Using named duplicate clips and unnamed instances of clips

You can use a clip multiple times in the Timeline. The original source clip is called a master clip, and each time you add the same master clip to the Timeline, you create a new instance of that master clip. Premiere automatically keeps track of each instance of a clip by numbering them in the Project window, but it doesn't list them. If you want a clip instance to be listed in the Project window, create a duplicate clip. A duplicate clip is useful when many or all of the scenes you want to use are in one long clip. Instead of capturing each scene separately and managing a number of different captured files, you can simply capture one long clip and create a named duplicate clip for each scene.

A master clip is a reference to an actual file on disk. An instance refers to the master clip in the project, so if you delete the master clip, its instances are also deleted. A duplicate clip is an independent copy of its master clip that refers directly to the source file on disk; if you delete the master clip, duplicate clips created from it remain in the project. Creating a duplicate clip doesn't create any new files on disk. Other than the differences described here, working with instances and duplicate clips is the same as working with a master clip.

When you double-click an instance or a duplicate clip in the Timeline, it appears in the Source view and is added to the Source view menu, which identifies each duplicate clip by name, and each instance by the timecode of its program In point (where the source In point appears in the program).

To create a duplicate clip:

1 In the Project window, select the clip for which you want to create a named duplicate clip.

2 To create a duplicate clip for just a portion of the master clip, double-click the clip to open it, and set the In point and Out points to define the frames you want to include in the duplicate clip. See Editing In and Out points.

3 Choose Edit > Duplicate Clip.

4 Name the duplicate clip and then choose a Location. If you have any Bin windows open, they will also appear in the Location menu along with the Project window.

5 Click OK. Premiere stores the new reference to the master clip in the window you specified.

You can also create a duplicate clip by copying a clip in a Project or Bin window and then pasting to any of those windows, or by dragging a clip from the Source view to the Project or Bin windows. If you choose to copy and paste the clip, you will not have a chance to name it until you paste it in its new location. Copying from or pasting to the Timeline creates the same effect as dragging to or from the Timeline--Premiere creates another instance of the clip, not a duplicate clip.

Editing Video > Using named duplicate clips and unnamed instances of clips