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Creating a MultiCam with Timecode in Premiere Pro

In this article, you’ll learn all about how to make a MultiCam using timecode. If you’re wondering what a MultiCam is, check out part 1 of this series, which will get you up to speed.

This is a really in-depth topic, and we have a lot to cover, but first it’s important to note that in order to follow along with the technique in this video, you’ll need to have a few things on your own projects: first, some footage and audio from your shoot, and secondly that footage and audio needs to have matching timecode.

Organizing your footage

The first step to creating MultiCams out of your footage is to organize it, which you can do by first color-coding your cameras. Expand the project tab by pushing the tilde key (`), and open up each of the footage bins. From there, you want to give the footage from each camera its own label.

For example, select everything from the A camera group, deselect the folder with the command key, right click and choose ‘label’. You can use whatever you want, but in this case, we’ve chosen to rename the purple label to ‘Purple – A’, the dark blue label to ‘Dark Blue – B’ and so on, in order to make things clearer.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor selects all footage from one camera and labels it to group the footage together
Label footage from each camera to prepare it for use in MultiCams

Next, check the audio configuration of your files by going back to the full screen of Premiere, double clicking on a piece of footage and opening up the audio tab. Since the audio we’re going to be syncing to the footage will be mono, you’ll want to make all of the audio mono right now.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, audio files are converted from stereo to mono
Ensure all of the audio you’ll be using is a consistent format – in this case, all audio is set to mono

Expand the Project tab again, and select all of your footage, and deselect the folders. Right click, choose ‘Modify Audio Channels’, and change the preset from ‘Use File’ to ‘Mono’. Deselecting the folders each time for this process can be annoying, so instead you can put all of your footage from a single day of shooting into its own bin.

Use the Shortcut key ‘Bin from Selection’ (Shift + Command + B by default) to speed this up, putting all the footage you select into one bin. You can now delete the original camera roll folders to clean things up.

The keyboard shortcut for 'bin from selection' in Adobe Premiere Pro
A quick way to bin all selected footage is to use the shortcut Shift + Command + B

Once you’ve organized all your footage in one bin, and it’s all been labeled, select all audio and video files in that bin, right click and choose ‘Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence’. You’ll want to choose a Synchronization point that is present on all of your footage – in this case, there’s a running timecode on all cameras and audio for the shoot, so we selected ‘Timecode’.

In Premiere Pro, an editor selects all footage, and creates a Multi-Camera Sequence
Create a Multi-Camera Source Sequence from your footage, choosing to synchronize by timecode.

You might notice the box ‘Move source clips to Processed Clips bin’. If you were to check this, everything that gets synced up will be moved to another bin, isolating it from the footage that does not get synced up.

You could use this method; however, we personally don’t, as there is another method for finding those clips. The image above shows the rest of the settings used for this MultiCam.

Audio Synchronization Failure

The Audio Synchronize Failure when creating a multi camera source sequence

When you click ‘Ok’, unless all of the clips were synced, you’ll probably receive an error message ‘Audio Synchronize Failure’. Now we need to figure out which clips are synced together, and which have failed to sync.

If you expand your bin, you’ll see a bunch of MultiCams at the bottom, and all of the original footage above. To figure out which footage has been used, we’ll need a piece of metadata added to the columns in the bin.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor is adding a column of data to the project tab
To find out which clips have been used in a MultiCam, you need the ‘Video Usage’ Column added

Right click on the column, choose ‘Metadata Display’, and in the pop-up box search for ‘Video Usage’. Tick the box to add it to the columns, and click ‘Ok’. The new column displays a number next to the video clip if it’s been used, and hovering the mouse over the number shows you where it’s been used.

Now you can easily identify in your bin which clips haven’t been used in a MultiCam, but we still need to figure out why this hasn’t been used. We could manually review each piece of footage to see why it isn’t used, but that could take a while, so instead what you can do is create a Sync Map.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, the project window now shows if clips are used in a multicam
The ‘Video Usage’ column shows you if a clip is used in a MultiCam. Hover over the entry in that column to show you what MultiCam the footage is used in

What is a Sync Map?

A Sync Map takes all the video and audio from a day of filming, and lines it up together based on the timecode into a single sequence so you can look at the entire sync together as one map.

This is useful for several reasons:

  • It helps you to see what was filmed that day, and what belongs together.
  • For diagnosing what needs to be used in a MultiCam and what doesn’t.
  • Sync Maps are the easiest way to compare the daily shooting logs to the footage you received.
  • Finally, it’s a good place to find and remedy any issues that are present, because you can skim the footage really easily in the sequence.

Now, we’re going to get rid of the MultiCams we created previously – we haven’t really looked at them in depth for quality control, so we don’t know if they’re any good or not.

Setting up your Sync Map

We can now create a sync map with the footage instead – Select all footage, right click and choose ‘Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence’ as before. Select ‘Timecode’ for the synchronize point, but this time tick the box ‘Create Single Multi-Camera Source Sequence’.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, right clicking selected clips and choosing 'Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence' in the menu brings up the Multicam creation menu
To create a sync map, you’ll want to tick ‘Create single MultiCam source sequence’ in the MultiCam creation menu

Above, you’ll notice a drop-down box labeled ‘Track assignment’. Premiere Pro uses the metadata from this field to create separate tracks on the Sync Map, so you need to make sure all of your footage has the selected metadata.

In Premiere Pro, An editor changes the camera angle data on a group of clips
Select all clips from one camera, then change the Camera Angle metadata to ensure the MultiCam will use them

Camera Angle is the one we like to use, but the footage does not have the metadata for it. However, we can fix this by canceling the MultiCam Source Sequence, and opening up your metadata tab instead, selecting everything from one label color.

Right click, choose ‘Label’, and then ‘Select Label Group’. This will select all of the clips that are the same label color. In the metadata tab, find the Camera Angle window and type ‘A’ for your first label group. This will set the Camera Angle for all of one label group to ‘A’.

Repeat this for all of your label groups, giving them different Camera Angle names (‘B’ for Blue, ’C’ for Dark Blue etc.). Make sure to label your sound groups as well, in this case we only had a single group, which we labeled ‘Sound’.

Now when you select all footage, create a multi-camera source sequence, and create a single multi-camera source sequence, change the ‘Track Assignments’ field to ‘Camera Angle’. When you click ‘Ok’, the MultiCam should use all the footage. Find the multi-camera sequence that has just been created, right click it and select ‘Open in Timeline’. This will display all the footage across the filming day, lined up by timecode.

All video and audio clips have been arranged into one sequence by timecode, known as a sync map
All video and audio clips have now been arranged into one sequence and organized by timecode

When Should You Create A MultiCam Sequence?

Now is a good time to look through the sync map and review your footage. Not only will this remind you of what was shot and when, but it can also help you determine where a MultiCam needs to be used. As you click on each piece of footage, press the number keys to cycle through the cameras in each piece of footage on the sync map. If multiple cameras are synced up, then we need to make a MultiCam from it.

Two cameras in a multicam are filming different subjects, so the multicam is not needed.
Two cameras in this MultiCam are filming different subjects, so it’s not needed.

For example, in the picture above we have camera 1 filming one machine, then we have camera 2 with a shot of another machine. Because they are two totally different machines, we don’t have to connect them into a MultiCam. On the other hand, the footage of this interview below is synced up, so you’ll want to turn that into a MultiCam.

If two cameras in a multicam are synced up, then we need to use them as a multicam
If two cameras in a MultiCam are synced up, then we need to use them as a MultiCam

Review your footage and check adjacent video and audio clips to see if they line up with each other. If they do, leave a marker, so you know exactly where you need to create MultiCams. Once you’ve gone through the footage, you should know how many you will need in total – in this case, we’ll need four.

MultiCam Method #1 – Sync Map Duplication

There are two methods of creating MultiCams. For the first method, begin by duplicating the sequence until you have as many duplicates as required MultiCams, and open them in your timeline. Starting with the first sequence, locate the first marker, delete everything to the right of the footage, delete everything to the left of the footage, and then remove the markers (right click the marker, select ‘Clear All Markers’).

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor duplicates a multi-camera source sequence, opens them all in their timeline, and then deletes all footage in one except a single section of multicam footage
Start with your first duplicate, deleting all footage except your marked MultiCam footage.

To clean this up, you’d also want to remove the gap between the start of the sequence and the first clip, and then change the start time of the sequence. To do this, in the Sequence’s Hamburger menu, select ‘Start Time’, uncheck the box ‘Set as default for future sequences’ and check the box ‘Set by First Clip’, then click ‘Ok’.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor sets the start time of the sequence to the timecode of the first clip
Setting the start time of the sequence to the time of the first clip will help later

This will make the timecode of this sequence equal to the first clip in the sequence, so you can still use the timecode on the clips to find out when they occurred in the day of shooting. We repeated this process for the other three MultiCams.

MultiCam Method #2 – Templates

The other solution is a bit quicker if you have a lot of different clips to sync up. There were four in this case, but if you have a hundred, the previous method can get a lot more complicated, as you need to remember which marker correlates with which duplicate.

So instead of making duplicates, we’re going to make a new blank ‘template’ MultiCam with all the settings we need for it to work successfully with our footage. For this to work, you need to first determine what templates you need for your different MultiCams.

In this example, we need one template for two pieces of footage with no audio that belongs with them (just the Camera Scratch Audio), and another template that takes care of the audio configuration for an interview, which has two cameras and a source of mono audio.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, two different screenshots of the timeline show two audio and video track combinations
You need a MultiCam template for each unique video and audio configuration – in this case, we have 2 templates needed

For the first template, click on the A Camera footage and match frame (F) it. Then right click on the source, and choose ‘Reveal in Project’. This will select the clip in the Project window. Next, hold the command key and select any B camera footage. Right click and choose ‘Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence’.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor uses the match frame tool to find the original footage file
Match frame, right click the footage, and ‘Reveal in Project’ to select the footage for your template.

This time, you want to select ‘In points’ for the Synchronize Point. This will force it to make a MultiCam even if the A and B footage don’t match up. Use all of the preset settings, and click ‘Ok’ to generate the new sequence. Finally, open it in your timeline, and delete all the media in the sequence. You now have a blank sequence with the settings needed to allow you to copy over your A camera and B camera footage.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor creates a Multicam Sequence and deletes the media to create a Multicam template
Create a MultiCam from your A/B camera footage and audio clip with the same timecode, then delete that footage to leave you with a blank template

Rename your sequence something like ‘Copy 01’. Premiere Pro is a little bit dumb about the way it names things as it duplicates them, so if we name it like this when we duplicate our template, it will automatically increase the number by one each time. This makes it much easier if you needed a hundred copies for example.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor renames and duplicates a Multicam
Rename your MultiCam Template so Premiere will name the duplicates correctly

Create as many copies as you need for that template, and open them in your timeline. Starting at the beginning of your sync map, copy each group of media you’ve marked into a Copy of the timeline – Marker 1 into Copy 1, Marker 2 into Copy 2, and so on. This will leave you with MultiCams that are pretty much good to go.

As with the other solution, you’ll want to find the ‘Start Time’ option and ‘Set by first Clip’, so that each MultiCam is perfectly timecoded. If you get really fast with your shortcut keys, this process takes very little time at all.

The other template is specifically for a section of footage from an interview, with an A camera, a B camera, and recorded mono audio. Locate the A camera clip, match frame, and ‘Reveal in project’ as before. However, instead of selecting any Camera B clip, you need to find the specific clip that is synced up to the A Camera clip. Look at the file name on your timeline, and search for it in the bin. When you locate it, hold command and click it to add it to your selection.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor locates a file in the bin by it's name
Select all synced footage and audio by locating the file names and searching for them in the bin.

Repeat this for all of the synced clips as well. In this case we have the specific A and B camera clips selected, as well as the synced audio clip. Now you can right click, and choose ‘Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence’. This time, select ‘Timecode’ for synchronization point, because we know they sync up together by timecode. Use the automatic sequence preset, and click ‘Ok’. Now we have our MultiCam for the interview, so you can copy the rest of the interview media into the MultiCam from your sync map.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor copies some footage over to a multicam sequence
Copy all the interview footage over. It doesn’t matter if there are gaps between the footage,

Now here is something important we need to point out – this is all one single interview. Although it is broken up by a little bit of a gap, it doesn’t really matter because we’re not too concerned about the specific timecode of this interview. It’s all with the same interview subject, so we can have the entire interview in a single MultiCam. There’s no need to make an individual MultiCam for each start and stop of the interview.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor renames a series of multicams and creates a new folder for them
Rename your MultiCams and create a folder for them to improve your workflow

So now we have all the MultiCams we just created – the copies of the first template (Copy 01, Copy 02 etc.), and the interview MultiCam. This is a good point to get organized, which we can do by renaming our MultiCams. For the interview, we’ve chosen to rename it ‘Interview_Bob_Jones’. For the Copy MultiCams, we usually like to use the date, especially when doing documentary projects because often the date lets you know what happened on that day of filming.

If you were the one filming it, you might remember the date, or if you were filming in some sort of chronological order, you would know this event occurred before or after another event. I’ve named these MultiCams ’19-08-16_1’, ’19-08-16_2’ and so on. Also, you’ll want to put all of the MultiCams into their own folder.

Building a Selects Sequence with Your Footage

Now you have your MultiCams ready to use, the next step is to put them in a selects sequence. In the project window, click the ‘sticky note’ icon at the bottom, and select ‘Sequence’. Select your desired preset, and name it ‘Selects Sequence’. Click ‘Ok’ to create the blank sequence. Next, copy and paste over all your media from the sync map to the selects sequence. You’ll want the markers copied over as well, if they don’t copy across automatically, you can change this in the marker settings drop down menu.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor creates a new Sequence
Create a new sequence with your chosen preset, renaming it ‘Selects Sequence’

Now you want to replace all the marked clips with the MultiCams. Locate each marker in the selects sequence, delete the corresponding footage, and replace it with the equivalent MultiCam. You can now remove the markers, as you won’t need them any longer.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor replaces some clips with an equivalent multicam
Find the marked clips in your selects sequence and replace them with the equivalent multicams

Next, you want to get all of the non-MultiCam footage onto one track. Drag all the non-MultiCam footage to Video 1 and Audio 1 (Audio 2 will be used as well if your Scratch audio is stereo). You can also do this quicker by right clicking labeled media and choosing ‘Select Label group’ which allows you to move all media of the same color at once.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor combines multiple video and audio tracks into fewer tracks
Combine your video and audio tracks, reducing them to as few as possible.

If you have non-MultiCam footage that overlaps each other, simply move one clip along and place it after the other. Once you have all footage on one track, remove the gaps between the clips.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor moves footage along the timeline so other clips can be placed on the same track
If you have clips that overlap, move them along the timelines so you can place them on the same track

You now have a sequence with all of the footage from the day organized together, with clips that belong together put into a MultiCam, clips that don’t belong together just strung out in the order that they occurred, and the interview that was filmed from that day’s worth of filming.

An organised selects sequence in adobe premiere pro
Your finished selects sequence should look something like this

Viewing and Cutting From Your Multicam

MultiCams function just like normal clips, you can cut them, raise them, lower them, do whatever you want with them. The cool thing about MultiCams is you can switch the different camera angles inside of it, by selecting the MultiCam in your timeline and pushing the ‘1’ or ‘2’ key.

If you want to see what the MultiCam is showing live, move over to the program monitor and choose ‘toggle multi-camera view’. In this example, we have a close-up camera, and a wider camera angle. Often during interviews we cut back and forth between the two cameras.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor toggles the Multi-Camera View
Turning on Multi-Camera View will allow you to click on each camera to change which one is being used for that MultiCam

In this example we made a cut at one point, changed the angle for that clip, and made another cut, changing the angle of the next clip. But this is quite tedious, and you’re not getting the flow of the edit as you’re going through it. A better way of doing this is to use the red Record button. If this button doesn’t show up for you, open the button editor and drag it onto the menu below the program monitor.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor adds the Multicam record button to their toolbar
Drag the red record button into your toolbar if you don’t see it on there already

Drag the playhead to the start of the MultiCam, hit the record button, and check that the multi-camera view is on. When playing back the footage, if you click back and forth between the two cameras, when playback is stopped, Premiere will automatically make those cuts when you click on the other camera.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor uses the rolling record button to make cuts between multicams
Click the record button, playback the footage and click between MultiCams to automate cuts.

As this is our selects sequence, we don’t want to cut up the footage yet, so remove all of those cuts now that you understand how to cut with MultiCams.

Source Editing from Your Selects Sequence

This is another point where you might want to reorganize your edit. Normally, you would create a new sequence to put all the interview MultiCams in, but in this case there’s only one, so we’ll keep it in the selects sequence.

In your main bin, create a new ‘Sequences’ Bin, and then within that make a new sequence entitled ‘Main Editing Sequence’. Open that sequence in the timeline, and then drag your selects sequence into the source monitor. From there, click the wrench below the source monitor and select ‘Open Sequence in Timeline’.

In Adobe Premiere Pro an editor opens an instance of a sequence in the timeline

This will open an instance of the selects sequence in the source monitor, allowing you to edit with it as you would in any source editing workflow. However, when you cut some of the selects into your main editing sequence, by default Premiere will insert it as a nest, not the individual clips. To fix this, find the icon ‘Insert and overwrite sequences as nests or individual clips’, just below the timecode above your timeline. Click it to toggle this setting, so you can now insert the original clips from your selects sequence.

In Adobe Premiere Pro, an editor toggles the setting 'Insert and overwrite sequences as nests or individual clips' and then copies the original clips into a sequence.
When copying clips into your main sequence, make sure to insert them as individual clips. instead of nested clips

This lets you manipulate a MultiCam as shown previously. When you cut a MultiCam into your main sequence, you can now switch camera, toggle multi camera view, or use the record button as was described earlier in this article.

Wrap Up

If you’re interested in seeing how this is applied in a narrative filmmaking setting, as well as bonus tips such as how to sync by hand using a slate clap, check out the accompanying video at the top of this article.

For tons more editing training, head over to our Free Training page to get started with some sample lessons on any topic that you like, from general creative editing, to working with music, cutting action scenes, trailers, promos, and a bunch more.

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