Multicam Edit with Plugin Pluraleyes

I have been using the pluraleyes plugin for a couple of months syncing Z1U's. I have switched over to the Sony EX1 and Sony Z7U cameras. They shoot on different frame rates (the EX1 shoots XDCAM EX and the Z7U shoots HDV.) For this particular shoot, a wedding, I used the EX1, the Z7U and the Canon HV 30 as a third camera. When I initially tried to do a "multicam" I got the error message because of the different frame rates. So I converted all my footage to the Pro Res 422 30p codec , not HQ just regular Pro Res. Anyhow, this allowed me to sync up the cameras just fine. The video was on tracks 1, 2 and 3 respectively and I had 8 tracks of audio (2 for each camera and 2 for a standalone audio recorder I use to sync as well) Pluraleyes even allowed me to do a multiclip because everything was now the same frame. However, when I did the multiclip, I see the video was not long enough to fill the timeline?? And as a result, the clips did not match up. (They matched up fine in the regular sync, not in the mulitclip?) I'm thinking maybe I didn't set my in point right for the multiclip but not sure. The Z7U had several clips on the timeline about 6 compared to about 2 for the Canon HDV and 1 for the EX1.

Does this make any sense? Why would the sync be okay (with the video on different tracks) but not when I did the multiclip to have them all on the same timeline? On a side note, what is the best codec to work in given that I am using these cameras? ProRes 422 HQ? Pro Res 422? Or should I convert the HDV footage and owrk in XDCAM EX for the edit then export the final QT movie as Pro Res?

Thanks,

Scott

Hi Scott,

I have tested Pluraleyes and it seems a good alternative for FCPs Create Multiclip function if you have footage that is not ideal for synching. However, I hardly ever use Pluraleyes in our daily work, I always use FCPs Create Multiclip. So I don't know much about the detailed functions of Pluraleyes.

Before anything else, I would check if you have set the correct In point and if this does not solve your problem I really would try synching the tracks with the Create Multiclip function in FCP.

What worries me most is that you have a different number of clips for your different cameras. That's not a good thing when you want do do a multitrack. The very essence of multitrack is that all cams run together all the time, so that is an extra pitfall you may be facing, and this could cause problems when creating a mutliclip.

For the type of footage you work with, ProRes 422 regular is the best format.

Best wishes,

Ronny

I have found that using pluraleyes procedure (on there web page) works up to the actual 'make multiclip'.
make multiclip works ok, but i have seen some bugs there related to FCP7.
the (i forget the name) command in FCP where you can hi-lite all clips from cam 1 (for example) on the timeline (to add that cams color correction for example) is broke. But if you make the actual multiclip using FCP, this function now works as expected. Also there is another bug (but i seen this happen also using FCP make multiclip) where if you add a transition between a cut on a multiclip, then change the camera angle after the transition, the clip is no linger a multiclip. you need to do a few 'undo's'. So always put transitions on last.
id recommend using FCP's make multiclip. For the actual sync, use pluraleyes and you should be fine.

Kurt

Thanks Kurt and Ronny,

This from pluraleyes:

It is possible that there is a bug in the way PluralEyes creates multiclips that is causing the problems you are seeing. We are rewriting the multiclip code for the next PluralEyes update but it won't be ready for you to test for the next few days. In the meantime you could use the synced sequence to create the multiclip using Final Cut's built-in features. The general idea is that you set the in points (or the out points, or the aux timecode) on the clips based on their sync layout in the sequence. You then drag the clips from the sequence to a bin, ctrl-click on the bin and choose "Create multiclip".

As for the the best codec, ProRes 422 is the one we usually recommend. Final Cut is pretty optimized for the ProRes family and it is the most reliable. The HQ version is usually overkill unless you have really high quality inputs and need the highest quality output.

Hi Scott,

Not only the people at Pluraleyes are honest, they also know what they're talking about. Their suggestion is perfect.

Best wishes,

Ronny