multi_cam_editing v1.0.0

name: multi_cam_editing description: Edit multi-camera shoots: sync angles by timecode, audio waveform, slate, or markers; cut between angles live with real editorial grammar for conversations and performances; run proxy workflows so angle switching stays real-time; know when to hold one angle instead of cutting. Triggers when a task involves multi-cam/multiple camera angles, switching between cameras in an interview, podcast, panel, wedding, or live performance edit.

Multi-Cam Editing

Purpose

Turn several cameras (and often a separate audio recorder) covering the same event into one watchable edit. The job has two halves that must not be confused: the technical half (getting every angle frame-aligned into one multicam clip) and the editorial half (choosing which angle the viewer sees, and when). Sync is mechanical and must be exact. Cutting is judgment: every angle switch has to earn its place or it just looks busy.

Workflow

Phase 1: Prep and sync

1. Organize first. One bin/folder per camera (Cam A, Cam B, Cam C) plus one for the production audio. Label clips by angle, not by filename. If you cram everything into one folder, you will grab the wrong angle later.

1. Pick a sync method, in this order of preference:

• Timecode: frame-accurate. Use it when all cameras (and the audio recorder) were jam-synced or genlocked. Check that the timecode actually matches before trusting it; drift or unmatched frame rates silently break sync.
• Audio waveform: near frame-accurate. Every camera needs usable scratch audio. This is the workhorse for events, weddings, and interviews. If one source is very noisy or distant, its sync may land a frame or two off, so spot-check it.
• Slate/clapper: frame-accurate. Use the visible/audible clap as the alignment point. Needs a visible slate on each camera.
• Manual markers: approximate. Find one unmistakable shared event (a hand clap, a laugh, a drum hit), drop markers, and align by eye and ear. Last resort only.

1. Build the multicam object in your NLE:

• Premiere Pro: select the clips, then Clip > Create Multi-camera Source Sequence. Choose the sync method and the audio source (Camera 1 uses the audio of the first selected clip, so select the clip with the best audio first, or plan to swap audio later). Open the multicam in the Program monitor via the wrench menu > Multi-camera, then play and click an angle or press the number keys to cut live.
• DaVinci Resolve: import angles into the Media Pool, select them, create a Multicam Clip with your sync method. Drop it on the timeline, open the Multicam Viewer, and switch angles during playback. If playback drops frames during angle switching, go to Preferences > User > UI Settings and uncheck "Stop playback when dropped frame is detected" so playback keeps rolling.
• Final Cut Pro: select angles, File > New > Multicam Clip, pick the sync method. Open the Angle Viewer (View > Show in Viewer > Angles) and click angles during playback.

1. Verify sync before cutting. Park on a sharp transient (a clap, a snare hit, a door slam) and flip between angles. If the transient moves by a frame, the sync is off. Fix it now; a one-frame drift is invisible in the timeline but audible when you cut between angles.

1. Set the audio to the best source. If there is a dedicated recorder, switch the multicam audio to it rather than camera scratch audio. Camera scratch audio exists to make syncing possible; it is not the audio you ship.

Phase 2: The live cutting pass

1. Watch the whole thing once without cutting. You are learning where the moments are. A cutting pass is an editing decision; the first watch is a scouting decision.

1. Do a live pass: play the multicam and switch angles in real time. The first pass is for rhythm, not perfection. Missed cuts get fixed in phase 3; what matters is that your switches follow the material instead of a metronome. See references/angle-grammar.md for the per-genre rules (conversations, interviews, performances).

1. After the pass, flatten the multicam into ordinary cuts on the timeline, then refine: nudge cut points a few frames earlier or later, tighten dead air, and check that no cut lands mid-word or mid-gesture. Flattening early also makes color and audio passes sane, since effects can go on individual clips instead of the multicam container.

Phase 3: Proxies for heavy multicam

Multicam multiplies playback load by the number of angles. If your machine cannot play all angles at full res in real time, do not fight it; you will misjudge your cuts because you are watching stutter.

1. Generate proxies BEFORE building the multicam clip, so every angle is light from the start. Standard choice: one-quarter resolution, ProRes Proxy or H.264, which runs about five to ten percent of the original size. For very heavy originals, half-res ProRes LT or DNxHR LB (fifteen to twenty-five percent) is a reasonable middle ground.

1. Cut with proxies enabled, then toggle back to originals for color and export. Most NLEs do this automatically once proxies are attached.

1. If playback still drops during the multicam monitor, reduce the monitor's playback resolution as well. That changes the preview only; the export always uses full resolution.

Output Contract

A finished multicam edit delivers:

• All angles frame-aligned (verified on transients, not assumed from the sync dialog).
• One timeline with angle cuts that follow the angle grammar in references/angle-grammar.md: cuts motivated by meaning, rhythm, or orientation, never by the urge to look busy.
• Audio from the best available source, with sync drift checked at the start, middle, and end of long takes.
• A flattened, labeled timeline ready for color and mix. Multicam containers left unflattened are a delivery risk because downstream passes cannot address individual clips cleanly.

Operating Rules

1. Sync is a fact, not a vibe. Verify every angle on a transient before cutting. One frame of drift between angles turns clean cuts into audible double hits.
2. The sync method must match the material. No scratch audio on a camera means waveform sync will fail on that angle; switch to timecode or markers for it instead of re-running waveform sync hoping for luck.
3. Angle 1 ordering matters in Premiere: the first selected clip supplies the default audio, so lead with the best-audio clip or plan the swap.
4. Cut for the viewer, not the footage. Having six angles does not mean using six angles. Two well-used angles beat five used out of obligation.
5. Hold beats cut when the hold is carrying something. A long hold on a face in the middle of a real answer reads as confidence, not laziness; a cut during a held note or a pause that has not landed reads as nervousness.
6. On performances, cut on musical boundaries (phrase ends, section changes), never mid-phrase, and never cut away from the person currently carrying the musical line unless the reaction is the moment.
7. Keep every angle's usable audio muted except the chosen source. Stray scratch audio bleeding under the master is the most common multicam giveaway.