Placing clips on timeline at the timestamp location of Video In in the metadata

[Patrick_F_SSGrille]

Lets see if I can explain this correctly.

Goal: To line up multiple video clips on the timeline by putting them on the timeline at the timestamp that is showing in the Video In Point metadata - automatically.

Scenario: Three GoPro cameras, none of which the times matched, and audio is nothing but wind from riding a bike. One GoPro "Fixed Cam" is set to constant record, powered by a power bank it can record straight for about 10 hours. So there is a "reference" I am trying to line up here. The other two are turned on and off via a remote, and they move from facing rear, to chest mount, to helmet, to tripod, and so on.

The footage is coming back with a Video In Point and Video Out Point in the metadata, guessing that is based off the internal clock, as accurate as that can be. Right now I am dropping the footage from "Fixed Cam" onto the timeline and getting a 3 hour plus long clip.

I would like to automatically place these clips on the timeline at the points marked Video In Point. They may not line up with my reference footage from "Fixed Cam" but I will only have to move the whole track once, and they should line up pretty close. At least enough to nudge them forward or back. 

Right now I am selecting the Video In for EACH clip, copy, going to the timeline, double clicking on the playhead numbers, paste, and the playhead moves to that spot, drag the clip over. I am looking at doing this a few hundred more times today, so looking to see if there is a way to move them to line up with that Video In metadata, or better, some kind of shortcut key to click on the clip, "magic keystroke or script" and the video gets placed on the timeline at that spot without me having to go find it. 

Even though I have actually found an easy way to sync all three cameras for future projects, I will never have good audio to do a syncronize, and I don't think I am getting actual "timecode" per se' but rather the internal clock acting as timecode. Factor in that even the long "Fixed Cam" track is made up of multiple files. The other cameras are hundreds of small chunk mini files, a few seconds to a few minutes, with no useable audio, I am hoping I can get this automated somehow, because I either have to place each clip manually, or sync each individual clip to the Nested "Fxed Cam" one at a time. 

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

It is also about to get worse, GoPro cam #3 is on its way, so that will be one master track and three sub tracks that need to be synced. I do have a workaround to sync the internal clocks, so hoping that helps, it will if I could just get the clips to land on the correct timecode point.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi,

I moved your post to the Ideas forum. Thanks for the post.

Cheers,
Kevin

[Stan Jones]

@Patrick_F_SSGrille,

I'm thinking scripting. And there are some tools that make this possible. But details matter, and my expertise is limited.

@Mathias Moehl What do you think?

Stan

[Patrick_F_SSGrille]

So I think I have a workaround for my situation, but seeing as how this is being thought of as a feature that sounds really better. Like if I could right click on a clip, and have an option to Insert into Timeline at Timecode, or Video In Point, that would be cool.

For my current issue, I have been able to sync the tomecode of the cameras pretty accurately. To the point that I can actually use the Multi Camera function to align it all to the Timecode. GoPros clocks are not true Timecode so there is some slop, but someone must be in the same boat and has a way to sync based on GPS clock, so I have been testing this morning to see if it just gets set the first time you do it, or at every hit the camera gets from a satellite. 

Getting closer to making this easier. Thanks all.

[Mathias Moehl]

I just created this little script and added it to the Community Library of Automation Blocks:

Sequence/Populate/Insert Selected Clips Into Active Sequence at Their In Point.xml

Does this Automation Blocks tool do what you need?

To use it:
Just save the attached  xml file and load it into Automation Blocks for Pr (you can test it with the free trial).
The select all clips you want to insert and run the tool. It will insert them into the active sequence.

[Patrick_F_SSGrille]

@Mathias Moehl I want to say thanks for creating this, looks like a very powerful tool for doing automations, I just don't have the time to install and give it a run down, hopefully some time this week. Just didn't want you to think I was ignoring the effort. Thanks.

[Mathias Moehl]

I am always happy to help -great to hear that you appreciate the effort, @Patrick_F_SSGrille  🙂