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How clips work across projects in a Production

Productions in Premiere Pro operate under a model of clip referencing that is different from how clips work in other types of projects or collaboration models.

To understand this model of clip referencing, imagine a production simplified down to two projects: a Media Project containing clips and a Timeline Project containing a sequence with those clips in it.

Illustration of a production with two projects - Media project and a Timeline project
Illustration of a production with two projects - Media project and a Timeline project

When working in a production, as clips are edited from the Media Project and into the sequence in the Timeline Project, no new source clips (previously known as master clips) appear in the timeline project. If the media project has 100 clips and all of them are cut into the sequence, the timeline project still contains only one item – the sequence. The clips inside the sequence do not require a source clip to live in the same project. Instead, they refer back to the original source clips in the media project. As sequences are moved between projects in a production, no duplicate clips are created in the projects.

Clips in the Scene 01 project exist in the sequence in the Cuts project without duplicates
Clips in the Scene 01 project exist in the sequence in the Cuts project without duplicates

Note:

This clip referencing model only works inside a production. If two stand alone projects (not part of a production) are open like in the above scenario, Premiere Pro needs that a clip in a sequence requires a corresponding source clip somewhere in the project.

Drag and drop project items across projects in a Production

Use drag and drop in the Production panel to move clips and sequences between projects. Project items can be copied by holding down Cmd (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows) key while dragging the item onto an open project in the Production panel. 

When copying items, a plus sign will appear beside the cursor.
When copying items, a plus sign will appear beside the cursor.

Items that are moved or copied are dropped into the root level of the new project, and the corresponding project panel comes into focus.

Copy clips across projects in a Production

To create duplicate clips or sequences across projects in a Production:

  • Select the clip or sequence and click Edit > Duplicate. Then drag the duplicate clip or sequence to another project.
  • Copy and paste the sequence from one project to another.
  • Press Ctrl/Cmd and drag the item from one project to another in a Production.

Reveal clips in a Production

To find the source of a clip in a production, right-click a clip in the timeline, and choose Reveal In Project. Premiere Pro then locates the source clip in the Project panel and selects it. 

If the project file is not currently open, Premiere Pro opens the project and selects the clip. If the original source clip is no longer found in the project, Premiere Pro offers to scan other open projects to try to locate and reassociate the clips.

 If you are unable to locate the source clip, try reassociating the master clip by selecting Edit > Reassociate Source Clips. Then select a project file for Premiere Pro to find the missing source clip.

Using markers in a Production

Source clips can live in projects separate from sequences where they are used, so keep the following in mind when using markers:

  • If a project with source clips and a project with a sequence containing those clips are both open in read/write mode then adding a clip level marker to either clip instance causes the marker to appear on the other clip instance.
  • If a clip marker is added in a sequence but the project containing the source clip is not open in read/write mode, the marker exists only in the sequence. The next time both projects “see” each other (meaning they are both open read/write) the marker appears on the source clip and vice versa.

Using labels in a Production

When a source clip is cut into a sequence, it appears with the same label color it had in the project. From that point on, though, the label color is independent. If you change the label color in the sequence it does not change in the project, and vice versa. Multiple copies of the same clip in a sequence also do not update each other.

Using Source Clip effects in a Production

To add, modify, or remove source clip effects in a Production:

  1. Right click on a clip in the timeline and choose Reveal in Project to find the source clip and add, modify, or remove source clip effects.
  2. Open the original source clip project in a Read/Write state.

If you click on a clip in a sequence and view the Master tab in the Effects Control panel any source clip effects will be displayed but not able to be modified. The visual results of source clip effects will still always be shown in the Program Monitor. Using the Global FX Mute will bypass masterclip effects in the timeline. Right click on a clip in the timeline and choose Reveal in Project to find the master clip and add, modify, or remove masterclip effects.

Masterclip effect parameters cannot be edited from timeline clip instance

Using multi-camera source sequences in a Production

Multi-camera source sequences (multicams) are handled like ordinary source clips in a Production.

To modify a multicam:

  1. Change the state of the project containing the multicam clip to a Read/Write state. 
  2. Press Cmd/Ctrl + double click on a multicam clip to open the project containing the multicam and open it in the timeline.

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