Copy short clip to produce longer video

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

My apologies if this has been answered before.  I searched the forum and couldn't find an answer to my specific query.

I am using Premiere Elements 2018.

This is a new experience for me.  I have some experience of audio editing but none whatsoever in video editing.

I have a short clip of my daughter riding a horse around a small paddock.  It lasts just over a minute.  I would like to edit it so that it fits a favourite song of hers which is just under three-and-a-half minutes long.

How would I do this, please?

Specifically, how do I merge clips together, and in such a way that the cut/join is leat apparent?

Thank you for taking the time to read my question.

[Steve Grisetti]

What your describing is video editing, Gary. Which is what the program is all about, of course.

You might want to start with my free 8 part Basic Training tutorials for the program.

*** Premiere Elements Basic Training ***

Then, if you've a specific question about how to do something, we'll be glad to help.

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

Thank you very much for the quick reply, Steve.  I downloaded and watched your videos - they are very informative but, alas, do not specifically address my particular issue.

I am attempting to seemlessly extend short video clips to two or three times their original length.  I am hoping to avoid obvious transitions.

I am a long time Cubase user.  I accept that audio files are far less complex beasts, yet I am frustrated at the difficulty I am experiencing with the entry level edition of Premiere.

I am currently using the trial version of Premiere and Photoshop Elements.  I have ordered the full versions but they won't be delivered until Wednesday of next week.

I am also running the trials on my laptop, which only has 8GB of RAM, and perhaps more worryingly, has integrated graphics.  The full versions will be installed on my desktop, which is a much beefier beast.

I include a short video of my attempt to run a short video clip, taken with the trial version of Camtasia.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIAJpRu3gAY)

As you can see, I was bang out of luck getting anything done.  I'm thinking that I'm irretrievably stupid.  Which is where I cry uncle, lay down across the train track, and in my best Penelope Pitstop voice, cry "Hay-ulp!!"

I see from some Youtube videos that Premiere Pro has a crossfade feature that is not to dissimilar to those I'm used to using in Cubase.  I think that it may be called (it's late and I'm tired)  "Wobble."  Does Elements have something similar?

Thanks again, Steve.  I appreciate your assistance more than I can say.

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm sorry, Gary. But I really don't know what you mean by "I am attempting to seemlessly extend short video clips to two or three times their original length."

How do you make short clips three times their original length?

Are you asking how to produce slow motion video?

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

Sorry for the confusion, Steve.

Not show motion, no. 

I am looking to take a, say 30 second, video, and copy it two or three times, then append the copies to the end of the original clip, so that I now have a 90 second looped video.

I can see how to trim clips to best fit that loop.  I just don't see how I can combine the three clips without obvious transitions.  Something similar to the cross dissolve transition effect in Premiere Pro. 

Essentially, I'm looking to combine multiple clips in the timeline using smooth transition effects. 

I'm looking to avoid obvious jump cuts.

[Steve Grisetti]

That's easy! You just drag the clip from Project Assets to the timeline three times.

And, of course, you can add a cross dissolve transition between the clips if you'd like.

I'm not sure there's a way to match the action at the end of one clip to the action at the beginning of another, if that's what you're trying to do though. Not unless your video is of continuous action that ends at the same spot it begins (like someone doing the twist). Not unless you want to play the clip forward and then play it in reverse or something like that.

Can you post a sample of the clip you're trying to work with to YouTube or Vimeo and then post a link to the video here? Maybe if we could see what you're working with we could suggest a solution.

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

Thanks, Steve.  Here's an example of the type of video I have in mind.  20180721 124637 - YouTube

A short clip running about 30 seconds in length.

When I copy it into the timeline in Premiere Elements, there is a noticable hiccup each time the new clip starts. 

I'm hoping to avoid that hiccup with a smooth transition from one clip to another, with the end result being a 90 second(ish) clip that combines all three into what looks like a 90 seond clip, not three 30 second clips strung together.

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

This is the 90 second clip that Elements produced using the cross dillolve feature.  Adobe Premiere Elements combined clips - YouTube

The joins are obvious, with momentary ghosting of the images.

I was hoping to avoid that.

It's easy to accomplish in Cubase Pro.

Maybe I'm asking too much of Premiere Elements?

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

My fingers continually betray me - cross dissolve.

[Steve Grisetti]

Well, unless you can figure out a way to make sure everything and every splash of water is in exactly the same spot at the end of the clip as it is in the beginning, I don't know any way NOT to have at least a slight jump cut.

How are you able to avoid this in Cubase?

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

Depending on the source material, it can be very simple in Cubase.  Say, for instance, that we extracted the audio from my flowing water video.  We would set up the section where we plan to make the split and loop a few seconds either side of it.  Then we would listen out for repeated high or low points in the loop.  The wav file graphic would help in determining the appropriate points.  We would then expand the wav file graphic to choose the two points that matched best and split the clip at those two points.  We would then delete the midsection and join the two remaining clips.  The crossfade is best kept in the low milliseconds.

For a musical piece recorded to a click track, our ears and the grid would help us in our choice.  For non click recordings, our ears would be the best judge.  But the process would essentially be the same.

With regard to matching organic video clips, nothing is perfect but I would have thought that it would be within the capabilities of the editing software to accomplish this simple task?

I don't wish to denigrate the obvious skills of movie editors but they have accomplished far greater things with blades and sticky tape.  And not always with Scooby Do transitions.

Anyway, I have taken up far too much of your time already.  I appreciate your speedy and helpful replies, and will now take myself off to experiment with the software.  Hello Cubase 6.0 again? 

Thanks, Steve.

[Steve Grisetti]

I don't know any video editing software in the world that can make the end of a clip of a waterfall match the beginning of the clip so that the cut between one clip and another is not visible. How is that possible without creating the water with CGI?

If you've got software that can do it, you should definitely stick with it. Maybe Cubase can do things I've never seen before. Though I thought Cubase was sound editing software, not video.

I'd love to see your successful results! I'm all for my eating crow if you've got something I'm not aware of.

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

Cubase is indeed audio only.

Perhaps the endless flow of water over rocks is not the best example.  Clouds, though, would also be a challenge.  This young man, however, seems to have mastered this type of looping.  Seamless Loops - After Effects Tutorial - YouTube

In After Effects, however, alas.  The $25 pm for AE is not justified for my minimal needs.  It seems easy enough to accomplish, though.

I was hoping, in my ignorance of the features of Premiere Elements, that it could also do something similar.  Apparantly, I was wrong.  Never mind, I'll figure something out. 

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

Here's the clip extended to one minute.  1 minute extended clip - YouTube

I could've very easily gone twice as long.

It would look better without the watermark but is still passable.

Most of the problems I had were caused by the video being captured on my hand held phone - a tripod would have helped reduce the shake a lot. 

[GaryKnowsNuthin]

This is my final attempt at the extended clip.  It runs at just under 90 seconds.  It's a bit jittery, and a skilled user could most likely get rid of that.  But, for a four day vetern, it's not too bad.  Things can only get better.     Roll on next Wednesday.