Creating subclips

A subclip is a section of a master (source) clip that you want to edit and manage separately in your project. You can use subclips to organize long media files.

You work with subclips in a Timeline panel as you do with master clips. Trimming and editing a subclip is constrained by its start and end points. However, you can set new In and Out points for a subclip, as long as they fall between the original In and Out points you set for the subclip when you create it from the master clip.

Subclips reference the master clip’s media file. If you delete a master clip or take it offline and keep its media on disk, the subclip and its instance remain online. If you take the original media off disk, the subclip and its instances go offline. If you relink a master clip, its subclips remain linked to the original media.

If you recapture or relink a subclip, it becomes a master clip, and all ties to the original media are broken. The recaptured media includes the subclip’s referenced portion of the media only. Any instances of the subclip are relinked to the recaptured media.

You cannot make the following types of clips into subclips:

  • Selections of multiple clips

  • Titles, still images, synthetic clips

  • Sequence clips

  • Grouped clips

To use a master clip and its subclips in another project, import the project that contains the clips.

Create a subclip from the Project panel

You can create a subclip from source clips or other subclips that are made up from a single media file.

  1. Double-click a clip in the Project panel to open it in the Source Monitor.
  2. In the Source Monitor, set In and Out points for the subclip. Either or both the In point and Out point must differ from the source clip In point and Out point.
  3. Do one of the following:

    • Choose Clip > Make Subclip, enter a name for the subclip, and click OK.

    • Ctrl-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Mac OS) the clip to the Project panel. Type a name for the subclip, and click OK.

    The subclip appears in the Project panel with a Subclip icon , , , . The icon varies depending on the media type.

  4. (Optional) To retain the original In and Out points in the master clip, reset them in the Source Monitor while previewing the master clip.
You can also convert a master clip into a subclip by selecting the source clip in the Project panel or Source Monitor, choosing Clip > Edit Subclip, and setting media start and end times for the subclip.

Create a subclip from a Timeline panel

You can create subclips from a Timeline panel.

 Do one of the following:

  • Ctrl-drag (Windows) or Command-drag (Mac OS) a clip instance from a sequence into an open bin in a Project panel. Type a name for the subclip, and click OK.

  • Right-click a clip instance in a sequence, and select Make Subclip. Type a name for the subclip, and click OK.

Adjust media start and end times of a subclip

  1. Select the subclip in the Project panel.
  2. Choose Clip > Edit Subclip.
  3. Edit the Subclip Start and End timecode fields.
Note: If you select an instance of a subclip in the Project panel, you cannot set new Start and End points that lie within the instance Start and End points. This limit prevents losing frames that are used in the sequence.

Convert a subclip to a master clip

  1. Select the subclip in the Project panel.
  2. Choose Clip > Edit Subclip.

    The converted clip retains the master clip start and end times that are listed in the Edit Subclip dialog box.

  3. Select Convert To Master Clip, and then click OK.