Excalibur use with multicams

johnbl wrote on 1/5/2004, 4:16 PM
I have Excalibur and wanted to try it on a 2 cam shoot. Do I need to "stripe" the DV tape on each camera so I have time code laid down on each for this to work? Also the two cameras need to be started exactly at the same time, yes?? The cameras also need to continue to run withou t being stopped also, yes ?? Thanks JOHN

Comments

GaryKleiner wrote on 1/5/2004, 4:26 PM
JOHN,

No, time code is not necessary, though, if you are capturing DV tape, it is going to be there.

The cameras do not need to be started at the same time, but the footage in the timeline does need to be synched. We have made it easy to do with Sync Wizard which is also part of Excalibur.

While it is easier if the cameras both run continuously, it is certainly possible to sync up non-continuous footage.

Gary
JackW wrote on 1/5/2004, 4:36 PM
John: All you have to do is capture the two tapes you're going to use and place them on the time line. Doesn't matter how they were shot, what kind of camera, etc., as long as both tapes show the same time segment -- i.e., a wedding, play, concert, etc., that you've taped from start to finish, or at least in big congruent blocks.

Use either a visual cue -- a flash going off, for example -- or a spot in the audio common to both tapes to sync them up. I find that most of the time scrubbing through the audio providesa clean sync point, but a flash is even more precise since it registers as a single frame. You don't have to move the track to do this, merely locate the points, mark them and use the Sync Wizard in Excalibur to bring them together. This is especially useful if you are using more than two tapes or audio tracks.

Once you have the tracks in sync, go through and mark your cuts and dissolves and run Excalibur to execute them. Be sure to mute any audio tracks you're not using before you run Excalibur.

I usually do a "Render to New Track" after I've done this, just so I have everything together on a single track.

There should be a file on the Excalibur CD that explains the appropriate markings and which has tips on using the Wizards. Gary Kleiner's two DVD set also has an excellent section on using the Multiple Camera Wizard as well.
GaryKleiner wrote on 1/5/2004, 6:06 PM
>Be sure to mute any audio tracks you're not using before you run Excalibur.<

Multi-cam Wizard ignores the audio tracks, so this is not necessesary.

Thanks,
Gary
jetdv wrote on 1/5/2004, 7:22 PM
>Be sure to mute any audio tracks you're not using before you run Excalibur.<

Actually, this should be "Be sure and adjust all of your audio as needed before the final render" which *may* include muting audio tracks that are not being used. As Gary said, Multi-cam Wizard ignores audio tracks.