Published: May 4, 2022 | Last Updated: July 2, 2024
Learning to edit with Premiere Pro’s multi-camera features is essential for your video editing tool bag. You may think of multi-camera from television sitcoms you enjoy, but it’s also great for editing client interviews, podcasts, etc.
This is an extremely easy process that only requires a little bit of setup. In this article, I will explain how to work with multiple cameras in Premiere Pro in 3 easy steps.
Step 1: Media setup
The first thing we want to do is set up all of our media. For a multi-camera setup, you can have as few as two clips. Place all of your media inside a bin. You can do this by selecting all the media, right-clicking, and selecting New Bin From Selection.
You can set up your media in two recommended ways: using an in-point or creating a nested sequence for each clip. Let’s go through each of these.
In point
The first method is to set an in point for each media piece in the multi-camera setup. Find a common sync point between all of your clips. Usually, there will be a spike from a clapboard, but you can also find any similar waveform piece.
Hit the keyboard shortcut (i) to set the in point. That’s it. This will help Premiere sync the multi-camera sequence later.
Nested sequences
The second method is to use nested sequences. This method requires a bit more setup, but it is much easier to make changes or customizations later.
Put all of your clips on one timeline. You can sync all the clips using the In Point method mentioned above or any methods mentioned in How to sync audio in Premiere Pro without plugins.
You can trim the excess head and tailpieces off the clips to be the same length.
Next, right-click each clip, hit Nest, and name the sequence. Put all of your nested sequences in a bin.
Using this method will allow you to change your clip later if desired. The first method does not allow this, so you must change each clip on the multi-camera timeline.
Audio clip
I recommend attaching your audio clip to whichever clip is your Clip 1 on the sequence. This will be an easy way to attach audio to your multi-camera sequence later.
However, if you have multiple sources of audio, you can attach audio to multiple clips or manually add the audio to the sequence later. You can use whichever method is easiest for you.
Renaming the clips
Once either of the methods is completed, you should rename the clips. You can keep the clip’s name the same, but I recommend adding a number in front of the title.
Here’s an example:
Change “Clip 1” to “1 Clip 1.”
Do this for each of your clips. This will tell Premiere how to order the clips for each camera, which we will discuss later.
Step 2: Create the multi-camera sequence
The next step is to create the sequence for our multi-camera setup.
Right-click on the bin that houses all of your media. Hit Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence. A setup menu will appear. We have many options for setting up our sequence.
First, you can name the sequence. You can use the name of the first audio or video clip or enter a custom name.
You will then set a Synchronize Point. As you can see, there are multiple ways to synchronize your clips. However, both methods mentioned in the previous section use the In Point option, so you can leave this selected.
Next, you can select a Sequence Preset, the settings for the actual sequence. We will leave this automatic, but you can select whatever you prefer.
In the next tab, you can set the audio source. You can select Camera 1 (mentioned in Step 1), All Cameras, or Switch Audio. Since we have this setup, we will select Camera 1. You can also set the Audio Channels to a specific channel. Again, we will leave this automatic.
Lastly, you can specify how you want the camera labels set up. Enumerate Cameras will label the cameras with a number. Use Track Names or Clip Names, which will label the cameras based on the track or clip name you set previously.
Select okay once you have completed all of your settings.
A new item will appear in the Project Panel. This will be your multi-camera sequence.
To edit, right-click on the multi-camera sequence and select New Sequence From Clip. A new timeline will appear with your multi-camera setup.
Step 3: Editing
The last step is to edit the sequence. Before starting, you must be aware of a couple of functionality buttons.
Toggle Multi-Camera View
First, you will need to enable multi-camera editing. The Toggle Multi-Camera View is on the Program Monitor.
If it isn’t on the Program Monitor, select the + icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. Refer to the photo below for the Toggle Multi-Camera View icon. Click and drag the icon onto the Program Monitor.
Click on the icon to activate this feature. All of your clips within the sequence will appear in the Program Monitor next to the selected camera. These are all of your “Cameras” that you can switch between for the cuts.
Multi-Camera Record On/Off Toggle
The next icon on the Program Window is the Multi-Camera Record On/Off Toggle. This icon looks like your standard camera record red dot icon.
If it is not on the Program Monitor, you can use the same method for adding the icon as the Toggle Multi-Camera View.
Hit the keyboard shortcut (0) to activate this feature. Note that this feature is a recorder for all the cuts you will make during the edit. You will need to reactivate this if you stop the edit.
Editing
Activate the Multi-Camera Record On/Off Toggle function before editing. Then, hit the spacebar to begin playing the sequence. The edit will start with the Camera outlined in yellow on the Program Monitor.
Each camera will have a keyboard shortcut. Camera 1 will have a keyboard shortcut (1), which will continue sequentially for each camera.
To cut, switch the camera by hitting the keyboard shortcut for the desired camera. You will not see the cut in real time, so you must stop playback to see it.
You can also make edits by selecting the cameras in the program monitor. Select the cut on the timeline you want to change, then select the Camera using the matching keyboard shortcut.
That’s it! Follow these steps for the entire sequence, and your multi-camera edit will be complete. This sequence works like any other sequence in Premiere Pro, so no additional steps are needed for rendering.
You can add normal effects, text, etc., to your sequence, just as you would with any other video.
Read Next: Premiere Pro Keyboard Shortcuts You Need To Know [PC/Mac Cheat Sheet Included]
