I'm doing some video work for a group of people that perform an old time radio show for people in nursing homes.  The first show they put on I only used one camera and made a DVD of their show for them.  Now I'm trying to get a little fancier and use multiple cameras.  Both of the cameras are are Hi8 video cameras.  I've got great footage from both cameras but the audio on one of the cameras is bad because of a fan that was turned on behind the camera.  The audio on the other camera is fine.

What I'm wanting to be able to do is just use the one good audio track but transition back and forth between the video tracks.  What I'm worried about is the fact that the input sources are analog and not digital so I wont be able to accurately sync up the good audio source and the 2 different video sources.

 Does anyone have any suggestions on creating a good final project using the 2 video sources and 1 audio track  ???
 

Do both videos remain synced with each other for the entire duration? If so, put the good audio and video on the primary track, put the other video on the overlay track. On the overlay track, with the bad audio, turn the level to 0 or mute it with the silence icon at the right end of the track. Where there is video on the overlay track, that's what will show in the output. Where you want the primary video to show, razor cut and remove that section from the overlay track. You can now place transitions at the beginning and end of the open segment on the overlay track. This will make a smooth transition from the overlay track to the primary track without changing any synchronization. Do not put any transitions on the primary track or in the middle of a video segment on the overlay track. Save your project often in case something goes wrong.

Don

It was just 2 different camcorders set up in different parts of the same room....if that's what you're referring to the videos being in sync.  I will try to do what you suggested.  It sounds like it will work.  The idea of not putting any transitions in though sorta defeats what I was trying to do by making the video look like a tv broadcast where they jump to another camera or do a slow fade from one camera to the next.

 I guess I should invest in a couple of digital cameras.  Maybe that would make it a bit easier so sync from 2 different cameras. 

 The people putting on the show were going to give me a copy of the audio track as they recorded it as the show went on but I figured that would be even harder to try and match up to my video. 

Thanks for the help.  I'll let you know how it turns out.
 

As long as both cameras were started about the same time and both continued to run for the duration of the event, with no stops, then the video should stay in sync, and it should make no difference if one is analog. If not, you might have to add or subtract time from the overlay video to sync them up at various points. If you cut out a segment on the overlay track and place a transition at the beginning of the deleted space and another at the end of the deleted space, you will get a nice transition from the video on the overlay track to the video on the primary track. Works just like putting the transition in the middle of video, but it doesn't change the length of either track, thereby maintain sync. If the transitions appear jerky in preview, turn on 'background rendering', let it complete, and they should be smooth.

Don

Huf67-

It looks like Don’s light is off so I’ll butt in here and maybe I can answer a couple things until he gets back.

I am confident you can do what you desire with the two videos and it is not a difficult task.  Don’t get concerned abut the transitions.  Don was not saying you can’t use them, just that if you do it wrong with multiple video tracks then you can screw up the sync of the movie. 

This brings up a good point that Don mentioned, save often.  A common practice is to save your project with a name like MyMovie.  Then periodically do a project Save As and give it an incremental number such as MyMovie001, MyMovie002, etc.  If you don’t like what is happening in the current edit, you can always revert to a previous edit and continue on without having to redo the entire project.

As I read it, the crux of the matter is that you want to synchronize two video clips, use the audio from one and jump back and forth using the video from both? 

The first thing to do is place the video with the best audio on the primary track.  Then place the other video on the overlay track, as Don said.

To synchronize the two clips, I like to apply Picture-in-Picture to the video on the overlay track.  I then adjust the size and or transparency to suit my needs so I can see both clips at once in the preview window.  Now adjust the right/left position of the clips so both clips are in sync by moving the appropriate clip right or left.  I use visual clues such as a camera flash and audio clues such as speech where I can see lips moving.  When using audio clues, I alternately turn off the sound on the tracks using the little speaker icons on the right.  Once the two clips are in sync, I would make this a save point.  I would also do a check at this point to be sure the two clips are in sync from start to finish (make sure one camera was not running at a different speed than the other).

You could also use the audio recording if you desire by using the same principles as above.

Now that the videos are in sync, lock the video on the overlay track using padlock on the right then delete the unwanted audio track from that clip.  Or, you could also just adjust the volume of that track down to zero, same effect.

Lastly, switching between video sources.  This is how I do it, others may have a different method. 

Make sure all tracks are unlocked.

To delete a section from the overlay track.  Select the overlay track by clicking somewhere on it.  Move your scrubber to the beginning of the section to be deleted and place a cut.  Move your scrubber to the end of the section and place another cut.  Then right click on the section to be deleted and select "Delete".

To delete a section from the main video track, do the same as above except lock the audio track first and unlock the audio track when done.

At this point I would do another SaveAs. 

I then output this project as a file and start a new project using the output file as the source.  It is now one continuous file and I can place cuts, add effects and transitions without worrying about whether I am going to screw up the sync  because I messed with the wrong track.

ADDED:  Hi Don, you weren't gone long.  I'll just butt out now.

Some good thoughts Dave. Thanks!

I have always continued to do my editing with the two tracks rather than making a new file. This way, I can make changes at will. I work a little differently than you, but either method works fine. Instead of applying the pip effect to the overlay track, I use the little 'eye' icon to make the track invisible. I then look through the main track and select where I want to put the overlay. I then delete the portion of the overlay track where I want the main track to show, delete a portion of the overlay track following the selected clip, then apply a transition to the beginning and end of the clip on the overlay track. I think I described that back wards in the previous post. I've edited several two track videos this way, and after a little practice, it goes quite smoothly.

 Don

We don't really work that differently.  I am not sure of experience levels and creating a new file is the simplest way to explain how to add effects and transitions. 

I do use the pip method for synchronizing.  However, once synchronized, I often do not create a new file either.  If I am using the overlay track just for sync and scene selection, I usually place cuts in both tracks, delete the scenes I don't want and then move all kept overlay track scenes to the main track.

But, I am not as capable of explaining the more complex procedures like you did above with adding transitions.

I think you do fine Dave.

The reason I prefer my method of making the overlay track invisible rather than applying pip is that my machine is not fast enough to run the pip effect unless I turn on background rendering. And as you know, that really makes editing slow. Granted, you can't see both tracks at the same time, but I don't find that to be too much of a problem. It is a simple matter to click the 'show track' icon to turn on or off the overlay. Anyway, it's what you get comfortable with when you're editing. The original poster should try different ways and determine which he or she likes.

Don

cuartetto:

The original poster should try different ways and determine which he or she likes.

Everything seems to be working great.  When I started to slide the overlaid video back and forth there were red lines at each end of the video clip but once I hit a certain spot they turned green.  It appears as though Studio match up the patterns of the audio tracks and put them in perfect sync.  

This is easier than I thought it would be.  Hopefully adding the transitions will be just as easy.  One thing that doesn't seem to make sense is why even though I have the video in the primary track highlighted it still plays the video in the overlaid track instead unless I "hide" the video in the overlay.  I just assumed that the video in the primary would always take first place.  Maybe I have a transparency setting set wrong somewhere and that's why it doing it like that ??

Steven Spielberg look out.....HA !!!!

Jay
 

huf67:

Everything seems to be working great.   

huf67:

When I started to slide the overlaid video back and forth there were red lines at each end of the video clip but once I hit a certain spot they turned green.  It appears as though Studio match up the patterns of the audio tracks and put them in perfect sync.  

 I know this occurs but I don't know the reason.  I am pretty sure that it has nothing to do with automatic synchronization of audio patterns because once you have the "green" light you can position the clip a lot of places where it is not in sync.  Sounds like it was your lucky day and the clips plopped down in the exact right location.

huf67:

One thing that doesn't seem to make sense is why even though I have the video in the primary track highlighted it still plays the video in the overlaid track instead unless I "hide" the video in the overlay.  I just assumed that the video in the primary would always take first place.  Maybe I have a transparency setting set wrong somewhere and that's why it doing it like that ??

No, your settings a quite likely correct.  Think of it this way--------"OVERLAY track".  Video on this track is laid over top of the primary track.

huf67:

Steven Spielberg look out.....HA !!!!

How about putting some of that talent and enthusiasm into a Pinhead clip.  I think you might enjoy that also.

huf67:

Everything seems to be working great.  When I started to slide the overlaid video back and forth there were red lines at each end of the video clip but once I hit a certain spot they turned green.  It appears as though Studio match up the patterns of the audio tracks and put them in perfect sync.  

Jay
 

One possibility is that Studio will not allow you to slide audio or video to the left if the beginning of the clip is at the beginning of the timeline. If you must move it to the left, you must razor cut and delete a small portion of the clip at the beginning.

You should have no problem with the transitions, just remember to put them on the overlay track only. If everything is to my liking on the main timeline, I usually lock both the audio and video just to prevent something from happening accidentally which could change the synchronization.

Don