Multicamera Recording and Multitrack Postproduction.

Finishing a live broadcast and keeping only the PGM is the most convenient option, and also the most limited. That file tells the story the director broadcast, complete with cuts, graphics and hesitations; it does not show what really happened in the room. If the booth shot went out of focus just as the drop landed, the front camera moved, or the booth master arrived with its mix already crushed, the PGM gives you no way out.

That is why multicamera recording exists: to give postproduction real source material. The work begins before you press REC, with a signal architecture already chosen and tested, and ends weeks later with the aftermovie, social clips and an organised show archive. What follows is the complete workflow, from recording to delivery.

PGM, ISO and Multitrack Audio Recording

Before recording, decide which signals to capture and with which equipment, because everything else depends on that decision. PGM recording captures the programme as it leaves the switcher: it is your safety net, your continuity reference and the quickest source for publishing the next day. ISO recording captures one clean, unswitched signal per camera; it lets you redo a cut or recover a shot in the multicam edit.

Audio cannot be covered by the PGM’s embedded track alone. You need multitrack audio: the booth master, separate channels where the signal distribution allows, room ambience and presentation microphones on separate tracks. A well-planned multitrack makes a mediocre broadcast mix something you can correct.

Choosing the Recording Architecture

• Always record PGM, even if you trust the ISOs. It takes little disk space and saves programmes.
• Record ISOs from the cameras you intend to edit, rather than all of them out of habit.
• Assign one recorder to multitrack audio and another to video if your equipment allows it, so one failure does not take out both.
• Check space, write speed and temperature before the show; verify the files when it ends, rather than the next day.

Timecode and Synchronisation for Easier Editing

Timecode is the backbone of all postproduction. If every source shares a reference, with common timecode and, where applicable, genlock between cameras, synchronisation in editing is almost automatic. Otherwise, you will have to align shots manually and eventually accept offsets.

Choose a format and do not change it halfway through the show: the same frame rate, timecode mode and approach to clock time. If the recording system cannot receive external timecode, record a visible and audible synchronisation event at the start, such as a clap or a flash, and note the actual time. When reviewing the material, check drift between audio and video at the end of the set as well as the beginning. Video synchronisation: genlock, timecode and drift covers the basics of reference and drift.

Naming, Data Wrangling and Checksums

Naming is not an obsession: it lets you find something three months later. Define a convention before recording and follow it on every card and recorder: date, event name, camera or signal identifier and sequence number. Avoid spaces, accents and unusual characters; use hyphens and a structure that sorts alphabetically.

Data wrangling means copying, verifying and documenting. Copy each card to two separate destinations, count the files and verify them with checksums: an algorithm creates a fingerprint for each file that, when compared between source and copy, demonstrates that the data arrived intact. Without this verification, two copies are two assumptions.

Backups happen throughout the show, rather than at the end. Copy while the show continues, rotate media, and do not format any card until you have two verified copies and, if the project warrants it, a third outside the venue. Document what was copied, when and with what result on a sheet.

Proxies: Editing Without Fighting the Originals

Editing directly from camera originals is the quickest route to frustration. A proxy is a lightweight copy with the same timecode and naming structure, allowing you to move smoothly through the timeline. It is generated on import or in a preliminary process and replaced by the originals at the end, retaining the cuts.

Always use the same recipe: the same proxy codec, resolution and relative path to the originals. Document it if several people will handle the project. A poorly named proxy or one with different timecode breaks precisely what it was intended to fix.

Multicam Editing and Colour Matching

With the ISOs synchronised, multicam editing becomes mechanical: arrange all cameras as angles, activate multicamera mode and cut in real time against the programme. You recover the rhythm of the live show and can also improve the moments the director missed. This is where you decide whether the aftermovie has impact or simply repeats the PGM.

Colour matching comes next. Cameras never look identical: their white balance, exposure and response in shadows and highlights differ. Match exposure first, then balance, then contrast and saturation; leave the final look until the last step, once the edit is locked. Working on colour before locking the cut wastes effort.

Switching and directing: cut, mix, keyers and macros explains the directing criteria that determine which shots you will have available.

Audio Post: From Multitrack to the Final Mix

Audio post starts from the multitrack, rather than the broadcast master. Use the booth master as a reference, clean up the separate channels, adjust the room ambience to convey the venue, and check level consistency between sections. Correct residual offsets and check lip sync in shots with spoken presentation.

Do not chase an impossible level: aim for consistency between sections and protect the peaks. If you will publish on platforms, measure and adjust before exporting, and always keep an unlimited version as a backup for future re-edits.

Deliverables: Aftermovie, Social Clips and Show Archive

The aftermovie is the narrative piece: two to five minutes featuring the best moments, the audience and the shots the live broadcast could not show. Edit it from the ISOs, with the multitrack already mixed and the colour matched. Social clips come from the same project: vertical and horizontal formats, short cuts, a recognisable opening shot and audio that is intelligible on a phone.

The show archive closes the cycle. Keep PGM, ISOs, multitrack, the editing project, colour settings, graphics and a technical sheet documenting timecode, naming and codecs. Make two copies on different media, preferably keeping one away from the work location, and note the review date. If the material belongs to a client or an event involving third-party rights, check what you can publish before distributing it; operating a DJ broadcast: platforms, copyright, ISO recording and backup discusses this boundary.

Mistakes That Can Cost You the Postproduction

A quick review of the most expensive mistakes, all avoidable with a preliminary check:

• Recording only PGM and discovering during editing that no shot works.
• Mixing cards from different cameras on the same medium without separate folders.
• Formatting a card before verifying the second copy.
• Changing frame rate or timecode mode halfway through an event.
• Starting colour matching before locking the edit.
• Leaving the show archive without a technical sheet and with names nobody can interpret.

None of these mistakes can be fixed in postproduction; all can be avoided in the thirty minutes before the show.

Next Step

Once the material is recorded, verified and edited, the next bottleneck is human: who cuts, mixes, copies and verifies when the team is small? That allocation of responsibilities is explained in multicamera production team roles, the guide that closes this cluster.