mapping audio channels on multicam clips

[KazuTa]

I am syncing three cameras, all of which recorded 5 channels of sound, with two channels of audio recorded by the on-set sound mixer (one lav, one boom). In the multicam clips, I believe the editor/director only wants the two channels recorded by the on-set sound mixer.

For whatever reason, Premiere made the multicam clips with audio mapped to different # of channels: some to 5 Mono, some to 3 Mono, some to 2 Mono.

Should I Modify all the multicam clips so they're mapped only to 2 channels of audio? When I cut one with 5 channel mono into a sequence, it brings in 3 silent channels. It won't cause problems when it comes time to deliver to our color vendor, will it? (ex. in a way similar to how proxies can only be attached if the audio mapping matches)

Is there a way to "map" audio for poly WAV clips (where the on-set sound mixer has a separate channel for each person's lavalier, etc..)? I noticed that if I map something to "Channel 3", I can't hear it on headphones (is this mapping it to a surround sound channel?).

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hello @KazuTa,

Thanks for the message. Glad to see you again here. I hope you're well. I hope we can help you with your issue. Can you provide any other issues that might clue us in to the issue you are having, like the kind of media you are working with? I wonder if anyone else in the community has experienced a similar issue. Perhaps @PaulMurphy might have an idea on how to move forward. Thanks for your patience on resolving this issue. I apologize for the weird behavior.

Thanks,
Kevin

[PaulMurphy]

If you’re creating a multicam sequence and want to use only your separate audio files (like external recordings) without including the audio from your camera media, make sure to set the Audio Sequence Settings to Camera 1 in the Create Multi-Camera Source Sequence window.

For a helpful breakdown of how Premiere Pro handles audio channels and their layout in multicam sequences, check out this video: https://youtu.be/M89zzmK_qcc.

If you’ve already created your multicam sequence and need to adjust the audio channel configuration, you can do this without starting over:

1. In the Project panel, select your multicam sequences.
2. Go to Clip > Modify > Audio Channels.
3. Here, you can set the Clip Channel Format, Number of Audio Clips, and choose which channels to include. Based on your example, you want to:
   • Set Clip Channel Format to Mono.
   • Set Number of Audio Clips to 2.
   • Tick the columns corresponding to your external audio tracks (these columns match the audio tracks in your multicam sequence).

If you’re having trouble hearing audio beyond channels 1 and 2, it’s likely because you’re monitoring one channel per speaker. To monitor all channels, hold Shift and click the “bow ties” icon at the bottom of the Audio Meters.

[KazuTa]

I have a multicam clip with three channels of audio: one channel recorded by a

sound guy, plus one channel of audio from each of the two cameras. There are sections when the sound guy wasn't recording, and the two cameras stop & start independently, so I want access to all three channels of audio in my multicam clip.

When I created the clip, it defaulted to monitoring only one channel of audio:

I opened the clip as a timeline. In Audio Track Mixer, I tried setting the channels to two:

It seems to be providing a mix of the two channels of camera audio on Ch.2 & 3:

I tried monitoring 3 channels after panning Ch.2 to the right and Ch.3 to the left, but it only makes it so I can't hear Ch.3, even if I click on the bowties under my Audio Meters (I muted Ch.2 to make sure):

[PaulMurphy]

Managing audio in multicam clips can be a bit tricky if you're unfamiliar with how Premiere Pro handles audio channel routing.

It’s a little hard to pinpoint the exact issue without seeing your multicam timeline, but one simple solution you can try is to create the multicam sequence again. Go to Clip > Create Multicamera Source Sequence, and in the settings, set the Audio Sequence Settings to All Cameras. This will include all audio tracks from your source clips in the multicam sequence.

[KazuTa]

This is what my multicam clip looks like when opened as a timeline:

By following your steps, I was able to backwards engineer a solution with my multicam clips. The configuration that didn't seem to be working yesterday is now working today (I must have done something wrong yesterday):

...with bowties on my Audio Meters:

So complicated! Thanks for your help 🙂

[PaulMurphy]

I'm glad to hear it's working - although I should note that the right channel on Track 3 is not being included. With this configuration, it's only using the left channel.

[KazuTa]

So, if Audio Track 3 in my multicam clip (B Cam audio) is stereo (basically, dual mono acting as stereo), do I have to make the B Cam clip dual mono first, then map it to Audio tracks 3 & 4? Or will the configuration above read both channels of the B Cam stereo audio? 

[PaulMurphy]

The configuration above will only include the left channel of your B-cam audio. If you want both channels routed to channels 3 and 4, you need to set the Track Panner to 0.

If you plan to flatten your multicam sequence and export it to an AAF or OMF later, I recommend changing the Audio Channel Format to Mono, creating two clips (one channel per clip). Then, add those clips to tracks 3 and 4 in your multicam sequence, route them to channels 3 and 4, and pan track 3 to the left and track 4 to the right. This setup ensures proper audio channel separation and compatibility for your export workflow.

[KazuTa]

Thanks for the detailed information! Since the editor's already started cutting with the footage, there's over 60 B CAM shots, and the B CAM audio is really just there as a last resort, if I left the multicam clips with the B CAM audio on only one channel (panned center), if the B CAM audio was used and the sequence was flattened, would our sound vendor at least get a mono of the B CAM audio in the AAF? If so, at this point, I think it will be sufficient.

[PaulMurphy]

If you pan Track 3 to the center, your sound vendor will still only receive the first channel of the B Cam audio. This happens because the audio channel format of your multicam sequence appears to be set to 3 mono clips, but it needs to be set to 4 mono clips to include both channels of the B Cam audio. You can change this setting in the Project panel using Clip > Modify > Audio Channels, but keep in mind that this change will not update any clips that have already been added to the timeline.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that you don’t need to manually flatten your multicam sequence before sharing it via an AAF. The flattening process happens automatically during the AAF export.

[KazuTa]

Since the B cam footage is 8K with proxies attached, would Modify > Audio Channels make the proxies not reconnect when we send this project to our off-site editor?

[PaulMurphy]

No, modifying audio channels inside the project should not make a difference, so long as the number of channels match outside of the project.

[trevor_7307]

You should definitely try flattening the audio early on in editing to ensure the clips you are expecting will make it to an AAF export. If the multicams are incorrectly built then flattening will sometimes result in no audio clips. 

[KazuTa]

@PaulMurphy To do this correctly, would I have to:

1.) Modify all my B cam source clips to 2 channel mono (which should not affect an offsite editor reconnecting to the proxies)? Or do I have to Breakout to Mono for all my B cam source clips?

2.) Open all my multicam clips in Timeline so I can overcut all the B cam source clips so they're 2 channel mono?

I did some test AAF exports and they appear to be exporting the B cam audio (as mono, so probably just the left channel, as you said, which might be sufficient in this case).

[PaulMurphy]

To ensure the right channel from the B-cam is included, follow these steps based on the screenshots you provided:

1. In the Project panel, select the multi-camera sequences.
2. Go to Clip > Modify > Audio Channels (or press Shift + G).
3. Set the Number of Audio Clips to 4.
   
   

Note: This will not update any edits already placed in a timeline. Those clips will need to be replaced with the updated multi-camera sequences.

In this instance, to ensure proper AAF export, you’ll need to flatten the multi-camera sequences before sending them.

[KazuTa · Accepted solution]

Whew, that's WAY easier than what I was thinking! So, I only have to select the multicam clip and right-click / Modify # of audio channels to 4 Mono. Here's the multicam clip Open in Timeline (I changed the # of audio channels in the Track Mixer to 4 also):

Then, when I cut it into a sequence, the two channels of Cam B sound (on A3 above) will show up as A3 & A4, below:

How does one flatten multicams before exporting an AAF? Simplify Sequence?

[PaulMurphy]

That's one way, but you can also just select all your multi-camera sequences in the timeline and choose Clip > Multi-Camera > Flatten.

[KazuTa]

It looks like my work gave me some other multicam sitations:

A1: A cam mono

A2: B cam stereo

I mapped to 3 channel mono and routed audio this way:

They also gave me this situation:

A1: Lav

A2: Boom

A3: A cam mono

A4: B cam stereo

I made them 5 channel mono and mapped this way:

[PaulMurphy]

Going forward I recommend avoiding a mix of mono and stereo clips in the same multi-camera source sequence, as this can lead to unexpected behavior when flattening.

Before creating your multi-camera source sequence, ensure all your media has the same audio channel format—typically mono.

To do this:

1. Select all your media in the Project panel.
2. Go to Clip > Modify > Audio Channels.
3. Set the Preset to Mono.

This should help maintain consistent audio behavior throughout your multi-camera workflow.

For a detailed guide on setting up a multi-camera sequence template, I recommend this video: How to Create a Multi-Camera Sequence Template.

[KazuTa]

I really appreciate all the time you've spent on this post. Thanks again, Paul! I've watched your videos on YouTube and find them immensely helpful.

Just to double-check: Clip > Modify > Audio Channels inside the project should not cause any relinking problems when this project is opened on another computer, so long as the number of channels match outside of the project?

I'm an Assistant Editor at a company where the editors are either on a different computer than me or not in the office at all, and we do not have shared storage, so the editors do all their work off of SSD's that do not have the raw footage. I just want to be sure that future editors at this company can reconnect to the 1-channel stereo proxies for this footage without knowing the complexities of multicamera audio mapping. 

Adobe's "Best Practices & Workflow Guide For Long Form and Episodic Post Production" says, on p.55:

Modifying Clips (Audio Channels, Interpret Footage, etc.)

If your workflow relies on modifying the source clips using any of the following commands, do not use proxies in Premiere Pro. Doing so will result in unexpected behavior:

Modify > Audio Channels

Since I may not be the Assistant Editor on this project when it gets turned over to sound, I don't want to do anything that will cause problems in the future.

Lastly, on Jan. 24, you replied: "...it’s worth noting that you don’t need to manually flatten your multicam sequence before sharing it via an AAF. The flattening process happens automatically during the AAF export." Then, on Feb. 1, you replied: "In this instance, to ensure proper AAF export, you’ll need to flatten the multi-camera sequences before sending them." I was a little confused. Does the flattening process happen automatically during an AAF export?

Thanks again, and apologies for taking up so much of your time.

[PaulMurphy]

In most cases, modifying audio channels inside Premiere Pro does not cause relinking issues, as long as the number of channels matches between the original media and the proxies. However, I have seen instances where stereo audio was modified to dual mono, and when the proxies went offline, Premiere Pro displayed an error stating that the audio channels did not match. In these cases, you simply need to re-attach the proxies rather than relinking them.

Regarding AAF exports, the flattening process does happen automatically as part of the export. However, my earlier suggestion was focused on making it easier for you to adjust multiple clips within your workflow. Because of that, the setup may not be ideal for AAF creation. The best approach in this case would be to manually flatten the multi-camera sequences before exporting the AAF to ensure everything is properly structured.