Feature request: Automatic clip markers and improved pancake editing.

Report · Oct 05, 2023

When working on a video project, I often have at least a hundred B-roll clips, sometimes many more. I will often need to produce several videos from that B-roll, all on separate sequences. In this case, it is very difficult to keep track of which clips I have already used or not. More than that, I may often use several sections of a clip as different shots in a sequence(s). This is very difficult to keep track of, and a huge time waster.

This is the case with most projects that I work on, but as an (extreme) example, let's say I am working on a 10-minute horse video. I have 300 B-roll clips. It doesn't take long before every horse looks the same, and it is a nightmare trying to work out what I have already used.

The way that I look through all the B-roll clips is to put them into a separate sequence(s). I then load that sequence in the Source Monitor and select "Load Sequence in Timeline." This allows me to see the sequence in the timeline while it is still loaded in the Source Monitor. But I still have to keep track of what I have already used or not.

At the moment, I use the Excalibur plugin that automates functions in Premiere Pro. While I could do the following manually, it wouldn't be practical. What I do is every now and then I will select the B-roll clips in my sequence and use Excalibur to add clip markers to them. The markers span the section of the clip that is in the sequence. I can then quite easily visually see in my "B-roll" sequence which clips I have already used, and also which part of these clips I have used. This is an unbelievable help.

I would like to see this implemented into Premiere Pro, so it happens automatically. Maybe there could be an option to turn this on or off as well.

As a side note, I also think that the process of pancake editing (viewing the source sequence in the timeline) could be improved as well. Currently, it is slow and cumbersome to set up. Being able to simply right-click a sequence in a bin and select something like "Pancake edit with this sequence" (I know that's a bit awkwardly phrased) would be fantastic. Premiere Pro could then load the sequence in the Source Monitor, load it into the timeline, and display the timeline in a separate window from the main sequence. This would be a huge time saver.

Report · Oct 06, 2023

You can add a "used" field for the List view metadata columns ... does that do what you need? As then you can scan down the files checking for which have been used.

Your pancake suggestion would be a bit quicker, for sure. As it's now right-click/open sequence in Timeline, then grab the Sequence name in Timeline and drag up or down to create a new window for it. One step is always simpler than two. And preferable.

Report · Oct 06, 2023

That's true, you can use the 'Used' metadata column. But that doesn't allow you to visually scan through your B-roll to choose the next clip, as with pancake editing. It is more of a clinical way of editing. It also doesn't tell you which part of a clip that you have used. Some clips may only be 5 seconds long, while others could be minutes long, depending on the subject.