How to alternate between two video clips in Premiere Pro CS6

Question

I have two long video clips on two different tracks in my timelines, both starting at the same time, and I would like to alternate between them (see a bit of track 1, then a bit of track 2, then track 1...).

The only way I can think of for now is to cut the track with the greatest number when I want to show the one below, but then I loose some data and it gets hard to change my edit points.

Is there any standard way of doing that (for instance make the track with the greatest number transparent...)?

Thanks

Answer 1

You can use the multi-camera feature in Premier to achieve this.

From Adobe's page:

To easily synchronize footage from all cameras, make sure each camera records a sync point using a clapper slate or other technique. Keep each camera recording to maintain synchronization. After you capture the footage in Premiere Pro, use the following workflow to edit the footage:

1. Add clips from multiple cameras to a sequence.

Stack the clips from each camera on separate tracks of a sequence. (See Add clips for multi-camera editing.)

2. Synchronize the clips in the sequence.

Mark the sync point with numbered clip markers, or reassign the sync point for each camera to a specific timecode. (See Synchronize clips.)

3. Create the multi-camera target sequence.

The final edits are made in a target sequence. You create the target sequence by nesting the sequence of synchronized clips into a new sequence. Then you enable the clip in the target sequence for multi-camera editing. (See Create a multi-camera target sequence.)

4. Record the multi-camera edits.

In the Multi-Camera Monitor, you can view the footage of all four cameras simultaneously and switch between cameras to choose footage for the final sequence. (See Record multi-camera edits.)

5. Adjust and refine edits.

You can rerecord the final sequence and substitute clips with footage from one of the other cameras. You can also edit the sequence like any other sequence—using the standard editing tools and techniques, adding effects, or compositing using multiple tracks. (See Rerecord multi-camera edits and Adjust multi-camera edits in a Timeline panel.)

If you like it more visually explained, take a look at this video:

Answer 2

I'm not sure I have the whole picture, but one way would be to add a third layer that acts as an external luma keyer -- when it's black, the top track will show, when it's white the bottom track shows.

Make a continuous black track the length of your clip pair, then just overlay white during the portions you want to switch to the other track. Easy to alter, and no chance of the clips getting out of sync.