Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0 [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Using nested sequences: Lesson 14-2

Nested sequences first appeared in Premiere Pro 1.0 and replaced something called virtual clips. Nested sequences are a huge improvement. I won't explain virtual clips; I'll only say that things could easily go wrong with them and they were confusing. Nested sequences are much easier to work with and are more effective.

A nested sequence is a sequence-in-a-sequence. You can break your project up into more manageable chunks by creating a project segment in one sequence and dragging that sequencewith all its clips, graphics, layers, multiple audio/video tracks and effectsinto another sequence. There it will look and behave like a single audio/video clip.

A prime use is to apply color correction to a long sequence with multiple edits. Instead of applying that effect to each clip in turn, you simply placenestthat sequence in another sequence and apply a single instance of that effect to it.

And if you want to change the effect parameters, you can do it in on one nested sequence clip rather than changing each individual clip within that original sequence.

Multiple uses for nested sequences

Nested sequences have other uses:

• Apply an effect or effects to a group of layered clips such as the Cross Dissolve you used on a nested sequence in Lesson 2-6. That saves having to apply effects to each layer, one at a time.

• Simplify editing by creating complex sequences separately. This helps you avoid running into conflicts and inadvertently shifting clips on a track that is far from your current work area.

• Reuse sequences, or use the same sequence but give it a different look each time.

• Organize your work, in the same way you might create sub-folders in the Project panel or in Windows Explorer. It avoids confusion and shortens editing time.

• Apply the Motion or other effects to un-Enabled clips or to effects switched off by the Echo effect. You'll do both in this lesson.

• Apply more than one transition between clips. You'll do that in this lesson.

• Build multiple picture-in-picture effects.

Enhancing three video effects using a nested sequence

In this section, I explain workarounds for three Premiere Pro video effects. All have issues that a nested sequence can address:

• Echo video effect This effect disables all effects applied above it (before it) in the Effect Controls panel. Frequently you want to apply some other effects before using Echo. For instance, you might want to use a key effect to remove a background and then apply Echo. But adding Echo switches off the key. A nested sequence resolves the problem.

• Texturize and Blend video effects You've already seen that these two effects work with another clip on a higher track in a sequence. You have to un-Enable the clip on the higher track to keep it from covering the clips below it. But switching off Enable means you can't put the textured or blended clip in motion or use other effects with it. A nested sequence fixes that.

Seeing how Echo behaves

Before you use a nested sequence, go through this mini-lesson to see why you need to use one. The purpose is to show you that when you run into roadblocks in Premiere Pro, there's usually a detour somewhere that will get you to your destination. And nested sequences frequently set you back on the correct road.

Note

You've already seen that the un-Enabled clips used with Texturize and Blend cannot have effects applied to them, so I won't have you go through the same kind of exercise to see that.

Using a Single Nested Sequence Clip for Three Effects

In this mini-lesson you will use only one nested sequence, adding clips to it as you work through the steps. The purpose is to show you that you can cut a nested sequence clip to use only a part of it.

Note

Depending on the Echo Operator (in this case Add), as you add echoes the clip can get brighter. My rule of thumb to keep the clip at its original overall brightness is to subtract one from the Number of Echoesand divide that into one (creating its reciprocal) to come up with a Starting Intensity. In this case 3-1=2 and 1÷2=.5 If you had 5 echoes the Starting Intensity would be .25.

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Note

The audio clips on the Audio 2 track are there by default. When you nest a sequence into another sequence, that nested sequence clip shows up as a linked A/V clip even if its original sequence has no audio.

Note

You can drag an effect to an un-Enabled clip and it'll show up in the Effect Controls panel, but the effect will not work.

Applying more than one transition at the same place

You cannot apply more than one transition to an edit point between two clips. But you can use a nested sequence to do something like it. I don't know that you'll run into this opportunity very often, but applying two transitions (or more if you want to put a nested sequence in a nested sequence) at the same point is a fun exercise.