How can I create individual multicam source sequences from clips that were manually synced in a timeline, without using merged clips?

Question

Hi,I’m trying to clarify the recommended Premiere Pro workflow for syncing video and external audio.In the official “Premiere Pro Best Practices Guide.pdf”, adobe recommends avoiding “merged clips” and using multicam source sequences instead, mainly to preserve metadata and avoid conform issues later.But in real projects I often have to sync picture and sound manually in a timeline, because there is no shared timecode, no usable scratch audio, or no automatic sync option that works reliably.I usually end up with a full manual sync mapAfter that, what I need is basically the practical result of a Merged Clip: one clean source item per take, with the synced video and external audio staying reliably together during editing.But I’m trying to avoid merged clips because of adobe’s own recommendation...The problem is that I can’t find a clear way to create individual multicam source sequences from clips that have already been manually synced in a timeline.The workarounds I’ve seen seem to create one big multicam sequence from the whole sync map, not separate source items per take.So my question is: what is the official recommended workflow for this situation?How can I get the same editing benefit as Merged Clips — one source item per synced take — while keeping the metadata/conform advantages of the multicam workflow?Thank you for your help !!

PaulMurphy · Answer

Adobe recommends avoiding merged clips in the Premiere Pro Best Practices Guide because they don't transfer well when you hand off projects to other applications, like Pro Tools. If you're not sharing your edit with other post-production departments, merged clips should work fine for your workflow.

Personally, even for simple syncing, I find Multi-Camera Source Sequences more flexible and easier to fix if sync goes wrong.

If you want to use Multi-Camera Source Sequences but already have a manual sync map, here is a recommended workflow.

The quickest method is to add all your synced clips to one Multi-Camera Source Sequence, then use the Subsequence command to break it into smaller Multi-Camera Source Sequences.

Note: If your source audio is stereo, you can skip the next steps and work directly from the sequence that contains your sync map.

Select one video clip and one audio clip in the Project panel.
Choose Clip > Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence.
For Synchronize Point, select In Point.
Deselect Move source clips to Processed Clips bin.
Set Sequence Preset to Automatic.
Set Audio Sequence Settings to Automatic.
Click OK.
Right-click the Multi-Camera Source Sequence in the Project panel, then choose Open in Timeline.
Delete the clips from the timeline.
Add the clips from your sync map.

Next, create a new Multi-Camera Source Sequence for each clip in your timeline. This part is manual, but keyboard shortcuts speed it up.

Note: Before you start, confirm that Selection Follows Playhead is disabled in the Sequence menu, and that all target tracks are enabled.

Move to the first clip.
Press X to mark the clip in the sequence.
Press Shift+U to create a subsequence.
Press the Down Arrow key to move to the next clip.
Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each remaining clip.

Once you finish, you will have a nested sequence for each clip in the timeline. If you want to turn them into multi-camera sequences, drag them into the Source Monitor, right-click, and choose Multi-Camera > Enable. This step is only necessary if you have more than one camera and want to switch between them on the timeline.

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