If you've used Premiere Elements to capture your video or get the video from your camcorder, version 11 will set up your project automatically.

What model of camcorder is your video coming from and what format and resolution is it? How did you get it from the camcorder to your computer?

When you look under Edit/Project Settings, what settings are displayed?

Once again, if you use Premiere Elements to get the video from the camcorder to your computer rather than using Windows or Finder to move it from the card, you shouldnl't have this problem.

Unfortunately, the only way to change your project settings mid-project in version 11 is to change the first clip on your timeline -- which is what Premiere Elements 11 uses to set the project settings. Because Premiere Elements isn't recognizing your video's format, it's not updating the settings correctly.

Your ownly option is to start a new project, manually select the correct project settings and check the option to Force Settings on Project so that the program doesn't change its settings when you add your media to it.

As I said, if you're using that workflow, you're going to have to manually set up a project to those specs and check the Force Settings option on the New Project option screen. You're not going to be able to change your project settings mid-project.

With Premiere Elements, you can't copy a movie from one project to another.

Although some people have been able to do it using a program like Clip Mate. But I make no guarantees.

Others have figured out how to open the project file in a text editor and manually hack it to new project settings. But, again, that's nothing I've ever done, so I make no guarantees.

The only way I know will work is starting a new project -- but that means starting from scratch.

The only other way in version 11 is to use Premiere Elements to get the video from your camcorder to your computer using the Video Importer in the Add Media/From Flip or Camera tools. In most cases, this will enable Premiere Elements to put indicators in the video file so that it can identify it and set up your project accordingly.

Your output depends on what you plan to do with it.

Will it be used in a DVD or BluRay project? Uploaded to YouTube or Vimeo? Used as part of another project? Shown on a portable device like an iPad or smartphone?

As I show you in my book, every use has its optimal output.

I don't think that will work. Cropping doesn't work that way in video.

Yes, if one has an Asset, with larger dimensions, than the Frame Size of the Project, "effective cropping" will take place, unless the Asset is Scaled to "fit" the Frame Size.

The Video Frame is like an aperture in a matte, used to frame a photograph. The photograph can be larger than the aperture, but one can only see what is in that aperture - the rest of the photograph are out of sight.

Good luck,

Hunt