Multi-cam cutaways

[Spaghetti]

One feature I'd like would be to render footage from different cameras on the main video screen (not PIP), or what is commonly referred to in movie editing as a cutaway. Right now the only option I have is to do the cutaways in a film editing program, then move the edited video clip to RR.
RR already handles multi-cameras synchronization well, so it would be just a matter of offering an option to perform a cutaway in the timeline. It would definitely be easier to do this in RR than iMovie for example. The rendered racing videos could become more exciting by showing more overtaking action.

[Weston@HPTuners]

Camera switching is possible in RaceRender by creating timeline segments on the video display object:

1) Follow the instructions for creating and sychronizing a picture-in-picture overlay or split-screen view, then configure the Display Objects in your project to represent your desired initial view layout.

2) Select the Display Object that you want to switch to a different camera, click the "Properties" button to open its Display Object Properties box, and then click the "Add" button near the top right to create a new timeline segment. When prompted, enter the time index within the project when you want this change to take place.

3) Now that the timeline segment is created, change the Input selection to the other camera's input file. Any changes made when this timeline segment is selected will be applied at the start of this segment, and will continue into any following segments until they make changes of their own.

Additional segments can be created with other input file selections or other changes. Timeline segments can also be displayed, created, and edited by using the Timeline View.

[Spaghetti]

I've found out how to switch clips image size in the timeline, but how do I simply change the full video from one clip to the other without having to change the properties? I want to edit the cutaway frequently and using the whole screen size, alternating one clip to the other.

[Weston@HPTuners]

I've found out how to switch clips image size in the timeline, but how do I simply change the full video from one clip to the other without having to change the properties? I want to edit the cutaway frequently and using the whole screen size, alternating one clip to the other.

The usual way to do that is to use timeline segments on your main video display object to switch the Input at the desired times... Seek the preview to the time at which you want it to change, then press the "Add" button at the top right of its properties box (first double-click on the display object to open its properties box), accept the project time that's already populated in the prompt, and then change the "Input" selection to the video that you want to show at that time.

That way works best when all of your videos are from different cameras that were running at the same time, and you've already synchronized them within RaceRender, which is the typical use case for this software. In other words, they all start playing at the beginning of the project and you're just choosing which view to show at which time in that video display object.

If you instead have a series of clips that you want to show sequentially, so that they play back one after another, then using the Join functionality on the input files can combine them to act as one... Select the desired clips in the Input Files list, press "Join", and then you'll have one joined video input that plays them back in that order. The "Move Up" and "Move Down" buttons can be used to adjust the playback order. This feature is more commonly used for combining video chunks (ie GoPro and others split recordings into additional files after 4 GB), but can also be used to accomplish sequential playback in this way. However, for that type of use, you may find that traditional linear video editing software is better suited, as RaceRender is really designed around synchronized video processing / mixing.

[Spaghetti]

I finally figured out, but there were a few of problems. First when I add both camera videos the default layout was a PIP, so I had to change the property of the second video to show full screen. Then both videos were active in the Display Objects windows and the second video was overlaying the edited segments video, so I couldn't see any camera cutaway (took me a while to figure the non-edited video had to be removed from the Display Objects list). Finally the timeline window marker is not moving with the preview, so it's hard to locate the points where the cutaway is supposed to happen.

What if I want to trim a session, not just a single video file? Let's say I turned on the cameras in the garage and want to start my movie from the starting grid. If I trim just the front camera video I will loose the synchronization. Do I have to trim all videos first, then synchronize them or I can trim after?

Also the cutaway switches both video and audio to the second camera. How do I keep the audio from the first camera active all the time?

Multi-cam action during the overtaking looks very good, but the preview monitor seems to struggle keeping up with the two video files on my iMac quad-core. The preview freezes at times and there is some image flashing during the cutaways (I have the preview settings on minimal quality and 4:3 basic video).