Newbe requests how to remove "applause" from Project in Premiere Elements 4?

Question

This is the second time I attempted to make a large slide show using Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 4  I am having two main problems:
1.  I do not know how it got there but every time I run the slideshow on Premiere Elements I hear applause on each photo?  Don't know how it got there either and frustrated how to get rid of it
2.  When I move a photo to another place it leaves a blank space.  I try to get rid of the space by going onto Edit and asking to delete and close gap.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.  Then sometimes my only option is to remove the present photo and it does not remove it.
3.  Lastly I wanted to change composing the slide show from Premiere Elements to Photoshop Elements 9 but the latter would not recognize the file.
THIS PROJECT IS A HUGE RUSH PROJECT FOR MY DAUGHTER'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY.  TIME IS RUNNING OUT AND I AM PANICKING.
Thanks for your help.
Kathy

Answer 1

Kathy,
You say that you have PrE 4.0, but I did not see which version of PSE you have. You would need PSE 4.0, to be able to go directly to PrE from PSE. Otherwise, one would need to do, as you have, and Export from PSE as a WMV file, which would then be Imported into PrE.
The weakness in this latter method, the Export/Import, is that a WMV file is highly-compressed, so quality, when coming out of  PrE will be compromised. Next, if one has the same versions of the two programs, and they Send to PrE from PSE, once in PrE, they can choose Break Apart, to get all of the elements in the SlideShow separated again - this cannot be donw with the WMV Export/Import.
Now, even with the WMV Export/Import method, one can still edit, but they are now cutting on a finished AV file, and things are not so easy - they are working on one large Video file, and one large Audio file on the Timeline.
For the blank spaces, one can just cut those out of the Video, but if the whole Clip (the WMV file) has Audio, that needs to stay, things are not quite so easy. In your case, however, it might be easiest to just Delete the Audio from the WMV, cut the Video to suit, and then Import the Audio Clips that were used in PSE, and just use those again, listening closely for the one(s) with the applause, and substitute something else, instead. This editing will be much, much easier in Timeline View Mode.
For that applause, it might be easier to go back to the Project in PSE, find where it is being introduced, and substitute for it there.
Now, if the applause comes during otherwise silent passeges, you can just cut it out, or can lower the Volume to the point that it is not heard. If it comes over music or dialog, there is nothing easy, that can be done. To remove it, and save the music, or dialog, will be virtually impossible and take much time, for probably little improvement.
Let us know just a little bit more about your Project and also the version number of PSE.
Good lukc,
Hunt