Searching All Marker Comments in a Project

[stephaniej48198706]

Hi there, 

I'm using Premiere 13.1.4

I'm prepping a feature documentary and am logging footage so that we can find key things later in the edit. I've been using color coded markers on the source clips and putting descriptions/sound bites in the Marker Comments box (as opposed to naming the marker). 

From some initial searching, it looks like there's no way to be able to search through the ENTIRE project based on Marker Comments or Color? It looks like you can search the entire project based on Marker Name, however. I can obviously select a clip or sequence and search for marker descriptions that way, but I need a way to be able to search through the entire project with our 70+ hours of footage. 

The only work-arounds I can currently think of are the following:

1) Export marker data and build a spreadsheet to cross reference when searching marker comments

2) Go through and move all the marker comments to the "Marker Name" field

3) Make a timeline with all of the footage to use as a search tool... 

None of these options are ideal. Anyone else have any thoughts? Not sure why the Adobe engineers didn't build in a way to be able to search any type of metadata.. 

[Warren Heaton]

Have you tried the Metalogging workspace (Windows > Workspaces > Metalogging)?

You would type the text that you're looking for in the Filter Bin Content text field at the top of the Project panel or a Bin panel to fiter what is being displayed in those panels.  You can do this in any Workspace, but with the Matalogging Workspace, you have the Markers panel to show you your results as well as the Project/Bin panels as well as the Metadata panel.

You might also find the Create new Search Bin from Querry helpful.

[stephaniej48198706]

After some more reading, I've realized the ability to search marker text is related to whether the "write clip markers to xmp" option is selected in preferences. The search process is still not ideal; will probably have to buy a plugin

[R Neil Haugen]

Warren,

In Metalogging, if you type in say the text of a marker comment, it brings up the clip ... but of course, does NOT take you to where the marker is located on the clip. And doesn't seem to go to Sequence markers at all.

Very frustrating tryin to utilize what should be a good organizational tool.

[MyerPj]

Been struggling with this today. Mostly from what Neil says. My searches were not entirely successful, looking for clip marker inside multi-cam clips. After I quit and tried adding a marker in Prelude. Then back in PP and did find it, along with other ones added in PP but when they open in the markers panel, I can't understand why a double-click does not take you immediatly there?

[stephaniej48198706]

I'm going to ask my production company to buy a license to Power Search from Digital Anarchy. I just tested it out with their trial license-- it can search through the entire project for Marker names + descriptions. It works with Markers written to XMP and the markers that only live in the premiere project (Adobe has been calling these "clip markers"). It's frustrating that Adobe didn't have the foresight to build this into the software. What's the point of Metadata if you can't search through all possible fields?

[corwin.garber]

So f***n frustrating, to be entirely honest. I find it very hard not to be frustrated with the programers at Adobe, after we spend endless hours marking up our clip and then finding them untransferable to and from XMP and completely unsearchable is unwritten to XMP (Which is necessary if we are sharing the projects with editors using copys of the source media!) Maybe its time to take an AVID intensive course and say goodbye to premeire forever.

[corwin.garber]

Also, thank you for the Power Search from Digital Anarchy reccomondation. That may be the best quick solution intead of learning an entirely new program. 🙏🏼

[stephaniej48198706]

General update after a day of extensive reading: 

Premiere can write markers in two ways. You control the way Premiere writes markers by checking or unchecking the box that says "write clip markers to XMP" (under >preferences >media). NEITHER type of marker is searchable in the Metadata Panel or using Search Bins / Find Bins. 

"Clip" Markers (uncheck the "writes clip markers to xmp" box)

• are stored within the Premiere project file 
• What you should be using if you're sending project files back and forth and want the other person to be able to see your markers
• Not searchable in the Project Panel; the only way to search through these markers is to select a SINGLE clip or a sequence and search the term you're looking for in the Markers Panel 

"File" Markers (writes clip markers to xmp)

• Written onto the video file (so if you were to delete media out of a project and import it back in, the markers would still be there when you import the clip)
• You are able to search text within the markers (both name + comment fields) in the Project Panel BUT you must still click on each individual clip and then re-type the search term into the markers panel to get to that time code. 
• More ideal for people who are sharing clips BUT if you send the project file to someone working on a second, mirrored drive, they will NOT have access to any of your markers when they open one of your project files. 

[corwin.garber]

Exactly! Thank you for sharing this, this is precicely correct. 

[MyerPj]

Stephanie, thanks for helpful follow up.

To keep things extra clear, we should follow Adobe terminology. We are talking about Comment Markers per your original post. Adobe uses the terms "Clip Marker" and Sequence Marker".

These actually correspond to your explanation in a confusing way, perhaps you can edit those in line with this?

Sequence Markers

• are stored within the Premiere project file
• etc...

Clip Markers (writes clip markers to xmp)

• Written into the video file (or a 'sidecar' file)
• BTW: You can write a clip marker in the timeline if you select the CLIP before the Marker command (M key)

In MP4 file the markers are stored in the file itself, on some other formats the marker is stored into a 'sidecar' file next to the video file.

Cheers, thanks for the info

[stephaniej48198706]

Hey there! I'm not sure I fully understand what you're saying. The follow up is what I discovered about the two different ways Premiere can write markers directly onto clips, and how that affects your ability to search through the project for those markers. I'm not talking about talking about the difference between markers in sequences vs markers on source clips. This is about how Premiere stores the marker data on clips and does not apply to sequence markers since those exist only within the project anyways.

[stephaniej48198706]

From Adobe: 

"Adobe Premiere Pro Separates metadata in these sections:

Clip -- Displays properties for clip instances you select in the Project panel or Timeline panel. This metadata is stored in project files, so it appears only in Adobe Premiere Pro

File -- Displays properties for source files you select in the Project panel. This metadata is stored directly in the source files, so it appears in other applications, including Adobe Bridge"

https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/using/xmp-metadata.html#about_file_clip_and_project_xmp_metada...

[MyerPj]

Yes, now I see. You are talking about xmp metadata, and I'm talking about Comment Markers and thus the "Markers" tab on the main PP menu (next to Sequence). I've not been able to find the comment markers in the XMP data. We know clip markers are stored in the file or sidecar and sequence markers are stored in the Project. It would be great if we could do one predictable search and the markers and any metadata would be searched as one, and filtered more if need be.

You can enter a feature request or search for an existing one on the User Voice system which the Adobe Engineers monitor:

Here's one topic I found quickly, you can upvote it also:

https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/forums/911233-premiere-pro/suggestions/33840340-enhance-markers-pa...

Here's the main page where you can search for or enter a topic. Best to upvote a topic if you find one, as the number of requests for a feature get noticed by the PP team.

https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/forums/911233-premiere-pro

[piware]

Adobe, take note, because here how it SHOULD work.

1.  I mark up a bunch of media and sequences.

2.  I use the FIND command, then select MARKERS as a category and then type in the text I'm looking for like "hospital" or "b-roll" or "amazing".

3. Markers containing that text pop up in a find bin. 

4. When I double click one of those markers in the find bin, the clip or sequence is opened up and the playhead is smack dab on the marker.  Everyone's happy.

Please make this work.  It's such a simple and obvious workflow--Avid's had it down for years.  You guys are innovative enough, let's do this!

[MyerPj]

You posted for naught. The message above yours explains where you should post it and requests a link posted here so we can upvote it.

[piware]

Thanks for your response, I posted in those links you included!