Creating a Multiclip in Final Cut Pro 7

Final Cut Pro 7 has made some improvements recently when it comes to Multicam editing. Now you can cut multicamera footage just as quickly as if you were switching in real-time. You can view and cut multiple sources by using the 1, 4, 9 or 16-up display and group up to 128 sources into multiclips; and now you can prepare multicam projects faster thanks to the new features in markers. Retain markers on multiclips when you switch angles and add marker notes to make multicam projects more efficient. So let's take a look at creating multiclips.

First of all, a multiclip is basically a virtual container from more than one source of clips or angles in which you can actually playback up to 16 at a time. We said that you can group up to 128 clips into a single multiclip, but, very importantly, each of those clips must use the same codec, image dimensions, and frame rate; otherwise, you're gonna have a lot of headaches down the road.

Read on for a quick tutorial on creating Multiclips:

Make a multiclip in the Browser window by selecting the clips you want to include and choose Modify > Make Multiclip; you can also right-click on a selected clip and choose Make Multiclip from the shortcut menu.

Now the Make Multiclip Dialog Box will open up so you can tell Final Cut Pro how you want to sync your clips, whether by In point, Out point, or Timecode. This goes back to how you've prepared your multicam shoot in order to sync your cameras, whether by exact timecode, a clapboard sync, or sometimes by a visual cue, such as a camera flash. Notice that the blue portion represents the clip content, and the gray portions indicate areas where there is no clip content. The Media Alignment Column shows how each clip is synchronized within the multiclip. After choosing your Synchronizing option, click OK.

Now you will notice the multiclip icon in your Browser. This icon represents a group of clips. Also notice that the name is shown in italics.

Once you've created your multiclip, double-click on it to load it into the Viewer. Cool how you can see all of your clips playback at once. Final Cut Pro will let you playback up to 16 clips at one time. You can change this feature under the Image popup menu in the Viewer, towards the bottom and choose Multiclip 1, 4, 9, or 16-up. The "active" angle is designated by a blue/green box surrounding it. By clicking in a clip in the Viewer, you are switching angles.

You can check out some of these other tips when preparing to shoot your multicamera project or stay tuned for a tutorial in editing your multiclips as another part of my 3 part series on multiclips!