Splitting a clip problem

[Al Marotta]

I have video studio pro x 10. My problem is this: you split a clip in story board. You now have two clips, left and right.My expectation after having used IMovie 6 is that you can drag either the left or right clip back to the library window and that in the library window you would have two distinct--identifiable by names-- clips should you drag both clips there. But I find myself unable to move the left new clip out of storyboard, and when I drag the right split clip to the library window, judging from the time code on the clip, it isn't altered at all, it's the same length as the clip I split in storyboard.

If I've confused you, my question is: How, in story board, do you split a clip and remove either split clip at will, knowing that the original clip I've split is now smaller because of the splitting.
What might also help is if someone could tell me how to NAME clips. I know how to type in the name at the bottom of the clip, but how do you get clips to bear a relationship with each other, such as if I split the clip "Bowling" the two subsequent clips would say "Bowling 1" and bowling 2 and so on. I'm finding it very hard to edit looking at clips that just have time codes that all seem so similar to other clips.
Thank you,
Al

[Ken Berry]

The thing you have to remember is that in VS all the edits you make to a video in the timeline, up to the time you reach the Share stage, are virtual, not real. So when you make a cut in a clip in the timeline, the cut is not real at that stage. Even right clicking and deleting the part of the cut clip you don't want is also only virtual until such time as the Share stage renders the clip and the rest of the project into a new video or disc.

The original clip even remains as it was in its folder on your computer, uncut, even after the Share stage, and only the virtual cuts and edits are translated into the new video/disc by the Share stage.

Clear as mud, eh? But this at least is the explanation for why, when you try to drag part of the cut clip to the library, what appears in the library window has the same properties (and name) as the original uncut clip.

When you right click one of the parts of your cut clip, the dropdown menu gives you options, but the main ones in this discussion are Copy, Delete or Replace but no Rename. And that's it -- you can thus highlight the part you don't want and delete it from the timeline. But it doesn't achieve what you are after -- something in the library window.

For that in VS you have to highlight the part of the clip you want in the library and go to the File menu. There towards the bottom you will see "Save Trimmed Video". Click that and a progress bar will appear and soon a new -- and real! -- clip will appear in the library window. Moreover, this new clip should have the same name as the original clip, but importantly from your point of view, should have "-01" added to it, not a date and time. You can even do the same thing to the other part of the clip: File > Save Trimmed Video, and a new, real clip of that part appears in the library, this time with -02 added to the name. Then, with this or these new clips in the library, you can delete one or the other part from the timeline, but be able to re-use either of the new parts elsewhere in the project if you want.

More generally, though, the VS naming system is, frankly, clunky with its date/time inserts. But it has always been the case, and despite loud protests from users over the years, nothing much has changed. To change the name of existing clips, you have to resort to Windows 'Rename' or third party options which, when capturing, for instance, allow you to assign your own name to a particular sequence, and then each captured clip bears that name and a numerical sequence (001, 002, 003 etc) after it.

[lata]

Hi Al

Video Studio works with virtual clips, a thumbnail representing the file on the hard drive.

Library clips can have their name changed by clicking the text to select then type in a new name.
That does not re-name the file on the hard drive, just the library clip.
Right click any clip in the library or timeline and choose Locate on Computer can be quite useful in identifying the files.

Timeline View.
Again a virtual clip showing the name of the file on the hard drive, showing as a continual film.
Dragging a clip from the library will display the files name not the edited clip name.

Cut the clip using the scissors creates two virtual clips, both have the same name that cannot be changed, we can see the portion of the cut clip by viewing the white bar below the preview screen
Make two cuts and we have three clips, select each clip in turn to view the white bar indication the section.

Storyboard view shows the separate clips displaying the clip duration
When using Storyboard view I find the whit bar below the preview screen very useful.
You can also adjust the length of any clip, make it longer if you wish?

Any clip in storyboard or timeline view can be removed simply by pressing the keyboard delete,
Or a right click on any clip gives context menu also had a delete option.
Delete only removes the virtual clip and does not affect the file on the hard drive

[Ken Berry]

Thanks Trevor. I confess I had forgotten about highlighting a clip in the library window, then left clicking its name to select and change it.

[canuck]

But dragging the renamed thumbnail clip to the timeline, does not show the "new" name on the timeline but the original file name

[Ken Berry]

Well in fact no name is shown on the timeline or storyboard for any clip. However, you are correct in that right clicking on the clip and selecting Properties shows its original name and not what you have renamed it in the Library. But at least renaming clips in the Library achieves to a large extent what Al and others are after: a clearer way of choosing what they want from the library instead of first having to penetrate the rather impenetrable way VS names captured files.

[canuck]

THe storyboard panel shows the duration of the clip and the timeline shows the name of the original clip

[Al Marotta]

I would like to thank you people for prompt and what I hope will be helpful responses. I hope no one will hold it against me if, after trying to sort out what you've advised me, I come back in a couple of more weeks with more questions.

For the record, has anyone got a helpful system for keep track of clips, or should you just write down the time length of the clip and keep track of them that way? I hope you haven't told me all this in the posts up above; as I said, I need to slowly digest what you have written.

Many thanks,

Al Marotta

[canuck]

Al, why do you want to "add" the split clips to the library?

[Ken Berry]

THe storyboard panel shows the duration of the clip and the timeline shows the name of the original clip

Ah! Hadn't noticed that as I always have Thumbnail Only selected in Preferences > General. Otherwise you get the file name showing if you choose 'File name only' or 'Thumbnail and file name'...

For the record, has anyone got a helpful system for keep track of clips, or should you just write down the time length of the clip and keep track of them that way?

You'll probably get as many varied answers to this as there are users out there. First off, I'm not really sure what you achieve by writing down the time length of all the clips in your project. Once they are in the timeline I very rarely leave a clip at its original length anyway, always snipping off bits and pieces, usually at the beginning or the end. Or as in your original question, snipping a clip in half and deleting the part you don't want right then (or Saving Trimmed Video to use it later! )

I don't have a system as such. I merely create a new library for each project by clicking on the Add button up to the top left of the Library windows: see red arrow in attached image.

I give the new folder a name appropriate to the project. Then I put all the clips, titles, audio files and photos associated with that project in that new and otherwise empty library window. And I proceed to build the project from there. I acknowledge that when you have lots of clips etc in a project, it might be fairly easy to lose track of what you have already put in the timeline. But on the pretty rare occasions this has happened to me, I find that I can pretty quickly look at a clip or clips I am unsure about in the preview window. And that saves me time trying to work out a new and hopefully foolproof system for keeping track. For sure I'd spend more time writing down the time length of all the clips in the project than I would using my "method"!!

And once you have finished the project and are sure you won't want to use it again, you can right click on the Library folder and delete it. And being virtual, by doing so you are not deleting all the clips which are still on your computer wherever you originally stored them.

[Al Marotta]

Hi Gentle people,

Thanks again for your wonderful support.

Canuck has asked me "why do you want to "add" split clips in the library"? My answer is: I'm used to IMovie. In that program, you import sometimes big clips into a clips pane and then drag them to a timeline or story board and gradually split them and then return them to the clips pane to use when you want to. So when I split a clip in Corel, many times, I'm expecting to create a usable new clip every time I do which I will store in the clips pane (library window) until I need it. With thy divine help, I'm trying to figure out (I will work on it) why when you split a clip you can't just store away both parts of the clip with new names (but please don't get irritated with me----I haven't had time to fully digest your posts from the past couple of days---no need to repeat what you have written unless you have a revelation for me---that being the mere fact, maybe, that working with virtual clips is different from IMovie. But don't let me scare you off---I'm happy to get any sort of advice you can give me.)

Thanks again,
Al Marotta

[Ken Berry]

Al -- I've just deleted 4 copies of your last message. The Board has been very slow to respond at times over the past couple of days. But hitting the Submit button several times because your post has not appeared will not hurry it up, and only create many copies of your message.