How to Duplicate a Clip In Premiere Pro [2 Easy Steps]

Have you found yourself at a point in your project where you must duplicate a clip to which you’ve made many changes? We’ll show you in this quick & simple guide how to duplicate a clip in Premiere Pro in the most efficient way possible.

Without the method of duplicating a clip in Premiere Pro, you’ll find yourself having to re-apply any changes or edits that you made from the original clip to the new, duplicated clip. This can be a tedious and time-consuming task.

Sure, you could copy & paste the clip using Ctrl + C & Ctrl+ V, but Premiere Pro’s duplicating method is more straightforward. Yes, you’d be hard-pressed to believe that, but it’s true. Keep reading to find out.

Quick guide

1. Start by selecting the clip you want to duplicate.
2. Proceed to hold down the ALT key on your keyboard. Keep your finger on this key.
3. While holding down the ALT key, drag your clip to another position in your timeline. Done!

It’s as simple as that. You can now take your finger off the ALT key if you’re finished duplicating your clip.

You can drag the clip anywhere and any way you want. Both horizontally & vertically. This can prove handy when you’ve worked on a specific clip to an extent and want a backup in your timeline or if you wish to duplicate the clip and have a second one in your timeline.

Duplicating a clip in Premiere Pro

Step 1 – Select the clip

Select the clip you want to duplicate. Duplicating this will carry over any effects/edits you have made to the clip.

This is where the actual efficiency of this method happens, as you won’t need to re-add any changes to the duplicated clip.

Step 2 – Drag the duplicated clip

So, you’ve completed step one and selected the clip you want to duplicate.

Next, proceed to hold down ALT on your keyboard. While holding ALT down, drag the selected clip you want to duplicate to another place on your timeline.

Note: You can drag this clip anywhere on your timeline; you don’t need to follow our example to the tee in the image below. You can drag your clip to any other track on your timeline. As we said earlier, both horizontally or vertically, it’s your choice.

After this, it should be done. Your clip should be duplicated, and all effects/changes/keyframes you did to this clip should carry over to the new duplicated clip, too.

I can copy & paste my clip. Why should I use the ALT method?

It’s quicker, easier and more efficient. It’s also much easier to drag your clip to another track on your timeline than the standard copy & paste method.

This method will save you time throughout your project, whether big or small. Time is valuable & with video editing, it’s even more critical.

Video tutorial if you want visual guidance

Summary

Nothing else can be said about duplicating a clip in Premiere Pro. It’s effortless & straightforward to do. You can also copy & paste your clip if you prefer to do it that way, although the process we’ve written about in this article is even more straightforward.

You may find yourself doing just that in future rather than the old-fashioned copy & paste. As we mentioned earlier. If you’d like to view more of our Premiere Pro tutorials, you can do so in our complete guide.