Timeline: Merge is grey out. Why?

Help/How To
1

Goal: remove a video section between 00:15:04 and 00:17:23

  1. Go to timeline

  2. press s-key at 00:15:04

  3. press s-key at 00:17:23
    → I have now 3 items instaead of 1 before.

  4. click on the video-item between 00:15:04 and 00:17:23

  5. right click → cut

→ I have now 2 items instead of 1 at the beginning. So to get again 1 item, I want to merge this two items:
6. right click on the first item of this two → more → Merge with next clip is grey.
Why? And how can I now merge this two clips?
It also does not work, when I first delete all filters before point 2. .

Would appreciate some help. Thank you.

2

You can’t merge them because those two clips don’t follow each other in the source. You can only merge clips together if they are following each other in the same order as they did in the source. The same thing would happen if you took two clips that did follow each other as they did in the source but flipped the order so instead of clip 1 then clip 2 it’s clip 2 then clip 1. You wouldn’t be able to merge clip 2 then clip 1 because it is not the same as the original order.

3

I see. Thank you.

At the end I want to create a DVD of this two clips. So I was looking for a method to export this two clips at once to get one file. But I did not find a possibility to export this two clips together. I was only able to export each of this two clips separate. Is there a solution?

4

I don’t understand. If the 2 clips are on the timeline and you export the timeline both clips will be in the exported file. How are you exporting the clips as separate videos?

5

What happened when you clicked Export?

6

I have a lot of clips in the timeline. What I want, is to export only for example clip 4 and 5. So that I get one file consisting of clip 4 and 5.

(Between clip 4 and 5 originally was a further clip, but I have cut this clip.)

7
  1. Save your mlt project file. If not create an mlt project file.
  2. In the timeline, right click and choose “Copy Timeline to Source” or use the shortcut Ctl+Alt+C.
  3. With your timeline now copied to the Source tab, pick the start and end of the section you want to export by pressing I and O.
  4. Go to the Export menu and make sure it has “Source” selected where it says “From”.
  5. Since you want to reuse that clip for your project pick a preset export option like DNxHR HQ or ProRes 422 in the intermediate category or H.264, HuffYUV or Ut Video in the lossless category. The file will come out very big in size depending on which preset you pick but it will ensure that when you bring it into your project the quality will be preserved.
  6. Export.
1 Like
8

Thank you DRM for this detailed description. I appreciate it.

Yes this works.

But it is not very user friendly, especially because we have again to search and mark the section we want to export (in the source after the copy).

But in the meantime I have found another solution:

  1. Save your mlt project file. If not create an mlt project file.

  2. In the timeline add a further video track

  3. In the timeline, mark the contiguous clips that you want to export. (With Ctrl+mouse click)

  4. Move them to the new video track that you have created in point 2. .

  5. Remove the old track in the timeline and keep the new track

  6. Go to the Export menu and make sure it has “Timeline” selected where it says “From”.

  7. Choose the profile you prefer

  8. Export

  9. Do not save, but close Shotcut and open the same mlt project again

  10. Go back to point 2. .

As already said: The advantage of this method is, that there is no need to search the start and end of the section we want to export again.

9

Just make note of the start and end times before you start the whole process. Just go to the first clip’s start, make note of the time then go to the end and mark down that time. Then when you are on step 3 above just type the times into the counter to make the playhead go directly to where you want it to start and end.

10

OK, I see. Not bad. And we can copy the times.

11
  1. Save current project file.
  2. Save As with a new file name.
  3. Create a new video track.
  4. Move clips to the new track.
  5. Delete tracks you don’t need.
  6. Export
12

Unfortunately this seems not to work:

  • With your timeline now copied to the Source tab, pick the start and end of the section you want to export by pressing I and O.

Only the section on which I have “right clicked” will also have the filters now in the source. The rest of the source (right and left of the section) has no filters and other sections that I have cut, are in the source again.

Version 21.05.01 in use, Flatpack Linux.

13

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