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Segment Mode Editing

Before we get into Segment mode editing we need to learn about relinking media in the event that our media becomes disconnected from our editing project.

Video Transcript:

To relink media: 

  1. I reopen my existing Premiere project
  2. If the Scratch Disk Settings dialogue window opens:
    1. I make sure my external Editing Drive is connected to my computer because the Editing Drive is where I’ve stored the media that Premiere is looking for. 
    2. I click the first ‘Browse’ button and navigate to the Premiere Media folder on my external hard drive, double-click to open it and click ‘Select Folder’. I repeat this action by clicking on each Browse button in the window. 
    3. I click ‘Ok’.
  3. Next, the Link Media dialogue window opens because our external Editing Drive wasn’t attached or we moved media from one location to another.
  4. In the dialogue window, I click on ‘Locate’ in the lower right corner.
  5. A file browser window opens and in the window on the left, I click on my external Editing Drive.
  6. In the window on the right I double-click on the folders LLL Media,  Demo Media and then Craft Making Media.
  7. Next, in the lower right of the dialogue window, I click on ‘Search’.

Premiere highlights a Clip that correlates to the media it is looking for. 

  1. I click ‘OK’ and the software links the media to all the Clips it can find.
  2. In some situations, Premiere may not automatically find all your media to relink. If at any time Premiere indicates that your media is offline, go to the File pulldown menu, select ‘Link Media’ and follow steps four to eight again to relink the remaining offline media.

This process underscores the importance of being organized and keeping a backup log of where you backup your editing projects and media.

Now you try it. 

  1. If you haven’t already done so, disconnect your external Editing Drive from your computer and open your Editing Exercises Premiere project. 
  2. Then, connect your external Editing Drive and link the media following the steps outlined above.

Once you’ve successfully linked the media, return here to continue.

Segment mode editing is a technique that we use to move and rearrange Clips that are already in a Sequence.

In the Three-point Editing module, we completed an assembly of Mr. Poole’s craft-making activity. As emphasized earlier, the first Assemble should be a rough edit that effectively communicates the Scene’s contribution to the overall story. In this case, the Scene showcases Mr. Poole working on his craft project, with the goal of illustrating how people with mental disabilities can live independently and manage their basic needs.

In the normal course of our recommended editing process we would not refine this Scene any further until all the film’s Scenes are assembled and strung together in a rough narrative structure. We will go into detail about this recommended editing process in future modules. 

We’re introducing you to Segment and Trim Editing tools at this time because it’s best for the logical flow demanded by the training curriculum. But it’s important to know that an experienced and efficient editor may not use these refining tools to any great extent until later in the editing process.

Video Transcript:

Before I make any changes to this Assemble Sequence, it’s a good idea to save this version as a reference. To do so:

  1. I right-click on my Assemble 1 – Craft Making Sequence in the project panel and select ‘Duplicate’, towards the top of the pop-up menu. 
  2. This action creates a copy of the Sequence, which I then re-name as “Assemble 2 – Craft Making.”
  3. Next, I double-click on this new Sequence to open it.
  4. Finally, I close the Assemble 1 – Craft Making Sequence in the Timeline by clicking the ‘x’ next to its name.  

Now let’s use Segment mode editing tools to rearrange Clips within the Sequence. 

  1. To review the Sequence I drag the blue Playhead line to the beginning and press Play.

One issue is that the second to last Shot – the Medium Shot (MS) of Mr. Poole through the screen of his front door – feels redundant. To remove this Shot: 

  1. I use the Selection tool to click and highlight the Shot in the Sequence. 
  2. I press the Delete key on the keyboard. 

This action removes the Shot but leaves a gap in the Sequence. 

  1. To remove the gap I can right-click on it and select ‘Ripple Delete.’

But I want to remove the Shot and close the gap in one step.

  1. I ‘Undo’ twice to revert to my original Sequence. 
  2. I select the Shot again. This time I press and hold down the Shift key and press Delete. 

This “Ripple Delete” command removes the Shot and shifts the “downstream” Shot “up” the timeline to fill the gap.

If you haven’t already done so, duplicate your initial Assemble Sequence, and rename the copy “Assemble 2 – Craft Making.” Then, follow the steps above to remove the second to last Shot from the Sequence. Join me back here when you’re done.

Video Transcript:

Now let’s learn how to ‘Lift’ or ‘Extract’ a portion of a Shot or Sequence, from an In-point to an Out-point. To demonstrate, I’m going to remove the portion of the first Shot in which Mr. Poole sits down. 

  1. I drag the blue Playhead line to the beginning of the Timeline.
  2. I mark an In-point.
  3. I use the JKL keys to find the ‘Out-point’. I want Mr. Poole fully seated and beginning an action. Let’s try stopping at the Playhead position 00:00:02:12 which can be seen in the blue numbers in the Program monitor and Timeline. 
  4. I press the ‘O’ key to set the Out-point.

Now I have the option to use either the Lift or Extract tools beneath the Program monitor. 

  1. I click the Lift tool. 
  2. To better see what happened, I activate the Timeline and press the + key to zoom-in.

The Lift tool removed the selected portion of the Shot but left a gap in the Sequence. This isn’t what I wanted.

  1. I Undo the edit by pressing Ctrl-Z. 
  2. Now I click the Extract tool. 

Extract removed the marked portion of the Shot and rippled the rest of the Shots up the Timeline to close the gap. 

  1. Let’s see how the Shot looks now by pressing Play.

The keyboard shortcuts for Lift and Extract are the semicolon and quote keys on the keyboard, conveniently located to the right of the JKL keys.

Try using the Lift and Extract tools to remove a portion of the first Shot so that your Assemble 2 looks exactly like mine. When done, join me back here.

Video Transcript:

With Segment mode editing, I can also rearrange Shots within my Sequence.

  1. I use the bar under the Timeline to zoom-out until I can see the whole Sequence. 
  2. Let’s watch our current Sequence.

I have the idea that the detail Shot through the screen window could be a very interesting way to start the Scene. I think it will put the viewer in the position of wondering what they are looking at and what is going on, but without creating confusion. 

  1. To move it, I click on the Shot with the Selection tool and drag it to the left.

As I move it a downward blue arrow icon appears, indicating I’m in ‘Lift-and-Overwrite’ mode. The Shot snaps-to each transition point, indicated by the white marks. 

  1. I drag the Clip to the beginning of the Sequence, snap it to the transition and drop it. 

This action lifted the Shot from the Sequence, where it left a gap, and then overwrote a portion of the Shot in the location where it was dropped. 

  1. Let’s take a look.

I’ve lost a lot of the first Shot which is not what I wanted to do.

  1. I Undo.
  2. This time I select the Shot and while I’m dragging it I hold down both the ‘Ctrl’ and ‘Alt’ keys. The icon now changes to a blue arrow pointing right and then wrapping around to the left, indicating that I’m in ‘Extract-and-Insert’ mode. I drag the Shot until it snaps to the beginning of the Sequence and drop it. 

The Shot was extracted from its original position and the gap closed. It was then inserted at the beginning, and the rest of the Shots were rippled down the Sequence.

Let’s wrap up this module by reviewing the Segment mode changes we’ve made.

We’ve used Three-point and Segment mode editing to construct and refine a Scene with a solid visual story. With that done, it now makes sense to fix the transitions, which we’ll learn how to do in an upcoming module about Trim tools.

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