amount of time it saved me editing the one wedding ceremony with two cameras was well worth the price.

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August 3rd, 2003, 03:37 PM	#17
Peter Moore Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Arlington VA Posts: 1,034	Darrell, I did this with Vegas to create a movie of a stage play. We had three cameras, and sound recorded, all not in sync. It was a pain in the neck, but vegas made it pretty easy, at least as easy as possible. What I did was line up and synchronize all the video and audio tracks first. I then used the composite level envelopes to decide which camera angle I switched to. When I wanted to switch to a camera, I'd lower the composite level to the other tracks to 0, etc. That's an easy way to do it to preserve clip integrity and not worry about managing lots of clips. Now if you do want to do it the clip way, what I would suggest doing is doing what I did, lining up all the tracks, and then create a fourth track to be your good mix. Put that on top. Then when you want to take a clip from a camera, make the splices and them COPY (do not cut) the clip) to the good track. Again, you're preserving clip integrity that way. That's the key to doing multicamera editing.

August 3rd, 2003, 03:48 PM	#18
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Peter, you need to take a look at Excalibur - makes it MUCH easier. Also, it doesn't matter if you copy or cut to the master track (in fact, when I did it that way I used the 8 key on the number pad to MOVE them to the master track) because working if Vegas is lossless. If you need anything back, you can just drag the clip to the left or right to fill in the hole. You may also want to look at the Multi-cam editing article in Vegas Tips, Tricks, and Scripts

August 4th, 2003, 03:02 PM	#19
Peter Moore Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Arlington VA Posts: 1,034	I'll have to check out Excalibur. I know working in Vegas is lossless but I personally easily lose track of the clips and their proper starting points, especially when I have three or more cameras and at least as many audio tracks. For instance, if I make a split somewhere, and then try to restore the early part of the second clip and the end of the first clip, I can totally screw up the integrity of that timeline because I've lost track of where the split was made. Or is there a way to fix that too? I like keeping everything there in its original form and only playing with the final product.

August 4th, 2003, 03:26 PM	#20
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	If you still have audio, Excalibur can also bring back the missing video. However, multi-cam editing is handled without making a single split to any tracks when using Excalibur. The splits are all automatically made at the end AND you have the option to leave the original tracks whole (i.e. the clip will be COPIED to the Master track instead of MOVED).