Edit multiple video streams at once in Final Cut Pro

multicam clip

As we were saying, one of the strengths of Final Cut Pro and why many users choose it as their video editing program is the number and variety of functions it has, and in many cases, it favors the entire workflow , since it facilitates many processes that otherwise would have to be done by investing more steps and, above all, more time.

What is it?

On many occasions, for have different points of viewduring the recording of a clip several cameras are used, well, a Multicam clip is one that brings them all together and gives users the possibility to choose which is the camera or the point of view in each of the cuts that make said clip.

This process can be done perfectly well without using the Multicam clip, but obviously the sync all clips it has to be done manually. However, with this feature of Final Cut Pro, you can save all that work and in just a few seconds you have your Multicam clip ready to be used.

What is it for?

As we mentioned before, a Multicam clip has the characteristic that contains different synchronized videos. Usually this is used to have different takes or points of view of the same thing. Imagine yourself in an interview where there are three cameras, one recording the interviewer and the interviewee, another pointing only at the interviewer, and another pointing only at the interviewee.

Without the use of multicam clips, in the process of editing such an interview the editor would have to manually synchronize the three clips and then cut and paste the parts they want and need. With multicam clips, first the synchronization is automaticand second, in each cut you make you will have the option to quickly choose which is the audio and video source you want to use, without having to cut and delete the rest of the clips.

It really is not a function that is completely essential when editing a video, because as you have seen, it can be carried out manually. But without a doubt, when it comes to editing a video of this type, the time that the editor is capable of save Using Multicam clips is great, and therefore makes your work much more efficient, productive and easier to do.

Steps to set up a multicam clip in Final Cut Pro

Once you know what it is and, above all and more importantly, what Multicam clips are for, it’s time to tell you about the steps you have to follow to create it. First of all, you have to know that in order to generate a Multicam clip, the two or more clips that you are going to join have to be the same, that is, they have been recorded at the same moment and their content is more or less the same, although have different points of view. The steps to generate it are as follows.

1. Open Final Cut Pro on your Mac.
2. Import the clips that will be part of the multicam clip.
3. Select the clips what do you want to gather
4. With the clips selected, right click.
5. Choose “New multicam clip«.
6. Choose a name for the clip.
7. Click on To accept.
8. Waiting until Final Cut Pro finishes rendering the multicam clip.

With these simple steps you can generate the Multicam clip, which will be available within the project where you created it. Once this is done, the only thing you have to do is use it, and above all, work with it carrying out all the modifications that you consider appropriate, since Final Cut Pro gives you the opportunity to edit the generated clip with total freedom.

Work with the Multicam clip

You already have your clip generated, but now what you have to do is go on to use it and, above all, to benefit from all the advantages that being able to work with this type of content gives you. Here we tell you the two main advantages and how you can use them to be much more efficient when editing your video.

Select the video and audio source

We start from the basis that a Multicam clip it’s just like a normal clip, that is, you can carry out the same actions that you usually do. However, as we said, it has certain advantages, and that is that in each cut you make you can choose the source of both video and audio, as well as individually, since you can make the image the one that provides the clip one, while the audio can be removed from clip 2. To do this, you just have to follow the following steps.

1. Drag the multicam clip to the timeline.
2. make right click on the cut you want to modify.
3. Click on «Active video angle«.
4. Choose the source from where you want to get the image.
5. Right click again in the clip.
6. Click on «active audio angle«.
7. Choose the source from where you want to get the audio.

Edit the clip to your liking

As we were saying, another advantage of working with a Multicam clip is that you can edit each cut as you want, that is, as if it were a normal clip. You can treat different clips alikefrom the timeline itself, to modify the color, the sound volume and everything else you want, or you can even choose to do it individually, since Final Cut Pro allows you to access each of the clips separately that make up the Multicam. To do this, you just have to follow the following steps.

1. With the multicam clip in the timeline.
2. Double click on the clip which you want to access.
3. Work on the part you want to modify.