Mastering Multi-Camera Techniques

Mastering Multi-Camera Techniques

by Mitch Jacobson
Released September 2012
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136057892

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

From a basic two-camera interview to an elaborate 26 camera HD concert film, this comprehensive guide presents a platform-agnostic approach to the essential techniques required to set up and edit a multi-camera project. Actual case studies are used to examine specific usages of multi-camera editing and include a variety of genres including concerts, talk shows, reality programming, sit-coms, documentaries for television, event videography and feature films. Other features include:
* Advanced multi-camera techniques and specialty work-flows are examined for tapeless & large scale productions with examples from network TV shows, corporate media projects, event videography, and feature films.
* New techniques for 3D projects, 2k/4k media management and color correction are revealed.
* Technical breakdowns analyze system requirements for monitoring, hard drives & RAIDs, RAM, codecs and computer platforms.
* Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro and several other software programs are detailed.
* Tables, charts, screen-grabs, photos, web-links, blogs, tech school lists and other resource tools for further study.
* Unique interviews with the 'Masters of Multi-Cam' including EMMY and academy award-winning directors and editors who share their project notes and give insight to award-winning techniques.

Table of contents

  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedications
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. Category-5 Publishing Credits
  8. Foreword
  9. Introduction
    1. Everybody Has an Angle
    2. What You'll Learn
    3. Companion DVD
    4. The Gist
    5. My Qualifications
  10. Part 1 Preproduction
    1. Chapter 1 Preproduction
      1. Organization
      2. The Editor's Role in Preproduction
      3. Fix It Before Post (for a Change)
      4. Acquisition Formats
      5. Tapeless
      6. Looking Ahead Toward Postproduction
      7. Testing Saves Money and Time
    2. Chapter 2 Tape Labeling and Scene Numbering Systems
      1. Prelabeled Tapes
      2. Reel Naming Systems
      3. Talk Shows
      4. Sitcoms
      5. Tapeless Clip Nomenclature
      6. Slates, Scenes, and Takes
      7. Scene Designations
  11. Part 2 Production
    1. Chapter 3 Types of Multicamera Productions
      1. Studio Systems
      2. Mobile Television Systems
      3. Film Production
      4. Cutting A-B Cameras
      5. The Two-Sided Single
    2. Chapter 4 The Multicamera Shoot Day
      1. Truck Park and Power
      2. Crew Positions
      3. Building and Matching Cameras
      4. Setting up the Tape Room
      5. Monitoring
      6. Audio Considerations
      7. ESU: Equipment Setup
      8. In the Moment: The Late Show with David Letterman
  12. Part 3 Timecode and Sync
    1. Chapter 5 Timecode Basics
      1. Multi-Expert Approach: Audio Department Handles Sync
      2. The Timecode Generator
      3. Frame Rates
      4. Record Run Timecode
      5. Free Run/Time-of-Day Timecode
      6. Jam-Syncing Timecode
      7. Compensating for TC Drifts: Portable Timecode and Sync Boxes
      8. Recording Timecode Tracks
      9. Preshoots and Shooting over Two Nights or Two Days
    2. Chapter 6 Sync Methods
      1. Traditional Sync Methods
      2. Auxiliary LTC Timecode
      3. Double-System Audio
      4. iPhone Digital Clapper Boards
    3. Chapter 7 Syncing the NonSynchronous
      1. Concert Slate or Open Clapboard Display
      2. FireWire Sync
      3. Remote Control Timecode
      4. Manually Syncing with Audio Waves
      5. Auto-Syncing Software
      6. LTC TC Makes a Comeback
  13. Part 4 Postproduction
    1. Chapter 8 Computers, Bandwidth, and Speed
      1. Choking the System
      2. Bandwidth and Data Rates
      3. Editing Codecs
      4. Transcoding
      5. Hard Drive Technology
      6. Multicamera Math
      7. Minimum Requirements
      8. Shared Storage
      9. Demystifying Multithreading
    2. Chapter 9 Multicamera NonLinear Editing Software
      1. Today's Top Systems
      2. Avid Media Composer
      3. Apple Final Cut Pro
      4. Adobe Premiere Pro
      5. Sony Vegas
      6. Grass Valley EDIUS (and the Rest)
    3. Chapter 10 Preparing the Multicamera Project for Editing
      1. Offline/Online Workflow
      2. The Proxy
      3. Mixed Formats and Frame Rates
      4. Naming Angles
      5. Logging
      6. The Ultimate Multicam Tape Logging Shortcuts
      7. Capturing
      8. Ingesting Red Files
      9. Master-Affiliate Relationships (FCP)
      10. Basic Operations
      11. Databases and Multicam Searches
    4. Chapter 11 Grouping and Syncing Angles
      1. Basic Grouping Methods
      2. Sync Maps
      3. Rebuilding Nonspanned P2 Clips
      4. Sync to What?
      5. The Super Groups
      6. Digging Deeper
  14. Part 5 Editorial
    1. Chapter 12 Cutting Techniques and Styles
      1. Multicam Editing Styles
      2. Working with Line Cuts
      3. Cheating a Shot
      4. Layering Multiclips for PiP Effects
      5. Ganging Pop-up Monitors
      6. Avid ScriptSync
    2. Chapter 13 Cutting Music
      1. The Symphonic Cut: Classical and Opera Television
      2. Music-Cutting Techniques
      3. Cutting Concerts: Track by Track
      4. Editing with Multiple Performances
      5. DVD Exercise
      6. Ganging the Group
      7. Music Videos
    3. Chapter 14 Sitcoms and Comedy
      1. The Reinvention of Sitcoms
      2. Blocking
      3. It's as Easy as A, B, C, and Sometimes X
      4. Cutting Comedy
      5. Improvisation
    4. Chapter 15 The Main Event
      1. Image Magnification (IMAG)
      2. The Electronic Press Kit (EPK)
      3. Going Corporate: From the Boardroom to the Ballroom
      4. Worship TV: Enrapturing the Audience
      5. Weddings: Everyone's a Star
      6. In-School TV: The Kids Are All Right (Maybe Even Better Than You)
      7. Satellite Media Tours (SMT): Guitar Hero: Aerosmith's Sweet Promotion
  15. Part 6 Deliverables
    1. Chapter 16 Conforming the Master
      1. Enable Commit Multicam
      2. Reconforming
      3. RED Post Workflows
      4. Color Correcting
    2. Chapter 17 Audio in Postproduction
      1. The Re-Recording Mixer
      2. Double System Audio
      3. Keep Track of Tracks
      4. Fishing for ISOs
      5. 0.1% The Magic Number
      6. Project Interchange
      7. Sending out Audio
    3. Chapter 18 Deliverables
      1. Laybacks
      2. Outputs from the Edit Suite
      3. Archiving and Backups
  16. Part 7 Multicamera Madness® Case Studies
    1. Chapter 19 Case Study: A Hybrid 10-Camera Red 4k and EFP HD Production–Journey: Live From Manila
      1. 4K Capture Plus IMAG
      2. Ground Control: Fly Packs and Trucks Versus Red
      3. Switching and Monitoring
      4. Sync
      5. The Jib Shot
      6. Recording on Red
      7. Working in Manila
      8. Shooting for the Edit
      9. Lighting
      10. Editing
      11. The Wrap
    2. Chapter 20 Case Study: A Mixed-Platform Workflow–Paul McCartney: The Space Within Us
      1. Preproduction
      2. Assets
      3. Database
      4. Needles in the Haystack
      5. Mixing with the Doc Segments via the Script
      6. Casting
      7. Audio
      8. Syncing to Different Shows
      9. Re-Recording, Mixing, and Laybacks
      10. Conforming the Master
    3. Chapter 21 The Filmed Concert Workflow: The Rolling Stones' Shine a Light
      1. 18 Cameras: No Waiting
      2. Organizing the Multicamera Beast
      3. Making a Movie
      4. Sync
      5. The Basement
      6. Completing the Cut
    4. Chapter 22 A Thumbnail History of Multicamera Production and Editing
      1. Origins of Multiple-Camera Production
      2. I Love Lucy Sets the Stage (Desilu, 1951)
      3. The Evolution of Multicamera Editing Technology
  17. Appendix 1 Interviewee List and Bio Info
  18. Appendix 2 Companion DVD Contents
    1. Bonus Chapters
    2. Multicamera Video Clips
    3. Video Tutorials
    4. Free Applications
    5. Research Links
    6. Multicam Madness: Unedited Case Studies
  19. Index

Product information

  • Title: Mastering Multi-Camera Techniques
  • Author(s): Mitch Jacobson
  • Release date: September 2012
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136057892