Creating short mp4 files from 1 large mp4 file in Elements 15

[chuckp59]

Hi Folks,

I am looking to create a bunch short clips from a file that has 2 hours of material.  I was hoping I could just select the frames from start to finish and hit export or save as.  That does not appear to be the case.  What is the fastest way to do this?  Is there a better program than Elements for this?  Premiere Pro maybe?  Any help would be really appreciated.  I have 3 weeks to put this together for my son's upcoming wedding.

Thanks,

chuckp

[Bill Sprague]

Are you trying to make a bunch of separate, unique clip files that have to be played one at a time? 

Or, are you trying to make one video with all the new short clips playing sequentially? 

What is the playback method at the wedding?

Are all two hours in one continuous video?  And, where did it come from?

Premier Elements has great tools and methods for this.  I'm not aware of anything better.

Bill

[chuckp59]

Hi Bill,

I have old camcorder files that are mp2 based. I converted them today to MP4. Now I want to cut clips of my son from all the different files and eventually put them into one chronological file that I will loop. It looks like I can use the timeline option in elements and split out what I want. All the files are the same frame rate and size. 720x480. I don't need to upscale or do anything too clever.

Thanks,

chuckp

[Bill Sprague]

Chuck,

What I think you are saying that you want to do a standard editing job.  You open a project, import the video files, trim some, cut others and output the finished video.

I sense that you are asking because you don't do video editing often.   Video editing is different than other common computer functions.  It is not intuitive.  In fact if you use common computer habits of file management, you can create a mess.  If my guess is correct, you'll save a bunch of time and have a lot more fun if you do a little prep work. 

The best I can suggest is a short tutorial course that starts with part one here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xow2kWzMIPA&t=5s  There are 8 parts total. 

If I am wrong about your "beginner status", I apologize.  If that is the case, I don't understand the specific question. 

One not of caution, you say you want a looping end product.  The standard output from any editing software is an MP4 file.  There is not way to make them loop.  Looping depends on the player you use.

Good luck with your project!

Bill

[chuckp59 · Accepted solution]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the great support. Yes I am a rookie to video editing and I have been reading and watching training modules. I do plan to purchase a license of Elements and agree that it is what I need to complete my project. Thanks again.

chuckp

Thanks,

chuckp