G
Gareth Howell [MSFT]
Hey,
I've seen a number of people asking about how to edit with multiple cameras.
Hopefully the steps below will prove helpful. If there's anything that's
not clear, I'd be happy to clarify.
Multi Camera Angles
If you want to edit from multiple cameras in Movie Maker and keep all the
video tracks synchronized (e.g. if you were creating a music video), below
is one way of going about it. The process below will allow you to easily
work with video from multiple sources, and keep everything in sync. The
process below is as easy, or easier than what I've seen done with more
advanced video editors. I'd love to know what you think of this, and
whether there's any way you'd improve the process to make it even easier.
Basic Steps
1.. Capture tapes with clip detection turned off
2.. Synchronize the two files by splitting them so that they begin at the
same time
1.. Note: You can do this for as many clips as you want, so you'll be
able to synchronize 3, 4 or however many different camcorders
3.. Drag one clip down to the timeline
Now this is where you start cutting in sections from the various cameras to
form your final movie
4.. Copy the clip you want to cut in to the timeline, and paste it in the
same collection
5.. Split and delete a section of equal time in the timeline where you
want to cut in the clip. You can find the exact time by looking at the
preview monitor timecode
6.. Drag the split clip from the collection into the timeline where the
section was just deleted
7.. Rinse and Repeat (steps 4-6)
8.. Take the best audio track from the clips, drag it down to the
audio/music track, and mute all the clips on the video track.
Now In Detail
1.. This is the easiest step - make sure you've captured your two tapes
with clip detection turned off. If you haven't, don't sweat it. Just
select all your clips in the collection, go to the 'Clip' menu and select
'Combine'. Copy both video clips to the same collection folder (so you
don't have to switch back and forth)
2.. The most important thing is to synchronize both your video tapes.
Doing this makes life a whole lot easier later on, since you'll be able to
rely on times displayed in the preview monitor and not have to guess whether
the video is in sync.
1.. The easiest way to synchronize the video is if you have both cameras
film a clapper, then you can sync the video on the first frame where it is
fully closed.
2.. Another easy way to synchronize video is to use the flash from a
still camera.
3.. If you can't synchronize on either of those, the find some other
event that is easy to synchronize on (e.g. someone leaving the frame of the
video, or two objects colliding - of course, both need to be in the frame of
both cameras)
4.. If the synchronization point is not near the beginning of the clips,
you can use a bit of trial and error to find the correct split point at the
beginning of the longer clip - and verify that you've got the right place
when the time on the preview monitor for your synchronization point lines up
for both video clips
Now what you should have is two video clips in your collection file that are
synchronized.
3.. Drag one clip down to the timeline. This will be the clip from the
camera that you're going to start off your video with.
4.. Copy the clip you want to cut in to the timeline, and paste it in the
same collection (so if this is the first run through for you, you should
have three clips in your collection, two from the same camcorder)
What you're doing here, is just making a 'working copy' of the clip, that
you're going to split and drag to the timeline
5.. Split and delete a section of equal time in the timeline where you
want to cut in the clip.
1.. With the timeline selected, find the point you want to cut in video
from the other camera.
2.. Take note of the time on the preview monitor
3.. Now go to the copy of the clip you created in step 4. Seek in the
file until you find the exact same time as in step b.
4.. Split the clip
6.. Drag the split clip from the collection into the timeline where the
section was just deleted
1.. If you like, you can also "clean up" as you go along, by deleting
the split clips in your collection, and on the timeline. Remember, you're
building the timeline up from left to right. And make sure to keep the
synchronized clips from all the cameras you're working with (i.e. only
delete the backups)
7.. Repeat steps 4-6 until you've finished your movie
8.. Take the best audio track from the clips, drag it down to the
audio/music track, and mute all the clips on the video track.
Some more tips
1.. It's faster to frame step forward than backwards, so if you're looking
for a particular time, stop a little bit short of it, and frame step forward
2.. If you want to add transitions, no problem - in step 5 when you're
choosing where to split, just split 1.25s before the point where you were
going to (I'm assuming you're using the default transition length of 1.25s,
but you can adjust the math based on what your transition length is). This
will keep the timecode on the timeline in sync with the timecode in your
clips in the synchronized.
3.. Another alternative for adding transitions is just to wait until
you've finished creating your timeline before you add transitions to your
timeline
1.. Be aware now, that you'll need to adjust step 8. if you're adding
transitions because you don't have the extra 1.25s of video, so your audio
will sound choppy. I'd recommend you only add transitions like this if
you're going to be using background music instead of the video's audio
4.. Save often!
Cheers
Gareth
I've seen a number of people asking about how to edit with multiple cameras.
Hopefully the steps below will prove helpful. If there's anything that's
not clear, I'd be happy to clarify.
Multi Camera Angles
If you want to edit from multiple cameras in Movie Maker and keep all the
video tracks synchronized (e.g. if you were creating a music video), below
is one way of going about it. The process below will allow you to easily
work with video from multiple sources, and keep everything in sync. The
process below is as easy, or easier than what I've seen done with more
advanced video editors. I'd love to know what you think of this, and
whether there's any way you'd improve the process to make it even easier.
Basic Steps
1.. Capture tapes with clip detection turned off
2.. Synchronize the two files by splitting them so that they begin at the
same time
1.. Note: You can do this for as many clips as you want, so you'll be
able to synchronize 3, 4 or however many different camcorders
3.. Drag one clip down to the timeline
Now this is where you start cutting in sections from the various cameras to
form your final movie
4.. Copy the clip you want to cut in to the timeline, and paste it in the
same collection
5.. Split and delete a section of equal time in the timeline where you
want to cut in the clip. You can find the exact time by looking at the
preview monitor timecode
6.. Drag the split clip from the collection into the timeline where the
section was just deleted
7.. Rinse and Repeat (steps 4-6)
8.. Take the best audio track from the clips, drag it down to the
audio/music track, and mute all the clips on the video track.
Now In Detail
1.. This is the easiest step - make sure you've captured your two tapes
with clip detection turned off. If you haven't, don't sweat it. Just
select all your clips in the collection, go to the 'Clip' menu and select
'Combine'. Copy both video clips to the same collection folder (so you
don't have to switch back and forth)
2.. The most important thing is to synchronize both your video tapes.
Doing this makes life a whole lot easier later on, since you'll be able to
rely on times displayed in the preview monitor and not have to guess whether
the video is in sync.
1.. The easiest way to synchronize the video is if you have both cameras
film a clapper, then you can sync the video on the first frame where it is
fully closed.
2.. Another easy way to synchronize video is to use the flash from a
still camera.
3.. If you can't synchronize on either of those, the find some other
event that is easy to synchronize on (e.g. someone leaving the frame of the
video, or two objects colliding - of course, both need to be in the frame of
both cameras)
4.. If the synchronization point is not near the beginning of the clips,
you can use a bit of trial and error to find the correct split point at the
beginning of the longer clip - and verify that you've got the right place
when the time on the preview monitor for your synchronization point lines up
for both video clips
Now what you should have is two video clips in your collection file that are
synchronized.
3.. Drag one clip down to the timeline. This will be the clip from the
camera that you're going to start off your video with.
4.. Copy the clip you want to cut in to the timeline, and paste it in the
same collection (so if this is the first run through for you, you should
have three clips in your collection, two from the same camcorder)
What you're doing here, is just making a 'working copy' of the clip, that
you're going to split and drag to the timeline
5.. Split and delete a section of equal time in the timeline where you
want to cut in the clip.
1.. With the timeline selected, find the point you want to cut in video
from the other camera.
2.. Take note of the time on the preview monitor
3.. Now go to the copy of the clip you created in step 4. Seek in the
file until you find the exact same time as in step b.
4.. Split the clip
6.. Drag the split clip from the collection into the timeline where the
section was just deleted
1.. If you like, you can also "clean up" as you go along, by deleting
the split clips in your collection, and on the timeline. Remember, you're
building the timeline up from left to right. And make sure to keep the
synchronized clips from all the cameras you're working with (i.e. only
delete the backups)
7.. Repeat steps 4-6 until you've finished your movie
8.. Take the best audio track from the clips, drag it down to the
audio/music track, and mute all the clips on the video track.
Some more tips
1.. It's faster to frame step forward than backwards, so if you're looking
for a particular time, stop a little bit short of it, and frame step forward
2.. If you want to add transitions, no problem - in step 5 when you're
choosing where to split, just split 1.25s before the point where you were
going to (I'm assuming you're using the default transition length of 1.25s,
but you can adjust the math based on what your transition length is). This
will keep the timecode on the timeline in sync with the timecode in your
clips in the synchronized.
3.. Another alternative for adding transitions is just to wait until
you've finished creating your timeline before you add transitions to your
timeline
1.. Be aware now, that you'll need to adjust step 8. if you're adding
transitions because you don't have the extra 1.25s of video, so your audio
will sound choppy. I'd recommend you only add transitions like this if
you're going to be using background music instead of the video's audio
4.. Save often!
Cheers
Gareth