How do I Nudge clips in the timeline

[Cris_is_Bliss]

Hello All,

I relatively new to Pr Pro and I am working on a music Video.  I need to sync various clips to the music track.  I would like to know is there a key command for nudging clip position in the timeline so that I can more easily get my mouth movements to reflect the words being sung.  I know about nudging the time indicator with the arrow keys but I can't find any info on nudging an actual clip forward or backward.  Right now I have to go to the highest resolution and move the clip around with the selection tool.  One other problem with this is that the clip blacks out in the program monitor when moving it around with the selection tool.

Thank you

[RDA972]

Easy to do : Alt + left/right arrow to move one frame. Alt+Shift+ left/right arrow to move 5 frames.

Happy  nudging.

[Colin_Brougham · Accepted solution]

Easy to do : Alt + left/right arrow to move one frame. Alt+Shift+ left/right arrow to move 5 frames.

Hmm... unless you changed to these combos from the defaults, those are actually the key combos for sliding a clip. To nudge one frame, you want Alt+, (comma) or Alt+. (period). Add Shift to move 5 frames.

Ultimately, you can make these key combos to be (just about) anything you want. These combos and many more are user customizable under Edit > Keyboard Customization.

EDIT: I should mention that as long as your clip is "free-floating"--in other words, its head and tail are not adjacent to the head or tail of any surrounding clips, the key combo Robert mentioned will work. However, if your target clip abuts one or more clips in the sequence, you'll change the duration of the surrounding clips.

For example, say that your target clip is called "B", and it is 10 frames long. The preceding clip is "A" and is also 10 frames long, and the following clip is "C" and is 10 frames long. If you "nudge" clip B one frame earlier, clip A will now be 9 frames long, because the last outgoing frame will be overlaid by B, but clip C will remain 10 frames long, and a 1 frame gap will be created between B and C.

However, if you "slide" clip B one frame earlier, clip A will again be 9 frames and clip B will remain 10 frames, but clip C will now be 11 frames long with no gap between B and C.

Sliding a clip maintains its duration and its clip in and out points, but changes its timeline in and out points. Nudging does much the same, but it is not "sticky" in the way sliding is, in that it pulls unused frames from adjacent clips into the sequence to fill gaps. Both have their use; it simply depends on the situation to dictate what you actually want to do.

[Cris_is_Bliss]

Thank you Collin for the plate full of information.

This user forum really is a good thing.

[RDA972]

Thanks Colin for clarifying things. You're absolutely right : I used the keyboard shortcuts with a 'free floating' clip indeed.

[Karel Bata]

Thanks from me too - I was about to post much the same question.

[the_wine_snob]

And the "logic" of the comma and period keys with proper modifiers, is because on most keyboard, above each is the < and > character, accessed via the Shift modifier when typing characters. Visually, the < and > stand out a bit, from the comma and period, which do not need the Shift modifier. Now, much of this can depend on one's exact keyboard.

Hunt

[ACT.onn]

I know this forum thread is a few years old but I have an addition to this question. How do I nudge a clip when I want to move the clip in audio frames rather than a full video frame?

[Cris_is_Bliss]

In the Sequence Panel, the upper right corner has a pull down menu, select "Show Audio Time Units", this will allow you to do what you are asking.

[defaultd3hj6bbkl2xj]

Answered it! Excellent. Everyone is beating around the bush but cris is not. 

[Ann Bens]

You cannot move a video frame in audio units, it is still going to be 1 frame minimal .

You can only move audio in audio unit: 1/48000 of a second.

[ACT.onn]

Thanks Cris

So Ann, if my video and audio are linked I cannot move an audio unit? there is no way to move both an audio unit? the problem is that my video and audio from 2 cameras are not matching up due to the inability to move an audio unit.

[Jon-M-Spear]

Are you talking about unlinking the video and audio tracks and moving the audio track independently? 

If so, unlink the audio and video tracks and move the audio track independently!

[ACT.onn]

My audio and video are linked. What I am asking is:

If I need to synchronize 2 "cameras" and they are a bit off in the audio how can I nudge them in a manner that is not a complete video frame? I have already tried Cris's suggestion and while it is helpful it doesn't alter the fact that I can only nudge video frames.

The footage is synchronized really close, but I still feel that the audio could be closer to a perfect match on the timing.

My original footage is AVCHD which was malignant PsF and so I had to transcode it so I would be able to work on this project. I am thinking that the converter might have slipped the audio on the footage but I don't really know.

[Ann Bens]

Unlink and nudge the audio track with audio units.

Video stays put.

[ACT.onn]

Well alright... I was just unsure if that was a good idea or not...

[Jon-M-Spear]

Why would it not be a good idea - when that's what you wanted to do?

[ACT.onn]

Wow I feel silly.

I guess I need throw away my fear of breaking something and just make it work.

[Cris_is_Bliss]

Ok now give me my Helpful Answer so that I can start getting up some points.  Thank you

[Jon-M-Spear]

Fraid the points aren't yours for the taking Chris. You didn't come up with unlinking the tracks. 

So if any points are going begging... ;-#

[the_wine_snob]

Chris,

As you were the OP, only you can award "Points," but if the OP gives them to themselves, they do not appear in the "Points Bank."

Now, one thing that will help the Adobe Forums Team is the use of the "Was this helpful? Yes No." They use those to gather data, to show to the "higher-ups," to justify the Adobe Forums. I urge everyone, who DOES find a Reply to be "helpful," to check those little guys - no Points awarded, but it's data to support these forums.

Hunt

[Cris_is_Bliss]

Thank you Robert

[andrewb55014082]

If any of you are editing on Mac OSX, Command + left/right arrow nudges the selected clip 1 frame, and Shift + Command + left/right arrow nudges over 5 frames.