Available number of tracks in Premiere Elements 2018

[Jeff930]

I am strongly considering purchasing Premiere Elements 2018.  I have some questions for which I cannot find answers to in the web site or users manual.

1.  How many available video/audio tracks are there?

2.  I believe I saw something about keying.  Is this "green screen"?  This is an available option?

3.  I have an older camcorder that records on DV tape, the small cassettes.  Will Premiere Elements 2018 import video from this?

4.  Regarding inserting transitions, is it necessary to put handles on clips before inserting a transition?  Or does Premiere Elements do this automatically?  I had video editing software that required putting handles on clips first.  The drove me crazy.

Thanks.

[Steve Grisetti · Accepted solution]

1. In Expert View, you can have up to 99 video and 99 audio tracks.

2. The PC version of Premiere Elements can do green screen and chroma key effects, while both the Mac and the PC version can use a tool called Videomerge, which does keying effects virtually automatically.

3. While Premiere Elements no longer includes tools for capturing tape-based video, video captured from a miniDV over a FireWire connection using a free program like WinDV is very much editable in Premiere Elements.

4. You do need to manually trim back your clips to allow for head and tail footage during transitions.

Before you buy, I'd very much recommend that you download the free trial of the program and give it a good test drive. Make sure that it works with your system and matches your workflow.

You may also benefit from watching my free 8 part Basic Training tutorials. This is for the last version of the program but the principles and the interface are virtually the same as for version 2019.

*** Basic Training for Premiere Elements 15 ***

[Jeff930]

Steve,

Thank you so much for taking the time and trouble to answer so thoroughly.  (Only 99 video and audio tracks?  Oh well.  I guess I can't use it, then.  Lol.)  By the way, I'm using an iMac, which means WinDV is out.  I think I can capture using either QuickTime or iMovie.  My camera has a FireWire 400 connection, but my iMac does not.  It has Thunderbolt ports.  I already have an adapter to convert FireWire 800 to Thunderbolt, so now I need an adapter to convert FireWire 400 to FireWire 800.

Rest assured I will check out your tutorials!

[Steve Grisetti]

Video captured by iMovie is also editable in Premiere Elements. However, getting to it is kind of tricky. iMovie sort of "hides" its captured video. But I've used it to capture miniDV in the past and, once I found the video, it worked just fine in Premiere Elements.

I'm not sure about using a FireWire/Thunderbolt adaptor. That may or may not work. Capture from tape-based video has really been kind of thrown to the curb, as far as PC and Mac manufacturers go.

It might be worth buying a cheap USB-connected digitizer. It's not as elegant as DV capture (for instance, you have to manually play your video and then turn on the software to capture to capture it rather than using the software to communicate directly with the camcorder). But iMovie should be able to capture of this device. And if not there's a program called LifeFlix available for $10 from the App Store that will.

Here's a digitizer that should work fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Capture-Easy-Link-Grabber-Digitizer-Converter/dp/B01MTJUV0A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF...

[Jeff930]

Thanks again, Steve. I just ordered that device from Amazon. One way or another, I’m going to make this work, and you’ve helped quite a bit. Thank you.

[Jeff930]

I've never used iMovie until now.  Version 10.1.9.  iMac Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015.  Running High Sierra, 10.13.5.

I hooked up my "old" miniDV tape camcorder to the iMac via a FireWire 400 cable that plugs into the camera, then an adapter with a FireWire 400 connector on one end and a FireWire 800 connector on the other end, then another adapter with a FireWire 800 connector on one end and a Thunderbolt connector on the other end, then this is what is plugged into the iMac.  I imported about 45 seconds of video with audio into iMovie.  I then used the "Share" function to export it to the iMac desktop in .mov format.  (There was no choice other than .mov.)  I double clicked the .mov file, which opened it in QuickTime Player.  It is unbelievably choppy, with lots and lots of audio dropouts.  It plays that way within iMovie, too.  It moves really speeded up in spots, then slows down.  Audio is very sporadic, in and out, mostly out.  The tape itself is fine; it plays excellent in the camcorder itself.  Plus I tried another tape with the same results.  Any ideas of what my problem is?  Of course, my ultimate goal is to edit in Premiere Elements, but I'm not having a lot of confidence at this point that I'll be able to use the camera  I have.

By the way, Lifeflix is $50 on the Mac app store.

I didn't yet use the device you suggested that I got from Amazon.  That device is for analog video, and miniDV is digital.

[Steve Grisetti]

The reason I suggested the USB device was because you said your computer didn't have a FireWire port. MiniDV is only captured transferred as is from camcorder to computer over a FireWire connection.

I'm not sure how your connection of FireWire-via-Thunderbolt is affecting the process. I've never done that nor have I ever exported from iMovie to create video to use in a Premiere Elements project. So it's hard to say where things are going south -- but I'd venture to guess that it's in the FireWire-Thunderbolt adaptor. Curse you MacIntosh for once again eliminating technology that worked fine and replacing it with advanced technology that won't interface with our old devices!

So the device I recommended will eliminate that issue. You won't get true DV as is from your miniDV, as you would over a FireWire connection. But it will allow you to capture the video as if it were high-quality analog -- and you'll at least be able to edit it in both iMovie and Premiere Elements.

Sorry about LifeFlix costing $50. It really did cost a lot less when I used it a couple of years ago!

[Jeff930]

Steve, once again, I am indebted to you for taking the time and effort to reply.  From everything I've read, there "shouldn't" be issues using the adapters/converters I'm trying, especially in the final adapter just before going into the computer: the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter.  Apple makes the one I have.  I am waiting for delivery on a cable that has a connector on one end that plugs into the camera, and FireWire 800 on the other end.  This will eliminate the 400 to 800 adapter.  But I saw a YouTube video where the guy did a hookup exactly like mine.  Yeah, I agree with your comment about Apple taking things away.  I believe they're the ones that developed FireWire, then the faster Thunderbolt.  So I guess it was a no-brainer for them to do away with FireWire.  That's why they sell the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter.

At any rate, I'm so disappointed that Premiere Elements has no way of importing from tape media.  But technology, like time, marches on, and tape is growing mold.  I would love to buy a new camcorder, but alas, I'm married, so...  (You know the expression "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission"?  In my case, I'm dead meat either way!)

But I haven't given up.

[Bill Sprague]

Jeff,

I'm married too!  In only a couple years, there has been a progression to very good video digital recorders that can be really cheap.  You may not need a new camcorder.  In fact, your phone might be enough.

For example, I was traveling in a caravan of RVers down the Pacific coast.  One woman set the goal of recording, editing and posting a YouTube using nothing but her phone.  It worked brilliantly. 

Bill

[Jeff930]

Bill, thanks for your reply. You bring up a very good point. In fact, it made me remember (not sure why I didn’t think of it before) that I can shoot video on my Nikon D5100 DSLR camera.  The video saves to an SD card.  As my camera can be set to frames per second when shooting in 1920x1080 mode, would I choose 30, 25, or 24?

[Bill Sprague]

Jeff930  wrote

.... would I choose 30, 25, or 24?

I would probably choose 30. 

[Jeff930]

Thanks, Bill.

[Jeff930]

Steve, the video grabber device worked.  Since my old camcorder is standard definition, will I really see a difference if the video captured with this device is analog and not digital?

[Steve Grisetti]

You should not see a noticeable difference in capture from the USB device and FireWire DV capture. They'll both give you standard definition digitized video.

[Jeff930]

Thanks, Steve.