Clip/sequence flashing thumbnails in timeline makes editing impossible [major bug]

[jgerlachcm]

So I've been having this terrible issue recently where a whole bunch of clips have been flashing in the timeline. CPU usage starts to go up and Premiere becomes unresponsive, requiring a force close. As you can see in the GIF below, a certain subset of clips will sit there and flash (this recording is in realtime).

Flashing thumbnails in the timeline

The issues started with a multicam sequence. Whenever I would trim or edit the embedded multicam sequence, it would cause all the corresponding clips to start flashing like this. My last resort was to attempt to flatten the multicam sequence into the individual clips, but as you can see they're still stuck flashing even as non-nested clips.

I'm running the latest version of Premiere (23.6.0), I have the latest version of Windows 10 (22H2) and NVIDIA Studio drivers (536.99),

I've tried:

• resetting Premiere preferences
• clearing media/disk cache
• copying sequence into a new timeline
• importing the existing project into a brand new project
• Flattening the multicam sequence
• Changing thumbnail views from head only to continuous and back
• nothing seems to work.

Any ideas? This has pretty much caused my entire editing workflow to grind to a halt. And please don't tell me I need to uninstall and reinstall Premiere or the OS. 

Specs:

Core i8-10850K
64GB Ram
RTX 3090 Ti 24GB VRAM
2TB m.2 SSD OS drive
4TB m.2 SSD Media Drive

[RobShultz]

This is super weird and I'm sorry that you're going through this. Are all of the flashing files from the same file? (Same file name?) I'm wondering if it may be a corrupt clip.

[jgerlachcm]

Nope, the clips are totally fine. I'm using the same referenced clips as Broll shots in other sections. It only happens whenever it comes from a multicam sequence. It's reproducable too, if I go and create a new multicam sequence, get the cameras synced, then add that sequence to the timeline and make ANY edits (cut, trim, etc) then it starts flashing thumbnails for ALL the same referenced clips. And that's what's weird, if I flatten the multicam sequence into the original clips (going back to a non-nested sequence, direct edits with the underlying footage) then all the clips that came from the multicam will flash but the very same edit using the original source footage does not flash even though it's exactly the same. 

Everything was going great for a while but the further I edit, the more 'corrupt' it becomes. If I go back to a section of the edit that was working fine with no issues before and make an adjustment to an edit that I'd previously made with no issues, now all THOSE clips start flashing too.

I have no idea what to do. I'm currently trying to install older versions of Premiere and use the online downgrader to see if maybe this bug was introduced sometime recently. But then I lose all the very convenient speech transcribing that made editing so easy 😞 

[jgerlachcm]

Well, a little update. After trying all the 2023 versions of Premiere, when I got to Premiere 2022 (22.6.4) the problem went away. So there's some code or logic for Adobe to check on... apparently Multicam sequences in 2023 versions get some sort of bug where they attempt to continuously update thumbnails in the timeline even when the multicam sequence is flattened.

At least now I can continue to work... and I'll just try and get back to 2023 version whenever I finish the main edit. Missing the transcription features a lot though, that made editing so much easier. 😕 

[jgerlachcm]

So crazily enough... the part that's flashing here was the stuff I edited in Premiere 2022 (22.6.4) where I had absolutely ZERO issues doing a multicam sequence and cutting it together with no hiccups or problems whatsoever. After editing multicam, just for the heck of it I flattened the sequence, saved a copy of the project, then opened it in Premiere 2023 (23.6.0) where the very edit that had been created in multicam was now flashing right on project open. 

You can see my mouse highlight it, where it briefly stops flashing, but then starts right on flashing again. Can't play or make any changes to the timeline while it is flashing. I have to force quit Premiere then reopen. As soon as I make any edits to any (formerly) multicam sequence, that whole section will start flashing. It's got to be related to the clip itself but it's clearly not corrupted as it worked just fine in Premiere 2022.

ugh.

[jgerlachcm]

Morning update for anyone who is watching this... now it appears to be completely arbitrary as to what is flashing. I edited the audio from one clip (back in PP2023) and now not only are some parts of those clips flashing but now clips from a completely disconnected multicam sequence are flashing too. What's weird is that if you look at the timeline when I scroll, the blue clips to the right are from the same camera source as the ones flashing, but they're not flashing. And there are clips to the left completely disconnected from the source that I made an edit on (the steering wheel thumbnails) that are now flashing even though they were not edited in any way.

Is there anyone from @adobe that might be able to check in on this?

[akburrito]

I have the same problem and it has made Pr completely unusable. Completely. Adobe needs to address this NOW

[jgerlachcm]

Yep pretty much the only way I can work now is by downgrading using the online Premiere Pro project downgrader to PP2022, then editing a multicam sequence, then opening that project in PP2023 (for things like warp stabilizer that doesn't require pre-rendering and transcripts). As long as I don't touch any of the nested clips it'll work. But then the bug will kick back in and I'll have to rinse and repeat and downgrade again. It's a huge pain in the ass.

[BCSFF]

Yo! 

Been having the same issue here across multiple builds, also seems to only affect multicam. It happens on about 50% of the multicam projects I do. The fix is to close Premiere and open it back up, though sometimes just closing the project will do it I think.

I'm on 

Mac Studio

Apple M2 Max

64GB Ram

Sonoma 14.2.1
Premiere 24.2.1

[ilivedinvegas]

Same issue here. I think you're onto something by noticing it's created through multicam clips. I've found using v22.2.0 is the only way I've been able to solve this.

I recently updated to v24.5 thinking it'd hopefully have a fix, but the problem still persists.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hello jgerlachcm,

I'm Kevin, a moderator here from the support team. I've seen this in the past sporadically, but sorry to hear that this bug is happening again to some people. May we have more details about your system and media so the team can assist you? See, How do I write a bug report?

If you are on PC and have not already updated your GPU studio driver, please try that. If on macOS, please try updating the OS. Sorry for the hassle.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

The team requires more info. The status of the bug report has been updated.

[BCSFF]

Hi Kevin,

FYI, here are my settings (dealing with this problem again currently)-

Issue may have something to do with timeline audio render, as everytime I have to restart PP, I have to re-render the audio waveform. Footage is multicam with 2 video/audio and 1 add'l audio

System:

Mac Studio

Apple M2 Max

64GB Ram

Sonoma 14.5
Premiere 24.5.0 (Build 57)

Footage:
MP4, 3840 × 2160

Codecs: Linear PCM, H.264

Color Profile: HD (1-1-1)

[BCSFF]

Forgot to mention is also seems to be triggered when using the multi-cam view in the progmra monitor

[BCSFF]

Hey! So I was just working in a session where all the multicam clip thumbnails were flickering, when I chose to "Delete All Render Files" for the project, and instantly the flickering stopped.

[ilivedinvegas]

Where is the option for "Delete All Render Files"? Is that different than "Delete Media Cache Files"? 

[BCSFF]

To delete all preview render files associated with the project, you can click 'Sequence' in the Premiere menu (top of the screen) and choose "Delete Render Files".

[BCSFF]

BTW I've since had this not work during later attempts.

"Delete Media Cache Files" is definitely different and is not project specific but I'm not really familar enough to be commenting on that

Sorry I keep forgetting to include info resulting in multiple replies! 

[BCSFF]

MAN! This is starting to get to me. I tried disabling all the audio tracks besides the one I'm using in the multicam clips, that sure helps preview render time but not this flashing thumbnail isue.
@Kevin-Monahan is there any news on this? What can I do to aide in fixing this? It is COMPLETELY interrupting my flow, having to close, restart, and then re-open my project. BTW it's not just that the thumbnails flash, but while the system apperas to be constnatly recalculating the thumbnails the play back tanks and becomes choppy. 

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hey @BCSFF,

Can you try a test in 25.1 Beta?

Thanks,
Kevin

[IanB_360]

The status of the bug report has been updated.

Ian