Tutorial: Multicam Editing in Grass Valley EDIUS Pro 7

Editing in Multicam Mode

Now that we have our camera sources lined up, the multicamera edit becomes very simple to do. But first, note the two blue triangles at the top of the Timeline window in Figure 9 (below). Because there's only one camera in the first part of the timeline--the part between the two blue triangles, representing the time between when the now-synced Cam 1 and Cam 2 started rolling--EDIUS automatically knows that I want to use Cam 1 in this part of the video. So it's already set a point for me to see Cam 1 first, and leave it there until I'm ready to change it.

Figure 9. The blue arrows at the top of the timeline indicate that EDIUS has automatically chosen Cam 1 for this part of the timeline because there's no footage from Cam 2 yet.

Using Multicam Mode is almost too simple to put into words (better to watch from about the 5:00 mark in the tutorial video to see it in action). Play the video in the preview window, and click, in real time, on the source clip you want to use at that moment, and EDIUS chooses that clip, also enabling you to preview your switches in real time as the video plays from the timeline. In addition to clicking on the different source clips, you can also use the number keys 1 and 2 (and 3, and 4, etc. if you have clips mapped to those numbers) to click back and forth between those cameras. 

When you stop playback, you can see in Figure 10 (below) that EDIUS has already made the cuts between cameras that you indicated between your sources as you switched in real time in Multicam Mode. You can see in between the cut points that one camera is active (the one that looks normal) and the other, grayed out, is disabled.

Figure 10. Cuts made in Multicam Mode, represented in the timeline.

Once I'm done switching, I can go up to the arrows that now populate the entire timeline (or as much of it as I've switched up to this point) and adjust their positions to tweak the cut points and lengthen or shorten each of the shots. To do this with greater precision, I can zoom in tighter on the timeline to say, 10 frames, and ensure that the cuts between angles happen exactly when I want them to.

Once I have all my cuts timed properly, and I review the timeline and realize I should have picked a different angle at a given moment, I just position the playhead at the point in the timeline where I want to make the switch, then go back and click the camera angle I want. When you do this, watch the timeline and you'll notice that it jumps back and forth between the shots and which camera source is grayed out and which isn't. EDIUS' Multicam Mode offers a lot of flexibility to allow you to adjust just about any element of your multicam edit without forcing you to start over if you aren't satisfied with the cuts you made the first time through.