Mastering EVS IPDirector: Grouping Clips
- Michael
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Global production, hundreds of clips to roll, and a ruthless clock while producers and editors look you in the eye and ask, “Are you ready?” In moments like these, EVS IPDirector earns its keep: the Group function in the Playlist panel turns a messy list into clean, named blocks you can cue and play with a single click. In this episode, I’ll show you what the Group function does, when to use it, and exactly how to make it work for you.
Let’s explain what the Group function in a playlist is. Think of it like this: you’re putting together a list of 100 songs for a party. Instead of a long list with “Song 1,” “Song 2,” “Song 3,” and so on, you can bundle them into separate blocks. You can do this easily and quickly: create a group, add the songs to it, and name it “Pop Hits,” “80s Throwbacks,” or “Rock ’n’ Roll.” One playlist can hold several of these blocks, keeping everything tidy in clear segments. With a single click, you can play the block you want.
That’s exactly what the Group function does: it takes individual clips, graphics, and commercials and turns them into one neat, tidy block (a “package”) in the playlist. You can create multiple such blocks within a single playlist.
For example, in your production you may need to create multiple packages:
Package 1: Intro + headline package
Package 2: Ten interviews + music video
Package 3: Bumper + second part of commercials
Package 4: Second intro + second headline package
Package 5: Music show + two interviews + feature
Package 6: Commercials + bumper + feature
Package 7: Outro + commercials
You can put all of this into a single playlist, arranged as separate blocks for playout. Everything is visible in one place.
In short, grouping helps during a broadcast. Instead of manually handling separate clips, playlists, and bins, you can manage them as one or several, packages within a single playlist. And you have everything in one place.
How to Group a clips in playlist panel
Create a playlist and open it in the Playlist panel.
Select the clips you want to combine into a group.
Right-click on one of the selected clips.
From the menu that appears, choose "Group"
In the pop-up window, name your group. You can also choose a background color to make it stand out in the playlist.
Click "OK" to finish. The clips are now part of a group, and the header will be highlighted in the color you chose.
Play a group
You can easily play every group separately. To do this, just press "Play" or double-click the header of the group. By default, it "Stops on Last Frame" at the end of the block. For your safety, you can see on the header and on the last clip if the "Stop on Last Frame" function is set up. If it is not, you must change it. I have described in detail how to do this in this article:
Tip: Clicking the group's header once will hide the individual clips, showing just the block's name. Another click will expand the group, making all the clips visible again.
Thats all for today
Michael - University of Television
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