Multicam and mixed resolutions

Hey!

Trying to create a multicam out of clips with three different resolutions:
1) 2K 2048x1080 (FS700/Odyssey7Q)
2) HD 1920x1080 (A7S XAVC)
3) UHD 3840x2160 (iPhone SE)

For the multicam I choose 2K as resolution. When I look in the angle editor, the 2K covers the entire frame, the HD covers bottom to top with black on sides as expected and the same for the UHD.

However when I drag the multicam clip into a 1920x1080 timeline the HD and UHD is smaller than the frames and has a black border both left and right and top and bottom... and the 2K has black top and bottom...

When choosing 'none' instead of 'fit' in spatial conform, the HD and the 2K fills the frame as expected (in timeline) but the UHD is still smaller with black frame around it...

WHAT THE HELL IS FCPX DOING TO FOOTAGE WHEN A MULTICAM IS CREATED???
And what is the best way to deal with multicam clips when having footage of mixed resolutions?

I've had this problem in the past.
When setting up Multicams, the best results will be setting up the settings of the Multicam to the highest resolution source.
So, if the UHD is the highest res of all the footage you'll be using, then the multicam should be set to 3840x2160.

You may still have to play with the spatial conform in your working timeline. (Which shouldn't matter what resolution that's set to.)
I usually end up setting spactial conform to None in this kind of situation, and manually setting the scale and position.

Hope this helps.
S

Thanks. I'll try that!

But also trying to figure out WHAT exactly FCPX is doing when creating a multicam... Why is it even necessary to choose a resolution? Why is it not just a container and all the footage inside is the original? What's going on?

DmitriZigany wrote: …covers bottom to top with black on sides as expected …

hmm, being on a shoestring budget=using any cam I can grab, I mix all sorts of frame-rates, resolutions etc in a MultiCam - and NEVER had bars and didn't expected one.

Not aware, you can or have to 'preset' any spacial conform - as long, material shares same aspect-ration, all fine.

And I'm with Scott:
if you plan to reframe/retime, set MC to highest res and frame-rate involved (two streams: 4k/30, fullHD/50 = MC 4k/50). Afaik, an MC is just a compound = container = settings have no effect on 'size' for example …
And that compound has its own res and fps …

… that's what FinalCut does … at last here

Thanks... maybe it's because one of the clips is 2K and different aspect ratio than the others... but still when I choose "none" in spatial conform I expect it to fill the fram when it's bigger (or same size) as the project timeline! It's still mumbo-jumbo to me!

Ok, tried one more time... this time two UHD and one HD... created a 4K (UHD) multicam... And when put in a 720p timeline the HD angle looks soft... So something weird is going on!!! Need to understand what FCPX is doing...

If set up as you described, there shouldn't be any softening of the HD footage.
Make sure that the playback quality in your viewer is set to Best Quality.
When it's set to Better Performance, you should expect the HD footage to become soft during playback.

Does it look soft even when you're not playing back?

Normal for FCPX (or other NLEs) so soften an image to help with more efficient playback. As long as it looks OK when parked on a single frame, and exports fine.

I'd export a piece and verify what the export looks like.