Roland is known mostly for its keyboards and professional musical instruments, but many (including me) may not know that they also have skin in the pro video market. But it came as something of a surprise that the company was aiming for the mobile filmmaking market with 4XCamera Maker, an iOS app that allows users to not only shoot and edit videos in 4K but also sync up with up to 3 other IOS devices while doing it.
Whether shooting a feature film, short film, or music video, the old axiom is true: time is money. The longer it takes to get coverage, the more its' going to cost you. The mobile filmmaking style is a step towards providing affordable ways to tell stories, but the next step is to provide multiple camera angles from the same video source. That's the promise of 4K, where you can take one shot and crop in to create another, then output in 1080p.
But what if you could wirelessly import multi-cam videos to provide any additional angles you need, and then sync them all to a master device for editing. That's what 4X Camera Maker aims to do, by giving filmmakers the ability to record from up to 3 additional devices, perfectly synced, and then transfer that footage to the master device.
Key Features
- Wirelessly connect and control up to three additional iOS devices to record multi-angle videos in one take.
- Edit your video directly from the screen of your device, adding transitions, split-screen, fade in/out and trimming.
- Manage your projects directly from the app.
- Full editing functionality available via a small in-app purchase or by connecting to Roland GO:MIXER or GO:MIXER PRO.
Credit: Roaland
With those multiple angles, 4XCamera Maker can then switch to a video editor to create split-screen layouts, transitions from clip to clip, fade ins and outs, as well as trim footage. Roland also states that users have up to 10 editing states, making for multiple projects and multiple tracks. The free version is a "lite model," but a $2.99 in-app purchase will unlock the apps complete editing functions. Users can also connect their devices to Roland's GoMixer line to sweeten the audio and add additional audio sources.
Roland isn't the first to delve into the realm of connecting multiple mobile devices and offering coverage. In fact, Switcher Studio has been doing it since they started their streaming service back in 2016. But then again, you have to pay a monthly fee for the multi-cam option. 4XCamera Maker does it all for free and tosses in a video editor for good measure. So, the price is certainly right.
The app works with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch and requires iOS 12.0 or later.
Available for download through the iOS app store.
Source: Roland
