X

502Final Cut Pro User Guide
Final Cut Pro multicam editing workflow
The process for creating a multicam project is outlined below. The procedures are
presented in rough chronological order, but you can rearrange the order to suit your
workflow.
Step 1: Shoot an event with multiple cameras and record appropriate
sync information
A multicamera shoot uses multiple cameras to record the same subject or event from
different angles and distances.
For multicam projects, it’s a good idea to set the date, the time, and the time zone on your
camcorder or recording device before you shoot footage. This provides useful information
to Final Cut Pro during the automatic multicam clip creation process.
In professional multicamera shoots, each camcorder or video recorder receives the same
timecode from a central timecode generator, or you can jam sync the timecode generator
of each camera at the beginning of the shoot. If you’re using consumer camcorders,
which can’t accept external timecode, you need to record a visible or audible cue, such
as a clapboard closing or a camera flash, on all cameras. You can use this cue to sync the
angles in your multicam clips.
Because you can use the sophisticated automatic audio sync feature in Final Cut Pro to
help ensure multicam sync accuracy, it makes sense to record audio on every camcorder
and recording device in your multicam production. (Clear audio recordings provide the best
results.)
Step 2: Import media into Final Cut Pro for a multicam edit
Although importing media for multicam projects is the same as importing for any other
project, there are steps you can take during importing to help streamline the multicam
workflow.
Step 3: Assign camera names and multicam angles
You can use the Camera Name and Camera Angle metadata tags to automate and organize
your multicam workflow. It’s recommended (but not required) to apply these tags to your
event clips before you create an actual multicam clip.
Step 4: Create multicam clips
You create multicam clips from selected event clips (similar to the way you create auditions
and compound clips in the browser). Whether you do it manually or have Final Cut Pro do it
for you automatically, creating a multicam clip involves three fundamental steps:
• Create angles (containing one or more clips each).
• Arrange the order of clips within each angle.
• Sync the angles using a common sync point.
If you know what kind of metadata your source media has, you can create multicam clips
using manual methods even faster than with the automatic methods. See Add camera
names and angles in Final Cut Pro and Create multicam clips in Final Cut Pro.