How to combine clips?

[JimHar]

In simpler video editors that I have used, you can split clips, and you can combine clips. In PE4 there is the split clip tool, but there does not seem to be any way to combine clips that have been split apart. I have searched thru all of the PE4 menus and thru all of the help and have seen no mention of how to combine clips back together. Does anyone know how this can be done?

[ATR]

JimHar

Are you working in the Sceneline View or the Timeline View?

If you are talking about grouping the pieces together so that they move as one, then
In Sceneline View, click on a clip in the filmstrip, hold down the Shift Key to select the remaining clips you want to group with it, and, when that is done, right click one of the clips and select Group from the pop up menu. Alternatively, you could use the Clip Menu at the top, followed by Group.
In the Timeline View, click on a clip in the Timeline, do the same as above.

In relation to your question, also check out the Clip Menu and its Link/Unlink Video Audio.

On the other hand, if you are talking about something more basic like splitting a video clip and not knowing what to do with the pieces that is another question. After splitting the original clip, you click and drag the pieces to the desired location.

Please let me know what category your question falls into so that we can channel you in the right direction.

ATR

[JimHar]

In the timeline, if you click on the little scissors it splits the clip at the current time indicator into two clips. Then you have two independent clips that you can drag around and do whatever you want with. But what if later you change your mind and want to combine the two clips back together into one clip, how do you do it? As I said, in another editor I played with, one could simply select two clips and press a button and they would become one clip. I hoped that PE4 would have the same function.

[ATR]

JimHar

The how to suggestion is already outlined in my previous response (works in Premiere Elements 4)....

To recap,
1. As you said, you split your clips, move them around, and decide that you want to put them together in whatever order you decided.
2. You highlight all the clips that you want to combine (put together so that they move as one). To do that, click one of the clips, then hold down the Shift key as you click on the remaining clips. Release the Shift Key.
3. Now with all the clips highlighted, right click any one of the clips and select Group from the pop menu.
4. Instead of the right click/Group, you could have done Clip Menu/Group.

Give this a try and, if any problems, please explain how this is not working for you. It should work, including Premiere Elements 4.

Some general sides notes:
1. To select all the clips on the Timeline, you could have gone to the Edit Menu and selected Select All.
2. To close gaps between the clips, right click the gap on the Timeline, followed by clicking on the pop up "Delete and Close Gap".

ATR

[JimHar]

Thanks for replying to me, I appreciate it, but you still haven't exactly answered my question. I get the impression from your answer and the Premiere Elements documentation that there is not any need to combine clips. In my naivete I started editing by just splitting clips and then deleting the parts I didn't want and moving them around. But editing in this way I can end up with a bunch of little slivers of clips that I would like to combine so it isn't so messy. Maybe it would be better to edit by using in and out points, but I haven't taken the time to learn how to do that yet. Also, when I was breaking up a very large .avi into smaller files so I could save them, at first I thought that I had to break it into clips and I made mistakes and couldn't put the clips back together, but then I found out about the work area bar, so it is not necessary to combine clips there either. So I guess the only reason I have to combine clips now is esthetic, and it is nice when you roll the cursor over a clip it tells you how long it is, whereas if they are separate clips I have to add up the times manually. Perhaps my idea of 'combining clips' is the same as moving the in and out points of the clips?

[ATR]

JimHar

We may not be focused in on the same thing yet, but let us give this a try.

First, you do not have to combine clips, but it often comes in handy for a variety of reasons, one example moving the clips all together. Certain instances you want clip "edges", one example adding transitions.

Be that as it may, there are many ways to approach editing clips. If it is not grouping/ungrouping clips or linking/unlinking clips that you are getting at, then maybe it is this. Are you basically "trimming" your clips with the Split Clip Tool and then want to get back the whole "as was"? If that is the case, then I would strongly urge you to check out the Help for "Trimming Clips" in the Timeline via double clicking the Media in the Media Panel and using the Preview Window for the In Out Points.

This route has an additional perk in that you can save you "trimmed clip" (aka subclip) to the Media Panel for later use. So, in the Media Panel you would still have your original untrimmed clip as well as the subclips that you generate along the way.

The basics of this subclip business is to drag the "trimmed section" in the Preview Window over to the Media area, fill in and OK the dialog box.

Then it can become a matter of picking and choosing what you want on the Timeline. All sorts of possibilities..., but let us see if you are getting closer to getting at the core of your question.

ATR

[bemuzic]

Hi, I am new to elements 4 and am also trying to join clips!....I have an animated gif of a spinning coin that I want to move from top to bottom of the screen.......I couldn't get it to loop ( please let me know if this is possibel!!!) so I copied and pasted it lots of times to make it as long as I wanted. However as it is lots of seperate clips I cannot move it like I could if it was one. If I group the clips the edit button is greyed out so I can't get to the motion bit!
(I have come up with the solution of exporting it as DVAVI and then importing it in again, but I have to do this with several gifs and the files are huge so this is not an ideal solution) help please!!!!

[ATR]

As you have worked around, looping in your situation is handled by copy/paste or just dragging again and again the media file to the Premiere Elements Timeline, so that the file(s) being dragged are positioned next to one another on the Timeline for a continuous Timeline that will give the appearance of looping.

In Premiere Elements itself you cannot loop the DVD-VIDEO end product. The workaround for that is suggested in the following link which may not be of immediate need:
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bc12b29

You are quite right. Grouped clips result in many gray outs for editing features and operations; whereas, that same group as a DV AVI does not pose the issue presented. But, it escapes me why you do not make your edits (Motion or otherwise) with individual clips and then group them.

As an aside, the DV AVI route is a frequently used route to “work with small pieces in large projects”.
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bbe608f

I will think about this some more, but these are my thoughts for now…..

ATR

[bemuzic]

hi, thanks for your thoughts....it sounds like what I am doing is the only option : -( just wanted to check that there wasn't a simple way to join the clips that I had missed.
The reason it would be easier than editing the motion in individual clips is this - If I want to move the coin from A to B over the course of a say minute, if it was one clip I could just set a keyframe at the start with the A postion, then set a keyframe at 1 min with the B position. If I had to do it with each clip (each spin of the coin is just 2 secs) I would have to move each of about 30 clips individually slightly futher down!!!!
I can imagine lots of situations where it would be useful to join clips so you could apply an effect all at once..it seems a shame to not be able to do this : -(

[ATR]

I do not know if I just read you correctly, but consider this:

Say you have 6 clips on the Premiere Elements Timeline (not grouped).

You go to one of the clips and apply an Effect (depends which Effect, but let us say Gaussian Blur)

With just this clip highlighted, then Edit Menu/Copy or right click clip and click on Copy.

Now using holding down the Shift Key, select all the other clips to which you want to apply this same Effect. Right click any one of those that you just highlighted, select and click on Paste Attributes.

You could always group the clips afterwards or am I missing the point of what you want the coins to look like? It did sound like you have experience with copy/paste, so I will rethink and see if I come up with anything else that would be worthwhile for your situation.

ATR

[bemuzic]

Hi, yes what you suggest would be fine for that type of effect, but wouldn't work for motion as the copied and pasted clips would all be in the same place as the 1st one!!!

[ATR]

I doubt that the opportunity might prove helpful in your situation, but...

You know that even if you have your clips "Grouped" and if you right click the group on the Timeline, there are two "motion options", namely Rotate to Right 90 degrees and Rotate to Left 90 degrees.

My vision of what you are doing is this: you have an animated gif of coins on the Timeline that you want to use and give the appearance of looping. So, you are copying/pasting copies for additions to the Timeline. You could just as easy drag the gif from the Media repeated times, but.... As ungrouped gif clips on the Timeline, you should be able to use Motion in Properties to move each animated gif (positioning and/or scaling and/or keyframing).

This is the part that I am not clear on. Why do you have to group the clips in the first place? They will still give the appearance of looping as long as they are side by side with no gaps.

I suspect that my problem is that I am not visualizing your operations on that Timeline. If my initial understanding is close, then at this point I think that your DV AVI workaround (as per FAQ) is the best way to go, primarily because it works for you. I know, time, but a workaround is not always a fast way.

Still thinking about this on my side,

ATR

[bemuzic]

the gif is of one coin spinning and by copying it lots of times it gives the apearance of looping and I don't need to join them for this part...BUT I the want to make the spinning coin look as though it is falling from the sky and off the bottom of the picture.....so at this point it is MUCH easier if it is one clip. I want to do this with several different coins so if I move each clip individually (which would end up as hundreds!!) I think I might go insane before the end of the project!!!.........I think my option of saving it as DV AVI and importing it again is not a bad idea...it has the advantage also that I can use the timestretch tool to drag it so that the coin will spin faster : -)