How to properly do a multi-cam shoot?

[Rylan Zolinski]

I got a job offer for shooting a dance recital and my friend gave me a dvd on how the people they hired before shot it. It obviously has two camera since different angles are used and they line up with the dancing and music (well I assume two cameras?). I've never used more than one camera but my cousin also owns an XHA1 (I own one).

We both want to do the shoot but have zero experience doing a multi-cam shoot. How would we record at the exact same time and have all the music and everything lined up perfectly? Also, what about editing? How would I edit two different videos but make sure the music and dancing line up properly? Please tell me it's easier than it sounds. Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

 

[edinc90]

Your editor might have a multicamera feature that allows you to view all the angles at once. Final Cut does. Syncing the cameras up can be done with a strobe light (ie camera flash) or something obvious on stage, a light cue, stomp, clap, anything. There's also PluralEyes, a piece of software, that will sync everything up based on the recorded audio. Currently PluralEyes is available for FCP and Vegas Pro.

 

[David G. Smith]

Syncing up the audio on a two camera shoot is really not all of that difficult. The easiest way to sync two cameras is start them at the same time, record a sync mark (hand clap for example) with both cameras, and then record the event full through. At the end of the event do another sync mark at the end. When you get the footage into Your NLE, line up the two sync marks on each track and there you have it. I cut with FCP 7 and what I do is make a reference sequence, and lay both video tracks in, with the first frame set to the first sync mark and the last frame set to the second (end) sync mark. With these two clips synced and on top of each other I can go into that rererence sequence and know exactly were matching footage from both tracks are, in reference to each other, at all times.
There is software available that allows you to automatically sync the tracks also, but just matching sync marks is the simplest. Just remember if you stop the cameras, you need to set another sync mark, if using this method. But if you are shooting a dance recital, if you do not use a set sync mark, you will have plenty of places in the video to sync to. Just pick a prominent point in the video/audio from both cameras (the start of a dance number, a prominent foot fall, a loud cough, ect) and make that your sync mark. You can then go back or forward the same exact amount of time on each clip and they should be in sync.

 

[Jon Starr]

A hand clap or clapper/slate at the beginning of each start up should work fine. Start and stop both cameras at the same time (so communication is key).

When you begin shooting you start up the cameras, someone else holds the slate with proper info in front, you point both cameras at the slate and you mark it (clap). If you have external sound then you need the person to call the info to help match it up (just like doing synch sound with external sound). Keep the cameras rolling and shoot what you need to shoot. As soon as the camera is off they both need to be re-synched.

OR, you could just shoot it. I've only mainly done narrative with multi-cam shoots. I'm assuming for documentary people just shoot and synch it by look and sound in post. It's not too hard, but the synch would help. However if both camera people have to start and stop it on their own, then you may as well forget trying to give a mark on the shoot.

Another thing you need to watch for is that both cameras are calibrated. Since you're using the same cameras, make sure everything in the settings from gamma, to colors, to fps, to anything and everything is exactly the same. If you had the abilities you could get a monitor and hook up both cameras to the monitor, set up color bars and calibrate both to match each other. You can CC it in post but that's just creating more problems for you.

 

[ilauzirika]

Last november I did 3 cam shoot of a concert, each camera was from a manufacturer (canon hv20 a jvc everio crap and my beloved hmc151) I could record the full play without stopping using the everio and panny but I had to stop three times to change tapes on the hv20. For syncing I used Movie slate on the iphone. We were two men for three cameras, one was up on the second floor of the theater and the other two on the stage level. So by using the movieslate app (which has a nice timecode, which keeps running even if you block the iphone) I was able to sync all them perfectly even the hv20 which its three tape changes. I choose to do these because I couldn't get to align the three camera with a common visible point ( I couldn't get onto the stage).

It was nearly imposible to color match all three cams...so as Jon said don't forget to color match your two canons before shoting.

If you have an iphone or ipod touch (or your cousin does) give some of the available slate apps a try.

Enjoy the gig!