3 Replies Latest reply on May 30, 2012 8:56 AM by the_wine_snob

    Timeline Duration Wrong - Look for "Orphans"

    the_wine_snob Level 9
    the_wine_snob Jun 3, 2010 8:04 AM

      Sometimes, when editing, one ends up with a situation, where the Duration of a Timeline is much longer, than expected, or intended. One of the possible causes of this is the presence of “Orphans” out beyond the point that the editor intended for the Timeline to end. These are most often forgotten Clips, portions of Clips, or sheared Frames. As the editor tightens the used Clips, their end-point moves to the left, leaving these Orphans out beyond where one normally is looking.

       

      The first clue is that the point, with the intended end is sooner than the listed Duration of the Timeline, or when they go to Burn a DVD, the size of the file is much larger than expected, or intended. It pays to be ever vigilant for disparities like this, as the consequences can be totally unintended, like having a finished AV file, that after the intended end-point is reached, there is a long section of black video, followed by a few flashes, or Clips.

       

      Why does this happen? If the editor has populated the Timeline, and then begins editing the Clips, the intended end-point will move to the left. Originally intended Clips can be left behind. There is another anomaly, that can occur and contribute to this. If one is editing with Snap (a very common and useful tool) ON, and they butt one Clip up against another with too much force, a Frame, or two, from the preceding Clip will be sheared off, and jump to the end of the other Clips on the Timeline, where it/they will be forgotten, or never even noticed. The trick is to NOT be too forceful, when butting Clips, with Snap ON. If Snap is OFF, then one can easily, and accidently, Overlay one Clip with the other, which is seldom what the editor wants. Snap will help prevent this, but one needs to be a bit soft-of-touch, so as to not shear off the Tail of the preceding Clip, creating those Orphans. This is a behavior that I have observed in PrE, but have never seen in PrPro, as one can jam a Clip into another pretty hard, and no shearing will take place. The only issue will be that they “jump” the preceding Clip’s Tail and just Overlay, but no sheared Orphans.

       

      How do we find the Orphans? Well, there are several ways to find them. It can be done by hitting the End key, and observing where the CTI (Current Time Indicator w/ the red Edit Line) goes. Does it jump to beyond where the editor intend for the footage to end? If so, there are Orphans. One can hit the \ [Backslash key], to zoom out to the full Timeline, and observe what is displayed. If there is a gap, and then Video footage, you’ve found your Orphans. Making a comparison between the intended Duration and what is displayed as the Timeline’s Duration is another method. I use a combo of all, before I Export/Burn a Project, just to check.

       

      What do we do with Orphans? This depends on what they are. If they are Clips, that were forgotten, then we need to decide if they are needed in the Timeline, and move them about as needed. If they were “second thoughts,” or unnecessary material, like those sheared Frames, we can probably just lasso them with the Cursor, and Delete them. When Deleted, the intended Duration and the reported Duration should now match up. The full Timeline view should show nothing out beyond the intended end of the Timeline. Hitting End should take us to the point where we intend for the Timeline to end.

       

      Notice that I mentioned “Timeline” quite a bit. The Timeline View Mode is where we want to be working here, as we track down those Orphans.

       

      While Orphans on the Timeline are not as bad as Snakes on a Plane, they can have unintended consequences.

       

      Good luck,

       

      Hunt

        • 1. Re: Timeline Duration Wrong - Look for "Orphans"
          the_wine_snob Level 9
          the_wine_snob Jun 11, 2010 7:43 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)

          If one finds gaps, often left by Orphans, AND they have Audio, or Video on other Tracks over that gap, the Delete and Close Gap function will NOT work, as this would also have to affect the Assets on other Tracks. In this case, one can lasso the Clips beyond the gap, and just move them to close the gap. This will leave the other Assets exactly as they are. Besides doing a lasso, one can Shift-click on multiple Clips to Select them.

           

          Hunt

          • 2. Re: Timeline Duration Wrong - Look for "Orphans"
            the_wine_snob Level 9
            the_wine_snob May 20, 2011 8:25 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)

            As a few subtle changes were made from PrPro CS3 to CS5.5, here are some quick details on Deleting "orphans" in the newer versions, kindly provided by Colin Brougham:

             

            Use the Track Select Tool (A) and hold down Shift as you click after the end of your last good clip; then hit Delete. If there are any small bits of errant footage, they'll be selected and deleted.

             

            If that doesn't work, lasso all your clips from the end of the sequence backward, copy them, and paste into a new sequence. It's possible that the sequence has just gotten messed up.

             

            Good luck,

             

            Hunt

            • 3. Re: Timeline Duration Wrong - Look for "Orphans"
              the_wine_snob Level 9
              the_wine_snob May 30, 2012 8:56 AM (in response to the_wine_snob)

              Another possible cause of an unintended extension of the Duration of a Timeline, is having the WAB (Work Area Bar) set to a point, beyond the last Frame of the last Clip.

               

              There is a TimeCode display in the lower-left of the Program Monitor Panel. Check what it displays for the Duration of the Timeline, and then what the last Frame of the last Clip shows. Those should match. If they do not, and you have already found that you have no Orphans, look at the WAB, to see if it is set to a point, beyond the last Frame of the last Clip. If so, just click+drag the little "bracket" at the end, to align with the last Frame, or the last Clip. For more info on the WAB, check out this ARTICLE.

               

              One other tip, from Neale in the PrE forum, is to USE the WAB, to limit the Export/Share to JUST what you want, ignoring anything out beyond where you intend for your Timeline to end. Just be sure to select the Export Work Area, in lieu of the Export Timeline.

               

              Good luck,

               

              Hunt