Adobe Premiere Pro * Rearranging clips in a sequence

Move clips
Split or cut one or more clips with the Razor tool
Lift and paste frames
Extract and paste frames
Delete clips and close gaps simultaneously
Delete gaps between clips
Find gaps in sequences and tracks
Copy and paste at the playhead
Copy and paste clips by dragging in the Timeline (CS6)
Delete all clips on one track

Move clips

You can place clips in playback order to create a sequence in a Timeline panel. You can also change the order of clips once they are there, replace them, remove them, or insert additional clips.

Move clips in a Timeline panel

You can drag a clip and place it in an empty spot or snap it to another clip. You can also insert and overwrite clips that you move. Watch the translucent rectangle that represents the clip’s duration as you drag it. To move multiple clips, select a range of clips, or move a group of clips. A tool tip displays the amount of time moved as you drag. The window displays a negative number if you drag the clip toward the beginning of the sequence, and a positive number if toward the end.

Overwrite is the default mode and is indicated by the Overwrite icon when dragging clips. Pressing Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you drop a clip performs an insert edit. The Insert icon appears when you drag clips while pressing Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS).

By default, you can change the track location of either portion of a clip, audio or video, by dragging that portion. The other portion will remain in its original track. You can change this behavior, however, either by pressing Shift while you drag, or by dragging vertically across the bar that separates the video tracks from the audio tracks. When you drag a part of a clip vertically into a new track, it will snap to its original time location in the new track, if Snap is turned on.

Do one of the following:

To move the audio portion of a clip to a different track, drag the audio portion of the clip vertically to the destination audio track.
To move the video portion of a clip to a different track, drag the video portion of the clip vertically to the destination video track.
To move the video portion of a clip to Video 1 and move the audio portion to a different audio track, drag the video portion downward past the bar separating video and audio tracks. The video portion will remain in Video 1 while the audio portion will land in the audio track where you drop it.
To move the audio portion of a clip to Audio 1 and move the video portion to a different video track, drag the audio portion upward past the bar separating video and audio tracks. The audio portion will remain in Audio 1 while the video portion will land in the video track where you drop it.
To place the video and audio portions of a clip into tracks you specify, drag the video portion to the destination video track. Press and hold Shift. This will pin the video portion to the specified video track. Continue holding Shift and drag downward past the bar separating video and audio tracks. Release the mouse and release Shift when the audio portion of the clip lies over the destination audio track.
To overwrite other clips, drag one or more clips and drop them on the track where the other clips are located.
To move only one track of a linked clip, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and drag the part of the clip, audio or video, you want to move. You do not need to hold the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key after you initiate the edit. The video and audio will lose sync.
To insert, drag one or more clips, and press Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) as you release the mouse button and drop the clip or clips into a new location. Clips in all tracks to the right of the drop point shift to the right of the inserted clips. A gap remains in the track from which you move the inserted clips.

Move clips using the keypad

You can change the position of a clip in a sequence by typing the number of frames that you want to move.

Select the clip in the sequence.
Using your numeric keypad with Num Lock on, type + (plus) and the number of frames that you want to move the clip to the right, or type ‑ (minus) and the number of frames you want to move the clip to the left. Then, press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS).
If any gaps exist between clips, those gaps are filled first. Then, the selected clip overwrites adjacent clips by the remaining number of frames.

Move clips to a different track

Drag the audio portion or video portion of a clip up or down into the track you want. Only the portion of the clip you drag will move into a new track.

Note: When dragging audio, you can drop it into the next compatible track, or if one doesn’t exist (for example, if you are dragging stereo audio and only a mono track exists), a new one is created.

Rearrange clips in a Timeline panel

A useful variation of insert and overwrite edits in a Timeline panel is known as the rearrange edit. A rearrange edit extracts a clip and inserts it into its new location. However, only clips in the destination track are shifted; clips in other tracks are not affected. This technique lets you quickly change the order of clips in a sequence, a task that would otherwise require additional steps. When you perform a rearrange edit, the Rearrange icon appears.

Drag a clip; then press Ctrl+Alt (Windows) or Command+Option (Mac OS) as you drop it to a new location.

As you press Ctrl+Alt (Windows) or Command+Option (Mac OS), the Rearrange icon appears. Releasing the clip performs an insert edit that shifts clips in the destination tracks only.

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Split or cut one or more clips with the Razor tool

You can use the Razor tool to cut a clip into two clips, or to cut across clips in several tracks at once. Splitting a clip creates a new and separate instance of the original clip, and any linked clips. The resulting clips are full versions of the original clip, but with different In and Out points.

Do any of the following:

To split a single clip or linked clip, select the Razor tool , and click the point in the sequence where you want to split the clip.
To split only the audio or video portion of linked clips, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) with the Razor tool.
To split clips on targeted tracks, click the headers of the desired tracks to target them. Position the playhead where you want to split the clip or clips, and choose Sequence > Razor Tracks (called Add Edit in CS5.5 and later). Alternatively, press Ctrl+K (Windows), or Command+K (Mac OS).
To split clips on all except locked tracks, lock any track containing a clip that you don’t want to split. Choose Sequence > Razor All Tracks (called Add Edit to All Tracks in CS5.5 and later). Press Ctrl+Shift+K (Windows), or Command+Shift+K (Mac OS). You can also Shift-click with the Razor tool to split all tracks at the same point in a Timeline panel.

If you want to change effect settings over time, don’t split the clip; you can apply keyframes to a single clip instead.

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Lift and paste frames

You can remove or lift frames from a specified area of one or more tracks in a sequence, leaving a gap in their place. You specify the area with sequence In and Out points. If only a part of a clip appears between the sequence In and Out points, that part will be lifted from the sequence while the rest of the clip will remain. You can then paste the lifted frames anywhere in a sequence.

Use the controls in the Program Monitor to specify sequence In and Out points.
In the Timeline, click the headers of the tracks from which you want to lift frames to target them.
In the Program Monitor, click the Lift button .
The frames that are lifted are placed on the system clipboard.
Click the header of the track into which you want to paste the lifted frames to target it.
Move the playhead to the location where you want to paste the lifted frames.
Select Edit > Paste.

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Extract and paste frames

You can extract frames from a specified area of one or more tracks in a sequence, leaving no gap in their place. You specify the area with a sequence In Point and Out point. If only part of a clip appears between the sequence In point and Out point, Premiere Pro will extract only that part of the clip from the sequence, letting the rest of the clip remain. After extracting, you can paste the extracted frames anywhere in a sequence.

Use the controls in the Program Monitor to specify sequence In and Out points.
In the Timeline, click the headers of the tracks from which you want to extract frames to target them.
Click the Sync Lock boxes in the headers of all tracks you want to shift when the gap is closed. The clips in tracks where Sync Lock is disabled will not shift.
In the Program Monitor, click the Extract button .
The frames that are extracted are placed on the system clipboard.
Click the header of the track into which you want to paste the extracted frames to target it.
Move the playhead to the location where you want to paste the extracted frames.
Select Edit > Paste.

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Delete clips and close gaps simultaneously

When you delete a clip, you can close the gap it leaves behind at the same time. This is called a ripple delete.

In the sequence, select the clip or clips you want to delete. To select more than one clip, Shift-click the clips or drag a marquee over them.
Select Edit > Ripple Delete.

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Delete gaps between clips

When you delete space between clips in a Timeline, all clips in all unlocked tracks shift according to the duration of the gap. To prevent a track from shifting during a ripple delete (or any insert or extract edit), lock the track. Alternatively, turn off Sync Lock on those tracks that you don't want to shift.

In a Timeline, do one of the following:

Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) the gap between two clips, and choose Ripple Delete.
Select the gap between two clips, and choose Edit > Ripple Delete.
Select the gap between two clips, and press Delete.
To find more gaps in the sequence, see Find gaps in sequences and tracks.

If the ripple delete command fails, you may need to lock tracks that contain conflicting clips along the edit point.

To delete gaps between multiple clips, see this video tutorial by Ann Bens.

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Find gaps in sequences and tracks

You can find gaps of at least one frame in a sequence or a particular track of a sequence. Choose Sequence > Go To Gap and then choose one of the following options:

Next in Sequence: Finds the next gap to the right of the CTI that spans all tracks.
Previous in Sequence: Finds the next gap to the left of the CTI that spans all tracks.

When one or more tracks are targeted, you can also choose one of the following options:

Next in Track: Finds the next gap to the right of the CTI on the selected tracks.
Previous in Track: Finds the next gap to the left of the CTI on the selected tracks.

The CTI moves to the position of the next or previous gap. The zoom level of the Timeline does not change, even if the gap is not visible at the current magnification.

Note: Once Premiere Pro finds the last gap, choosing Next In Sequence, or Next in Track does nothing. Similarly, once Premiere Pro finds the first gap, choosing Previous In Sequence, or Previous in Track does nothing.

Franklin McMahon demonstrates a few features for preparing a movie for export and review, including the “go to gap” command in this video on the Layers Magazine website.

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Copy and paste at the playhead

You can copy and paste one or more clips at a time. The relative spacing (both horizontal spacing in time, and vertical spacing in tracks) of clips is maintained. You paste and paste insert copies of clips into tracks you first target, at any new playhead locations.

Select one or more clips in the sequence, and choose Edit > Copy.
Click one or more tracks you want to target in the track header area of a Timeline panel.
In the Timeline panel, position the playhead at the point in the sequence where you want to paste a copy of the clips.
Do one of the following:
- To overwrite the pasted clips, choose Edit > Paste.
- To insert the pasted clips, choose Edit > Paste Insert.
The clip or clips are pasted into the sequence, and the playhead jumps to the end of the pasted clip or clips.

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Copy and paste clips by dragging in the Timeline (CS6)

In Premiere Pro CS6, you can copy and paste clips by dragging them and holding down a modifier key to a different place in the Timeline.

To copy and paste clips to a new place in the Timeline, do the following:

Press the Alt (Windows), or Option (Mac OS) key.
Select one or more clips in the sequence, and then drag them to a new location in the Timeline. You can drag them horizontally or vertically.
After dropping the clips in a new location, they are duplicated.

When dragging clips with the Alt or Option key modifier in the Timeline, you can do the following:
- You can duplicate either the video or audio portion of clips if you Alt-click (Windows), or Option-click (Mac OS) the clips, and then drag them to a new place in the Timeline.
- You can hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac OS) as you are dragging to copy and paste clips to a new place in the Timeline.
- If a clip is already selected, clicking Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac OS) will no longer select the audio or video portion of a clip, the clip must be deselected first.

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Delete all clips on one track

Select the Track Select tool .
Do one of the following:
- To delete both the audio and video of linked clips, click the first clip in the track.
- To delete only one track’s clips and not the linked counterparts, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the track’s clips.
Press Delete.
Note: You can also delete a track along with everything it contains. See Work with tracks.