Severing audio and video is a technique Premier Pro offers for syncing these two elements. This feature simplifies the process by which users could sever audio and video that have been captured separately—a technique frequently known as double-system recording. The Sever Audio and Video command allows you to choose a video clip and sync it with up to sixteen audio channels. Component clips are those clips used to create a severed clip.
How to Sever Audio and Video: Project Panel or Timeline
Group selection of clips allows them to be severed either on the Project panel or the Timeline. Either a contextual menu or the Clip menu allows one to call the Sever Audio and Video command. It is a contextual command hence more than one clip has to be chosen to activate it.
One or many audio clips may be severed into one single video or AV clip. Including any mix of mono, stereo, or surround 5.1 clips, the severed clip has 16 total audio tracks permissible. One mono clip is one track; one stereo counts as two; a 5.1 clip counts as six tracks.
Creating a severed clip does not replace or change the original clip(s).
How to Integrate Project Panel Clips
- Choose the video clip you want to sever audio and video for. Note that every severed clip may only include one video clip.
- To choose the audio-only clips you want to combine with the video clip, shift or control-click—that is, command-click for Mac OS.
- Use one of the following:
- Select Clip > Sever Audio and Video.
- Choose Sever Audio and Video from the shortcut menu after a right-click—Control-click for Mac OS.
The Sever Audio and Video Dialog Box Options for Synchronization
The Sever Audio and Video dialog box opens. Choose from the following for the point of synchronizing:
- Based on the In point: For finding sync based on the In point, at the slate's clap, for instance.
- Based on the Out point: For finding sync based on the Out point, say at the tail slate's clap.
- Matching Timecode: For identifying sync depending on similar timecode across the clips.
- Numbered Clip Marker: Using a numbered clip marker in the center of the shot, choose a sync point based on this. This feature is off unless every component clip has at least one numbered marking.
Click OK. Depending on current bin sort order, your severed clip will now show in the Project panel under a name corresponding to the video clip or, should there be no video, the top-most chosen audio clip. Appended to the name of the new severed clip at the end is "severed." Users might rename this item if needed.
Additional Notes:
- A video clip is not necessary for a severed clip; you may combine audio-only clips with other audio-only files.
- You have only one clip with video available.
Severing Clips on the Timeline Panel
Use the Timeline panel's severing clips feature to sever clips:
- After choosing the clips—should they not already be chosen—do one of the following:
- Pull the component clips into the Project panel.
- Choose Clip > Sever Audio and Video.
- The Sever Audio and Video dialog box opens. Click OK here. The Project section will show your severed clip right now.
For every component clip, severed clips on the Timeline synchronize from Clip Start. Use the synchronize feature before severing clips depending on Clip End, Timecode, or Numbered Marker.
Coordinate the Timeline Panel's Clips
Synchronizing clips aligns many clips in the Timeline panel. You may generate a severed clip after the clips have been synchronized.
- First, edit the clips into the Timeline panel.
- Then, do one of the following to synchronize them:
- Manually align the clips by dragging them until they line up.
- Sync the clips using Synchronize:
- Choose the clips you want to time.
- Opt for Clip > Synchronize.
- The Synchronize dialogue box opens. Select from the following choices the point of synchronization:
- Using the Clip Start
- With reference to the Clip End
- Dependent on matching timecode
- Using clip markers
Choose OK. Your clips are now synchronized.
Match Clips Using Linear Timecode
Native Linear Timecode (LTC) support lets you rapidly and precisely synchronize many video and audio inputs from devices encoding timecode in the audio output.
- Choose the clips you want to synchronize from the Project panel.
- Then go to Clip > Modify > Timecode. LTC, or selected linear timecode.
The Modify Clip dialog box is seen in the picture open with Linear Timecode (LTC) chosen. Linear Timecode allows you to rapidly sync several audio and video sources in Modify Clip.
Sorting Clips in a Series
Choose the clips in the order you want to synchronize. Then choose Clip > Synchronize.
Editing with Severed Clips
Dealing with severed clips is often somewhat similar to dealing with any other clip, but there are some interesting process variations.
Editing Severed Clips with Gaps in the Timeline
Severing clips influences their behavior while you're editing them into the timeline, especially if the clips have "gaps" in their component structure.
- When another component clip comes handy, Premiere Pro utilizes a track for the gap while you're adding the severed clip to the Timeline if an In or Out point marks a gap in the audio or video and another component clip is available above or below that gap.
- When there isn't a component clip accessible, audio and video may be mixed. There are areas in the severed clip where no other component clip fits in the gap.
If you have noted an In or Out point in a gap, you will be warned of an "Invalid edit." When you attempt to add the severed clip to the Timeline, none of the media existing in the specified In/Out range shows. Try dragging and dropping the severed clip into the Timeline to see the "no drop" symbol show.
Note: Black will cover any video gap. Unless another component audio clip exists on another track, silence will play during the audio gap.
Trimming Severed Clips
With the following exceptions, trimming severed clips is much like editing any other clip:
- Trimming maintains any offsets by applying the trim uniformly to component clips.
- Users may momentarily disrupt sync by pushing down the Alt/Option modulator to trim the border of a single component clip.
- Snapping happens at the ends of other components while cutting individual component clips.
Normal trimming guidelines apply; a severed clip may only be cut to the point where at least one frame remains in any of the component clips.
Severed Clips and the Metadata Panel
The info for every component clip is replicated into the info panel upon a severed clip creation. Displaying information for a severed clip calls for certain variations:
- Viewing Metadata: View the information of a single component clip. Choose a component clip from the File popup menu to display the metadata about it. The Metadata panel will show its entries.
- Entering Metadata: Metadata for a component clip or for the whole severed clip may be entered. Enter clip information after setting the File popup menu to the component clip you desire. Then input metadata for the severed clip after setting the File popup option to All Files.
Note: The All Files show as a multiple clip selection when the property values do not line up throughout the choice.
Sever Audio and Video Using Timecode Derived from an Audio Master Clip
Create a severed clip using the timecode from an audio master clip. When generating a severed clip, you may optionally decide to leave out the source camera audio.
- Choose the audio and video clips, including timecode.
- Select Clip > Sever Audio and Video.
- Do one of the following inside the Sever Audio and Video dialog box:
- Select the "Use Audio Timecode from Clip" check box to sever clips using timecode from an audio master clip. Then from the pop-up menu choose the audio track you want to match video with.
- Select the "Remove Audio from AV Clip" checkbox to erase source camera audio from a clip.
Click OK here.
Severed Clips Restrictions
Working with severed clips has certain restrictions:
- There is no Replace Footage command available.
- It is not supported to attach Adobe Story scripts and then analyze voice to text.
Note: You may analyze voice to text after severing if you first connect an Adobe Story script to an audio clip before severing them. Click the Analyze button after choosing from the Metadata panel either "All Files" or the audio clip containing the script from the File pop-up menu.
- Not supported in the severed clip is full audio channel mapping control.
- Severed clip audio generates mono track audio only.
- Not supported are Final Cut Pro XML and AAF exchange forms.
- Not supported is free-run timecode, AUX timecode, auto-sync utilizing audio waveforms, time-of-day timecode, or separate audio timecode.
- Not supported is Reveal in Adobe Bridge.
The severed clip cannot be re-synchronized or changed after it is generated. Create a new severed clip to re-sync or change your clips.
Editing the contents of a severed clip is not encouraged. The severed clip could be relinked, nevertheless, if one deletes a specific component clip.
Resevering or creating a new severed clip cannot be done using severed clips or bits of former severed clips. One may construct a severed clip using only component clips.
