FAQ: What do I do when I see diagonal lines on clip(s) after moving media?

[Kevin-Monahan]

• When you have moved media from one computer or hard drive to another, one may see diagonal lines (sometimes referred to as "danger strips") on clips in the Timeline.
  • What does this mean and how do you fix this issue? Hopefully, this FAQ will help you solve this issue.

• What do the diagonal lines mean?
  • This means that Premiere Pro cannot locate associated media for the clip, even though the media might exist on your hard drive. Basically, the information for the clip required by Premiere Pro is missing, and Premiere Pro cannot find it.
• How did they get there?
  • When you see those tell-tale diagonal lines after moving media for a project, this means that clips are not carrying essential metadata (that information a clip requires) from one machine to the next.
  • Premiere Pro cannot locate the proper media if it does not have information, like timecode, that was associated with the clip on the original machine.
  • Premiere Pro throws up its virtual hands and says, "I have no idea how to display the media with no timecode information, so I'm giving you the danger stripes."
• Why didn't this just work without Timecode or other metadata? This worked before for me.
  • Moving media successfully can and should work very simply for standalone clips (like QuickTime or MXF wrapped clips) that are imported via File > Import or by dragging into the Project panel (or a bin inside the Project Panel).
  • If the clips require associated metadata from folders generated by the camera, you need to import footage slightly differently than you might be used to (via Media Browser—more on that process in a moment).
• Why do I have this issue with this camcorder media and not media from my DSLR?
  • If the clip came from a series of separate folders of metadata along with it captured by the camera during the shoot, then that metadata definitely needs to be carried along (sometimes called ingested) with the file.
  • The only way you should handle clips of that nature is to import them via Media Browser and not File > Import or by dragging into a bin. It is the only way to ensure that the metadata is attached to the clip.
  • Some DSLRs, like Canon, shoot standalone QuickTime clips, some DSLRs do not.
    • For standalone clips, metadata is automatically encapsulated with the clip and does not require special handling like other clips from certain camcorders.
    • Know ahead of time what kind of files your DSLR generates and if you need to ingest metadata folders with the clips or not.
• Can't I just import individual clips from folders containing clips from my camcorder and forget about the metadata folders?
  • You can, but the clips won't have all the metadata associated with them that was captured during the shoot, so that they can't be carried over from one computer without incidents like getting "danger strips."
  • If the metadata is not ingested, then Premiere Pro may have some trouble discerning clips from one another if they are moved from one system or hard drive to the next—especially if they have have the same name, and have similar timecode values.
• How do I fix the issue?
  • If the clips have diagonal lines, you must relink or replace the offending danger stripes clip with the original clip.
  •  
  • To do so, please try to first make the "danger stripes" clip in the timeline offline by first locating it in the bin.
  • If the clip is in the Timeline, right click (WIN), Ctrl Click (macOS) > Reveal in Project.
  • After locating the clip do the following:

1. Select it, and then choose File > Make Offline (important: choose to allow media files to remain on disk).
2. Choose File > Link Media
3. Deselect "Align Timecode"
4. Click the Locate button and locate (find) the original file.
5. Select the proper file and click OK.
6. Media is now relinked to the proper file. Danger stripes should no longer appear.

• Note: this process can be tedious, as each clip will need to be addressed individually.

We will leave this FAQ unlocked for now so that the community can weigh in if these steps helped them reconnect media properly, especially when moving a project to a new system and experiencing this confusing anomaly.

Let us know if we need to add any more info to make these steps more clear.

Thank you!

[Kevin-Monahan]

• User indicates that slipping the clip into place is something that can work.
• User indicates that importing the misaligned project into a new project, then relinking, can work.
• I indicate that making the clip offline and relinking the clip can work. Steps are in this post.

[Kevin-Monahan]

• It seems that some users get into this situation after updating a project from one version to the next.
  • Professional editors advise caution in this case: do not update complex projects from one version to the next, unless it cannot be avoided.
  • The editor's classic "rule of thumb" is to finish all projects in the same version the project was started in.
    • If this rule of thumb cannot be adhered to, try creating a project in the new version and then import the legacy project into it.
      • A bug fixed in 13.0.2 has surfaced in this workflow with MXF footage, particularly Sony footage.
      • Make sure you are importing to a 13.0.2 version project.
  • Another rule of thumb:
    • Begin only new projects in new versions of Premiere Pro.
  • An update to 13.1 has fixed this issue for a good number of users.

[Etoile888]

Hello, I am having the same issue. I upgraded to Premiere 14 but I need to open a file that I built in Premiere CC 2017.  Even after relinking all media I am getting diagonal lines in some of the clips. I have emptied my cache, restarted by computer and tried to import the old project into a new project. Eact time it needs to locate the media, it seems to find it, but certain clips still have these lines --  even though the status says online and they are in the same bin as all the other clips. Is there anything else I am not thinking of?

[Sergio Izquirrdo]

Still not working 😞  this is so frustrating, why upgrade then if you can not edit your previous projects... why you dont fix this in the next update? is there other option to fix it?  I have the latest premiere file and I can not load those clips even with all these suggestions

[Kevin-Monahan]

Sergio,

As I understand it, you have the "danger stripes" problem. What kind of camera were you using? Did you import via Media Browser? If you need to import via Media Browser and did not, then the metadata needed is not present when you moved that media. Do you think that's what happened?

Thanks,
Kevin

[Sergio Izquirrdo]

The clips are only from the sony alpha 7Riii camera... there are some clips of the same camera that does have the problem and some that doesn´t.  Thank you for replying

[dimitardrew]

exact same camera, exact same situation

[DMDI]

Here's how I fixed it:

Right-click on faulty media in sequence - Reveal in Project - Highlight the respective material in the project bin - right click to make the material offline - relink the material in the project bin to the correct source and viola, sequence looks yummy again.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Didn't I just write that? Ah, OK. I see I missed the steps on how to get from the clip in the Timeline to the corresponding clip in the Project panel. I'll tap on that step a little. Thank you!

Looks like I also missed out on on using a French expression and the word "yummy" too. 🙂

Kevin

[Plano_marina]

I've run into this problem a few times and usually making the media offline and relinking it would work, but this time it hasn't. I was working on a desktop with a slightly older version of premiere (14.something) and I brought all medias and project into a laptop with premiere 14.9, there was no need to update the project or anything. But some clips show the diagonal lines and nothing has worked so far, importing to another project, relinking from bin, downgrading my program, I didn't get the "slipping solution, but either way the in and out markers seem to be out of place on the source monitor.
I'm lost here and the clips have so much effects and changes applied to them that I wouldn't know how to just re do it.
They are from a Sony A7sII and now I'm working on a macbook pro 13' with the new apple chip

[DMDI]

My guess is you have multiple clips with the same title. The relinking needs to be handled in the project window.

dbhK

[Kevin-Monahan]

Did you ever solve this one, Plano?

Kevin

[NemoRoman]

Thanks for attending to this so frequently! I'm having the same issue as Plano—nope it didn't resolve the issue.

Here's a few more details:

1) When I right-click to "reveal in finder" Premier's able to execute the task. So, it would seem that Premier does still "know" where the file is.

2) The clip plays in the sequence, but it's not the in and out points I'd selected.

3) I haven't moved this project or its media around. What I've found—and can't make sense of—is the longer I go without opening a project the  more problems Premier has with it. It doesn't matter if there's been a software update between the last opening or not. It's as if Premier forgets and has to be reminded...it happens 99% of the time if it's been past a few weeks since the project was last open, possibly 100% of the time.

[dc-dc-dc]

Ich habe gestern ein Projekt geschnitten, es waren bereits aus unerklärlichen Gründen teilweise schraffierte Clips dabei. Ich habe diese Clips gekürzt, bis sie passten und damit 10 Stunden gearbeitet. Nachdem ich das projekt heute erneut geöffnet habe, ist alles durcheinander. Der entstandene Schaden beziffert sich aktuell auf ca. 10.000 EUR - Ich muss mit dem Projekt komplett neu beginnen, da von Anfang an einem korrupten Projekt gearbeitet wurde. Das gesamte Problem ergibt überhaupt keinen Sinn. Ich bin absolut enttäuscht.