Multicam Editing in Premiere

Live events such as sports and concerts are often filmed with many different cameras from many different angles at the same time.  This gives the editor material to cut together but also ensures that as much of the action as possible is recorded.  Even in feature film projects there are situations where the action can't be repeated, especially for action sequences such as car crashes, explosions.  Shots like that are a good candidate for Multi-camera filming.

Because multi-camera is used so often, Premiere has specific tools to edit this kind of project. The first step is to make sure all the clips are in time with each other by synchronising the videos.  Professional film shoots will use high-end cameras which can share timecode signals and will start and stop recording at exactly the same time so all the clips will automatically be in sync.

For low budget shoots, on the other hand, the best if not very accurate way to get several videos in time with each other is to have some kind of visual signal recorded by every camera.  The ideal solution is a film clapper board but, failing that, just a crew member clapping their hands will do.

The important thing is that all the cameras can see the sync signal -- if that means pointing the camera at the signal then panning it to catch the action then that needs to be planned in to the shot.

To start editing, import all the clips into Premiere as usual.  It is a good idea to create a new Bin for each shot to keep the clips from all the cameras together.  Once the clips are organised they need to be loaded into the Source Monitor one by one to line them up on the visual sync.

First Clip of a Multicam sequence cued up to the Visual Sync frame.

Use the playback controls J K L or the LEFT and RIGHT Arrow keys to get the video as close to the hand clap as possible.  Once you are on the right frame, put a marker on it by pressing M then do the same thing for the rest of the videos.  Make sure that the markers are all as close to the same frame as you can get them.

With all the clips marked, select them all from the Bin by holding the SHIFT key and clicking each one till they are all highlighted.  The order you select them in is important!  The last clip you pick will be the master clip.  While you can switch from one video to another in the edit, the sound will come just from the master clip unless you tell Premiere to cut the sound as well.  Usually you would pick the clip with the best, clearest audio to be the master.

With all the clips marked and selected, RIGHT Click on any of the clips and select Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence from the menu.

A pop-up window will appear with the various options for creating the new sequence.  Most of these only apply to Professional cameras which are able to synchronise themselves.  To sync to the markers, just make sure that option is selected then, from the menu next to it pick the name of the marker you want to use.  If you haven't named your marker, this will be something like Unnamed Marker 1

If this has worked, you should now have some extra items in your project.

Click on the new Multicam sequence to open it in the Source Monitor.  You will see all your videos arranged in a grid.  Some of the pictures may be blank since the videos all start at slightly different times.  Immediately do an Overwrite edit to put the whole clip onto the timeline then move the playhead back to the start of the clip.

Before we can actually start editing, we need to make some changes to the Programme Monitor to see and record the multi cam sequence properly.  First, set the Monitor into Multi-Camera mode by clicking on the small wrench icon and selecting Multi-Camera from the menu that appears.

Next, to make things a bit easier, we will add the Record button to the button bar at the bottom of the Monitor window.  To customise the buttons, click on the small + to the lower right of the window to bring up a palette of the available buttons.  Then drag and drop the Record button to next to the existing playback controls.

With everything set up, we are ready to edit.  Unlike single camera editing, with multicam, we will be editing while the video is playing back.  In exactly the same way that a TV studio director will switch from one camera to another during a live broadcast, Premiere lets you choose your camera angle "on the fly".

To capture the camera switches, we need to be recording the playback.  Press the Record button, then press the Play button to start the sequence.  As the playback happens, you will see all the angles on the left of the Programme Monitor and the selected angle on the right.  The preview on the left will have the selected angle marked with a red outline as you are recording.

You can click on another clip to change to a different view while you are recording.  However a quicker way to switch cameras is by using the number keys along the top of the keyboard.  The keys 1 - 9 correspond to one of the cameras in the multicam sequence.  Pressing the right number will switch straight to that camera.

You won't see any cuts in the timeline until you get to the end of the sequence and the playback stops.  When it does you should see lots of clips which reflect the camera selections you made.

Programme Monitor during recording.  The clip being recorded is outlined in red.

At the end of the recording, the cuts show up in the timeline.

If you look at the audio track A1, you'll notice that the sound is not cut -- the whole track is taken from the master clip.  This is usually what you want.

With the edit in place, you can go back and use the Trimming tools to fix the timing of the cuts.  Just be aware that you only want to move the edit point so the only kind of trim you need will be Roll trim which will keep the timing and synchronisation correct in the rest of the sequence.

Also if you change your mind about which angle you want, you can Right click any part of the sequence and select a different angle by choosing Multi-Camera -> Camera #  where # is the number of the camera you want to use instead.

Right click and choose a camera from the menu to pick a different angle.