Multicam functionality in MovieStudio 14

AlanH wrote on 2/5/2018, 5:17 AM

Multicam editing is pretty essential for me now I'm recording events with four cameras.

But am I right in assuming that the Multicam functionality - greatly appreciated in MS14 (currently Build 148) - is reduced compared to Vegas Pro? In particular, there is no option to expand a multicam track set back into its individual tracks, which I have seen referred to in discussions about Vegas Pro.

Also (an issue in multicam work since both individual Track FX and Event FX disappear as soon as a multicam track is created), has Vegas Pro's facility to copy Media FX to multiple clips in the Project Media pool been suppressed in Moviestudio?

As a couple of my cameras limit their files to 2GB, I find myself having to add (say) identical sharpening/colour correction FX's and their associated stored settings to 8 or 10 clips for a 2-hour event, which is tedious and prone to human error.

Any ideas? Is this something that will be redressed in MS15?

Comments

vkmast wrote on 2/5/2018, 5:56 AM

A discussion on the multicam workflow in VEGAS Pro and VEGAS Movie Studio 14 Platinum in this article by the Vegas team.

AlanH wrote on 2/5/2018, 10:11 AM

Thanks, VK - that makes it clear that multicam track re-expansion is a Pro-only function.

I guess it's important to have some product differentiation, given that Pro is substantially more expensive than MovieStudio; clearly it's these sort of things that impove productivity for Pro's power users.

And I'm sure that future versions of MS will inherit more of Pro's features in the traditional 'trickle-down' process!

Marco. wrote on 2/5/2018, 10:47 AM

"has Vegas Pro's facility to copy Media FX to multiple clips in the Project Media pool been suppressed in Moviestudio?"

This is not possible in Vegas Pro either. You can copy Event properties in the timeline, but same you can do in Movie Studio.

"As a couple of my cameras limit their files to 2GB, I find myself having to add (say) identical sharpening/colour correction FX's and their associated stored settings to 8 or 10 clips for a 2-hour event, which is tedious and prone to human error."

If you import your camera clips via Movie Studio's Device Explorer, all 2 GB chunks which belong together would be automatically joined.

AlanH wrote on 2/5/2018, 10:56 AM

Oh, wow! Thanks, Marco - sounds like a new feature opportunity! I will investigate the Device Explorer.

Marco. wrote on 2/5/2018, 11:04 AM

The Device Explorer is available since Movie Studio 10 Platinum.

AlanH wrote on 2/5/2018, 12:09 PM

Thanks, Marco - I did know of Device Explorer's existence, but had not realised that it automatically stitched sequential files within one camera take. I will have to see what happens if there are a few missing frames between 2GB files (this happens on a couple of my cameras); if it simply concatenates the files, it may be problematic for syncing with other camera files.

Former user wrote on 2/5/2018, 12:14 PM

The Device Explorer eliminates the missing frames problem.

AlanH wrote on 2/5/2018, 4:36 PM

Thanks for that, David!

I wouldn't have believed that without testing it, but indeed the 2 frames of video and nearly 3 frames of audio that are lost when stitching two 2GB segments together on the MS timeline, magically reappear when using Device Explorer to import them as a single file. (camera is Canon HF-G25, AVCHD at 1080/25psf)

It begs the question as to where the frames have gone in the timeline-stitch, since I did the test from the same files on the camera's SD card. But if it works, that's good enough!

FWIW this is what it looks like...

Former user wrote on 2/5/2018, 5:02 PM

My thought is frames in compressed video do not exist as a single unit. They exist made up of data before and after each frame. When you import incorrectly, the frame information needed to rebuild all frames is missing on the edges of the files. Thus those frames cannot be recreated. When imported correctly, all frame information is available.

AlanH wrote on 2/6/2018, 2:45 AM

Yes, that thought came to me overnight as well. It sounds like the camera's decision to split the file at a particular point is made solely on the on-card file size, and not at a particular GOP boundary, so both the end of one file and the beginning of the next are required to reconstruct the original frames in the GOP that spans the split.

Anyway, it shows I should have been using the Device Explorer all along - would have saved me a lot of time. Put it down as a learning experience!

Thanks to all of you who have helped me out here!