Is there a way of reordering the clips in group clip when doing multicam editing? I do most of my interview edits through multicam with the visuals coming two or three cameras and the audio coming from a seperate audio recorder.

Process as follows:

1) Import all media. Select all clips, Autosync with Group Clip selected (making sure the Zoom audio track is at the top of the pile) sync using waveform analysis.

2) Edit multicam mode into sequence using quad display

Once I've made a group clip, is there any way or changing the order of clips, or even replacing individual clips in that group?  

Using MC 2019.12 Win

Right click the group clip icon in the bin and choose Edit Group. This will un-collapse (de-collapse?) your grouped sequence and show you your sync map.  Here you can make your changes or add or remove cameras etc.

Then right click the record monitor and choose "update group". Avid will ask if you want to update the current group or create a new one. Creating a new one gives you a new group clip in your bin. Updating the group just updates the already existing group clip in your bin.

Annoyingly I haven't figuered out how to easily update the sequence with the new group clip information other than by re-cutting the updated group clip back over your existing timeline. In other words, when you choose to edit the group, Avid un-collapses the timeline, but when you choose to update the group, Avid doesn't then collapse the timeline back down again. It literally only updates the group clip.  So I have to then cut the updated group clip back on to the existing timeline.  I'm not sure if I am just missing something or if this is truly the case, but if it is then there is definitely room for improvement.  

Anyway, that's how you can update a group clip.

Andi

ripvanmarlowe:

Right click the group clip icon in the bin and choose Edit Group. This will un-collapse (de-collapse?) your grouped sequence and show you your sync map.  Here you can make your changes or add or remove cameras etc.

Then right click the record monitor and choose "update group". Avid will ask if you want to update the current group or create a new one. Creating a new one gives you a new group clip in your bin. Updating the group just updates the already existing group clip in your bin.

Annoyingly I haven't figuered out how to easily update the sequence with the new group clip information other than by re-cutting the updated group clip back over your existing timeline. In other words, when you choose to edit the group, Avid un-collapses the timeline, but when you choose to update the group, Avid doesn't then collapse the timeline back down again. It literally only updates the group clip.  So I have to then cut the updated group clip back on to the existing timeline.  I'm not sure if I am just missing something or if this is truly the case, but if it is then there is definitely room for improvement.  

Anyway, that's how you can update a group clip.

Andi

Thanks for this Andi! Will check it out tomorrow. In all honesty I didn't think this was even possible...good news!

Ok, so I figured out how to update the sequence.  You need to make your changes to your group clip, then highlight the sequence that contains that group clip, rightclick and choose "Refresh Sequence > Group Edits". This then updates the sequence with your changes.

HOWEVER...  I've actually just noticed a very major limitation of grouping in this manner - you cannot shorten the length of a group.  You can only add cameras.  I just tried taking an already built sync map that I had made and removing a section from the middle. Then updated the group clip and refreshed the sequence by going to Clip > Refresh Sequence > Group Edits.

I either get no change - the sequence does not update to show where the gap should be, or I get the error Exception: PMM_INSUFFICIENT_MEDIA.

The manual actually states that this is a current limitation - see attached screenshot.

So it looks like refreshing the sequence to update it is a no go if you make the new group shorter.  You'll still have to cut the new group clip in over the top of your current sequence.  If you add to the sequence then it works.

This is a pretty major limitation - Avid - when will this be addressed or has it already been in a newer version? I'm working on 2018.12.7.

Andi

Not sure if you ever got your answer, but:

If you're just talking about the order the cameras appear in your split (quad or nine), you can rearrange/reorder by holding down COMMAND (OPTOION on PC I believe) and clicking on whichever box you'd like to change. This opens a list of all available cams in the group, and you can select which cam you'd like (MC then swaps positions for those two cams--so for example, if CAM G is in box 3, and you want it in box one, clicking on box one and selecting CAM G from the list will put it in box 1, and whatever cam was in box 1 will now be in Box 3).

This is really useful if the sets of cameras are following specific subjects, and whoever is grouping doesn't know how to set the order PRIOR to grouping, OR if the cameras swap which subjects they are following midway through a group!

Hope this helps!

Thank you for your reply! I'm going to check this out. It is exactly what I wanted to do!

ripvanmarlowe:

Ok, so I figured out how to update the sequence.  You need to make your changes to your group clip, then highlight the sequence that contains that group clip, rightclick and choose "Refresh Sequence > Group Edits". This then updates the sequence with your changes.

HOWEVER... 

I *think* I have another "however"...  I wanted to learn if I could selectively update previously edited sequences which used the same Multi-Group , made from Timeline on v2018.12.13 PC. Selectively, I thought, because once used "Edit Group", made a simple change in one track (replacing a Linked masterclip for a Consolidated masterclip made from it), then used Update (right-clicking in Composer monitor), then used "Refresh Sequence > All", after highlighting just one Sequence in a bin, I thought that *perhaps* my other sequences which had also used the original Multi-Group, would remain un-updated. But that was not the case....they changed too. I still want a workflow for that, but in the meantime...

HOWEVER...

The Sequence I did Refresh, with its newly updated Multi-Group, did NOT show an important change I would have expected:

The Source Color of the original Linked clip remained visible on timeline clips, even though a match-frame from the Sequence did load the newly modified Multi-Group into the Source monitor-- and WOULD show the different Source Color of the masterclip... seen when viewing the Source timeline with "Toggle Source/Record in Timeline". Also when pressing match-frame in the Source monitor, which then loaded the updated masterclip (not the Linked clip). So Update works well, but "Refresh Sequence > All"... not so much. (Unless I'm doing something wrong, which is entirely possible.)

C-O-L-O-R is so important.

So, I am a tad disappointed. It is hard enough keeping track of what you are doing while interfering with MC's time-space continuum.

Having this splendid tool Update a Group with a Refreshed Sequence AND then displaying the Source Color of the refreshed / Group-modified clips is what I want.  Make it so, please.

Question: Is this timeline non-refresh Source Color result I just described also happening on 2019, 2020, etc. versions?

I have written an article that comprehensively outlines the issue and provides a detailed list of instructions on how to get your media on the tracks you want them on!
Please have a read if you're experiencing similar issues, or would like to learn how to control which tracks your media ends up on in groups. Also feel free to forward it on to your Assistant Editor friends who might be interested.
Link below for your convenience. Let me know if you have any questions

https://groupitforme.com/internal/bloglisting.php?bid=43