Adding multiple clips using an automated process

To quickly assemble a rough cut of a project or add a sequence to an existing project, add multiple clips from a Project window bin to the Timeline using the Automate to Timeline command. Premiere uses an insert edit to add the clips. In A/B Editing mode, Premiere alternates the video clips between the Video 1A and Video 1B tracks and the audio clips between the Audio 1 and Audio 2 tracks. In Single-Track Editing mode, Premiere places all the video clips side by side on the Video 1 track and alternates the audio clips between Audio 1 and Audio 2 tracks. Premiere can also automatically add transitions. The Automate to Timeline command adds only the clips within the bin you are adding; it does not add other bins or the clips they contain that are within the bin you are adding.

In addition to using the Automate to Timeline command with a bin in the Project window, you can use it with the Storyboard window, which lets you organize clips by dragging them in the window. See Creating a storyboard.

Choosing Automate to Timeline displays the Automate to Timeline dialog box, which provides the following options:

Contents Specifies what part of the bin gets added to the Timeline. If you choose Whole Bin, all clips in the bin are added, regardless of whether you have selected clips. If you choose Selected Clips, only those clips you have selected are added.

Ordering Specifies the method used to determine the order of the clips when they are added to the Timeline. If you choose Sort Order, Premiere uses the sort order set in the list view of the Project window, regardless of which view is currently selected. (If you are working in the Storyboard window, Sort Order uses the order in which the clips appear in the window, from left to right and from top to bottom.) If you choose Selection Order, clips are added according to the order in which you selected them in the Project window.

Note: When the Project window is in Icon view, you can select clips by dragging a selection marquee around them. If you use this method to select clips and Ordering is set to Selection Order, Premiere will add the clips using the order in which they appear in the Project window.

Placement Specifies how clips are placed in the Timeline. If you choose Sequentially, clips are placed in sequence, alternating between the Video 1A and 1B tracks in A/B Editing mode, or side by side in Single-Track Editing mode, with the audio portions alternating between the Audio 1 and Audio 2 tracks. If you choose At Unnumbered Markers, clips are placed at unnumbered Timeline markers. Your choice for Placement determines which of the following options display in the Automate to Timeline dialog box.

Insert At Specifies where in the Timeline the first clip is added. You can choose to add clips at the beginning of the Timeline, at the current position of the edit line, or at the end of the Timeline.

Insufficient Material Specifies how Premiere handles the space between clips when clips are added based on markers and a clip's duration leaves a space between it and the next clip. Choose Fit to Fill to change the duration of the clip to fill the space between markers. Choose Leave Gap to leave the space blank. Insufficient Material is available only when At Unnumbered Markers is selected for Placement.

Clip Overlap Specifies the overlap between adjacent clips in the Timeline. You can set this option to either frames or seconds. The default value of this option is 15 frames. By typing a negative number, you can create a gap between adjacent clips. Clip Overlap is available only when Sequentially is selected for Placement.

Use Default Transition When selected, places the default transition (defined in the Transitions palette) in each overlap between the clips in the Video 1A and Video 1B tracks in A/B Editing mode, or between the clips on the Video 1 track in Single-Track Editing mode. This option is not available if Clip Overlap is set to 0. This option is selected by default. Use Default Transition is available only when Sequentially is selected for Placement.

Perform Audio Cross Fade When selected, creates an audio cross-fade between all overlapping audio clips on the Audio 1 and Audio 2 tracks. This option is not available if Clip Overlap is set to 0. This option is selected by default. Perform Audio Cross Fade is available only when Sequentially is selected for Placement.

Ignore Audio When selected, ignores the audio in clips selected to be automated to the timeline.

To add multiple clips to the Timeline:

1 Assemble the clips you want to add by dragging them into a bin in the Project window.

2 If you want to add only some of the clips in the Project window, select them either by shift-clicking them or by dragging a selection marquee around them in Icon View.

3 Choose Automate to Timeline from the Project window menu.

4 Choose the appropriate options in the Automate to Timeline dialog box and then click OK.

Editing Video > Editing a video program > Adding multiple clips using an automated process