Copying a Sequence using Premier Pro CC 2019

[NorfolkPete]

Hi there,

New'ish to using PP, been trying it out for a couple of weeks now. One thing that eludes me, how to copy a sequence I have made.

I understand that sequences have their own source and that simply copying one and pasting it only copying 'everything' so change a title in one will change it in another, this because they have the same source.

However I have watched various 'older' videos explaining work arounds, none using PP 2019. There surly must be a 'simple' way of copying a sequence, then changing the source without having to rebuild sequence after sequence.

I have one sequence I wish to reuse it 5 times in the same slideshow but with different titles and images.

Am I over complicating things or can't this be done?

Many thanks in advance, Pete

[Peru Bob]

Don't copy the sequence. Copy the contents of the sequence and paste into a new sequence.

[NorfolkPete]

Hi there,

Thanks very much for that. Hmmm I hadn't done that

Ok so am I doing this correctly?

I create a brand new sequence. I then go to the one I wish to copy, highlight all the contents, and paste into my new sequence?

I noticed that all the individual elements in the new were of the same names as original. SO I highlight all of these, hold ALT and drag above originals, this then renames them. I then delete the originals and I have new elements in a new sequence?

This 'seems' to work.

[MyerPj]

You can also simply right-click the sequence in the Project panel and select "Duplicate", might be a bit quicker...

[NorfolkPete]

HI MyerPj​

Thanks for that.

That duplicates the sequence and gives it a unique name however it duplicates the contents which are all the same name as the original, so I still need to duplicate these also so they are unique and I can edi them without changing the roiginals.

[MyerPj]

In the duplicated sequence I just changed a title and it didn't change in the source sequence. This is using the new Essential Graphics titles and not the old legacy title feature. Which are you using?

Also, you can click a clip or still image in the timeline and you can use the 'Replace with... from Bin' to change the various elements in the new sequence.

FWIW: I'm also able to drop in a picture to replace a picture in one sequence (copy) and it does not change in the original.

[NorfolkPete]

Hi MyerPj​

You said:
Essential Graphics titles and not the old legacy title feature

I'm using Legacy Titles, however I am aware of Essential Graphics titles so should prob give them a go.

The individual images in the old sequence have motion settings and I'm trying to maintain all settings.

Basically I have created a 8 second slideshow of images with various motion settings. So to be able to duplicate and reuse is what I'm after.

I'll check out the 'Replace with... from Bin' option shortly

[MyerPj]

I'll check out the 'Replace with... from Bin' option shortly

Yes, that will allow you to replace the original item with a new picture and keep the motion attributes.

[DigitalSpatula]

If you duplicate your sequence, then you can select all the titles in your new sequence and option drag them to a new track to create copies that have their own new source.

Steve

[NorfolkPete]

Hi Steve DigitalSpatula​

I had seen this mentioned in a YouTube video and did say a little earlier in my comments...

I noticed that all the individual elements in the new were of the same names as original. SO I highlight all of these, hold ALT and drag above originals, this then renames them. I then delete the originals and I have new elements in a new sequence?

What was key to all of this was what @Peru Bob said

Don't copy the sequence. Copy the contents of the sequence and paste into a new sequence.

Then MyerPj​ suggested

You can also simply right-click the sequence in the Project panel and select "Duplicate", might be a bit quicker...

So what I thought was near impossible has various options, these I'm testing now

[Carlos Ziade]

did you try to use a 'Pancake' timeline?

start a new sequence and drag the old one's timeline just below the new sequence timeline,

you will have 2 timelines above each other. Simply drag the content you want from one timeline to the other,

this will create new sources for whatever you drag, and you can edit them separately without affecting the originals.

you can even do that from one project to another since you can have more than one project open since premiere pro cc 2018.

[NorfolkPete]

Hi Carlos,

Ok never hear of 'Pancake' timeline'. Just watched a quick YouTube guide and it seems an option for sure, thank you for the suggestion.

I do have PP templates and often wish to use selected sequences from then to create 'new' versions with sequences from various templates...this to create unique options for me.

I guess 'Pancake' timelines' would mean copying sections from one timeline, onto a new one would be something I should consider trying?

Thanks again for your suggestion

[Carlos Ziade]

you are most welcome, im sure pancake timelines will help you a lot especially when customizing premiere pro templates

[NorfolkPete]

Good morning Carlos Ziade  

Using a 'Pancake' timeline sounds like the most useful to me and I'm giving this a try however...

I watched this video: Video Editing Quick Tip: Stack Timelines in Premiere Pro

And tried this, so I have Final sequence which is the template, and the Edit Master which is a new sequence.

If I take a scene from the Final and copy it to the Edit Master, this clip then has all the styles and motion I wish to take.

The issue is if I make a change to the Edit, it also changes the top one which I don't want.

What I am after is to create a unique set of sequences from a template, these I can then replicate time and time again and move in which ever order I wish.

Am I missing something at all?

Thank you, Pete

[Carlos Ziade]

Okay, the tutorial you shared shows you how to use 'Pancake Timelines' in a way that

allows you to make edits to your sequence (that shows on the program monitor)

by editing the sequence that you dragged to the source monitor.

When customizing templates the way you want, forget about that because you do not want

the changes to one sequence affecting the other. So, what you have to do, since you can

now open 2 projects in premiere pro, is to open the template, then open a new project where

you will have the final sequence. Stack the template's timeline under or above your new project's

timeline as pancake timelines, and start dragging from the template sequence to your new sequence.

This way you will have new copies to your new project sequence. Whatever you do with those

will not affect the template ones.

[MyerPj]

Hey Pete,

I don't think you are gaining anything with a 'pancake' edit. With that you can just copy the pieces over one by one instead of duplicating the sequence on time.

The replace with item in bin does what you want, you'd have to go to each element and point it to the new file. Plus of course change the Essential Graphic titles to new text. That 2nd part is regardless, no?

If you don't want to do any editing of the pictures in the timeline, (what we around here call editing) the only thing I can think of is a naming convention for your files. So, the template would hold: file1, file2, file3, etc.... then on disk you would have file1, file2, file3, etc....

So you could copy/rename the template/project in windows, then have the new set of files files1, 2, 3 etc... in the proper path in Windows and (probably deleting the PP cache) load it up and the'd all be there, just change the graphics and you are good to go.

mp

[Carlos Ziade]

MyerPj since you have the option to open more than 1 project on Premiere Pro, why neglect that and go for complicated file naming stuff. Let's make life easier and just open the premiere pro template as a project, then start a new project which should be the customization project. Stack those 2 timelines above each other, drag the sequences and pieces you would like to customize and simply drop them to the customization timeline. This will create duplicates of all what is dragged with all their assets and attributes as well.

Stating that you are not gaining anything from a 'Pancake' workflow comes from poor knowledge around that. Essential Graphics? you can simply drag and drop those as well in a couple of seconds and customize them. I didn't get your idea clearly.

[MyerPj]

Hey Carlos, I enjoy learning things from you. Thanks for that.

I thought the template is set how Pete likes it, and just want to insert different pictures into the various part of the template with the motion and graphics the same, save for the text of the graphics,

So, he needs different pictures and text, placed into the same motion/scale etc of the original project. So, basically he needs to rework that project and assign different media to the 'picture/video' clips on the original timeline and to modify the text of the graphics keeping them in the same position, motion scale, etc.

So he needs the original sequence. Simply duplicate / copy it, select it from a also open project. Then he needs to change the source of the clips. Replace with bin would work and so would moving the old assets out of the path and putting the new ones in there using the same file names.

I don't see how dragging on sequence piece one at a time pancake style is more efficient than duplicating the whole sequence at once (which is what he wants). Then either replacing the source reference with a new one in a bin, or having the files named similarly to those in the original timeline.

Carlos Ziade

[khomthepreditor]

So, he needs different pictures and text, placed into the same motion/scale etc of the original project. So, basically he needs to rework that project and assign different media to the 'picture/video' clips on the original timeline and to modify the text of the graphics keeping them in the same position, motion scale, etc.

So he needs the original sequence. Simply duplicate / copy it, select it from a also open project. Then he needs to change the source of the clips. Replace with bin would work and so would moving the old assets out of the path and putting the new ones in there using the same file names.

Having followed this thread from a third person perspective, THIS comment is the closest to solving NorfolkPete​'s conundrum. Pete, I also noticed in your response that you copy-pasted the Premiere Project file. MyerPj​ was talking about specifically duplicating the sequence within your project.

All that aside, I think a HUGE part of this that we're missing is if you're using nested sequences (what I believe you're calling "scenes")? Just looking in your timeline, they look like they're nested sequences, which are going to behave WAY different in Premiere than just raw footage/images would. Is that the case? If so, that may be another can of worms to open...

[Carlos Ziade]

khomthepreditor​ did you watch the video tutorial i prepared?

even with nested sequences, just a 1 second process of dragging and dropping

from one project's sequence to another will create the desired duplicates, and

when those are customized, the original ones of the template will remain intact.

using stacked timelines related to different projects creates a really wonderful workflow,

you can either drag and drop everything, you can drag and drop graphics, you can

drag and drop clips, nested sequences, all of the sequence, drag whatever you like.

its just the same procedure as importing sequences from another project or replacing bins

or whatever other mentioned procedure, but in a simpler and faster way!!! Since Premiere Pro 2018

we have the option of opening 2 or more projects, why not take advantage of that?

Watch the short video I prepared to get the idea please ...

[khomthepreditor]

Hey, I just got around to watching it. I was misunderstanding what you were saying. I thought you were pancaking timelines/sequences from the same project, but I now see how working in different projects allows you to make that copy super quick and easy! I've officially learned something today, so thank you for that

Also just editing this comment real quick to note that you said...

The pancake workflow works but you have to save as many projects as you want duplicated sequences...

Which was actually another thing I was going to add. It could be a pain to basically have one sequence per project, but then again since we can have multiple projects open simultaneously, it really shouldn't be an issue!

[Carlos Ziade]

yeah I can confirm that this sentence I stated 'The pancake workflow works but you have to save as many projects as you want duplicated sequences...'  is actually WRONG, you don't have to do that since you can drag from one project

sequence timeline to the project panel of another project and do this as many times as you like, creating as many duplicates

of the same sequence that you can edit independently without affecting the other duplicates. So you do not have to make

as many copies of the same project, the statement was out of so many replies and getting a bit lost in that, this happens

sometimes, but it was corrected in later posts ... so please follow my latest advises concerning pancake workflows... Thanks!

[khomthepreditor]

When you make multiple duplicates of a sequence by dragging it to the project panel of another project, does it create unique duplicates of the assets within that sequence for each copy you make? I'm wondering if you have a sequence in Project A that contains a title, you can drag that to Project B three times to make three unique sequences in Project B identical to the sequence in Project A, but do the titles in each of those three unique sequences point to the same title in the bin?

I may just end up poking around with this more myself, since the whole concept of copying sequences this way is totally new to me (having only used Project Manager in the past). Thanks again for teaching me something I didn't know that I didn't know

[Carlos Ziade]

Yeah this will create unique duplicates with their own unique assets, but, if you have nested sequences inside,

you have to drag those from the timeline to the project panel to create duplicates of them, because let's say

you have a nested text inside sequence 01, dragging sequence 01 to the project panel 3 times will create

3 duplicates of the sequence with all its assets, but the nested text inside will always point to the same source,

which is why you need to drag the nested text sequence 3 times as well to create 3 unique duplicates.

This applies to all nested sequences and not just nested text.

of course there willbe lots of people asking why you don't duplicate them from straight from the project panel,

you can, but doingso following this stacked timeline (pancake) workflow is easier for you to see everything clearly,

then drag and drop seamlessly in between projects, sequences and timelines...

You have to experiment, and let us know if you find better ways or something we do not know about,

we all learn from each other by the way, this is why such communities exist! Luckily ...

[Carlos Ziade]

premiere pro templates are already structured for a fast drag and drop process,

no need to replace anything or replace bins or whatever. you just need to drag and drop

your own assets into nested sequences which are image or text placeholders usually.

As far as I understood, the user wants to extend the template's capabilities, to add more

of those nested sequences, graphics, etc... using the pancake workflow is best and fastest

for this kind of work if you already have premiere pro cc 2018 and later ...

Please again check the workflow I shared in the prepared video to understand more ...

I only worked with a nested text layer, but it works the same for image/video placeholders,

which are nested sequences b the way ...