Adding a clip to the Timeline

A clip in your project is not actually part of the final video program until you add it to the Timeline. When you do this, it appears in the Program view and in the Timeline, and the first frame of the clip is the In point that you set in the Source view. You can add or remove clips by clicking and dragging clips between windows or by using Monitor window controls. Dragging is a more visual method and depends heavily on using the mouse. Using the Monitor window controls emphasizes the keyboard and allows many edits to be performed entirely within the Monitor window. You can use either method at any time.

When you add clips to the Timeline by dragging, the clip is added to the track and time position where you drop it. However, when you add clips to the Timeline using Monitor window controls or by using the keyboard, Premiere cannot assume exactly how and where you want a clip to be added. In such a case, you must specify video and audio tracks in advance and, if desired, set In and Out points for the clip and/or the program.

Note: Depending on the relationship between your source clip and project settings, certain source frames may be omitted or repeated after the clip is added to the Timeline.

To add a clip by dragging:

1 Mark the In and Out points of the source clip. (See Marking and finding In and Out points.)

2 Drag the clip from the Source view to an unused spot in the desired Timeline video or audio track. If you drag a clip that contains both video and audio, and if both Take icons are enabled (see Specifying source and target tracks), Premiere automatically adds both the video and audio and starts them at the same time.

If you don't need to trim a clip or you don't want to trim it yet, drag it directly from a Project or Bin window to the Timeline.

Note: If you are building a rough cut and have expanded the Video 1 track, start by dragging clips into the Video 1A track. Use the Video 1B track as an alternate track, or B-roll, and use tracks Video 2 and above as superimpose tracks (see Customizing track views). Avoid using the Video 1A track to insert cutaways, or alternate footage, over the Video 1B track; instead, put cutaways in the appropriate superimpose track.

To add a track while adding a clip:

Drag a clip from the Project window or from the Source view in the Monitor window into the time ruler or into the blank space at the bottom of the Timeline window. Premiere adds either an audio track, video track, or both, depending on the content of the source clip.

To add a source clip using Monitor window controls:

1 Set up the Take Video and Take Audio icons and the target program tracks (see Specifying source and target tracks).

2 Mark the In and Out points of the source clip (see Marking and finding In and Out points).

3 Drag the program controller to the point in time where you want the source clip In point to begin playing. See Using Monitor window controllers.

4 Do one of the following:

For information about editing clips in the program, see Editing a clip that exists between other Timeline clips.

Note: By default, the Insert and Overlay buttons add a clip to the Timeline at the edit line. You can override this and specify the intended location of your clip by setting a program In point, a program Out point, or both. See Replacing program frames using a three- or four-point edit.

Editing Video > Editing a video program > Adding a clip to the Timeline