Video Production and Editing Guides: Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro

Introduction

Objective

Become familiar enough with Premiere to be able to:

1) create your own basic video project
2) independently learn advanced features

Why Premiere?

1) Available on both Mac and PC
2) Integration with other Adobe programs

Setting Up a New Project

Stay Organized

Create a folder where you will keep your project and all associated files. Inside the main folder, have folders for audio, video, and whatever else. The key is to get organized from the very beginning. Your file structure should make sense to you and anyone else you may be working with.

New Project

1. Open Premiere
2. Start a new project
3. Name the project at the top
4. Browse for the folder you created earlier
5. Click OK at the bottom

Import Files

• Drag files into the project panel (or right click > import files).
• Alternatively, you can use the Media Browser to locate your files (right click files to import).
• You can use the Bin icon to create folders for organizing your files. Keep in mind you can expand out the panel by dragging the edges.
• You can also toggle full-screen view by pressing the (`) key.
• NOTE: Premiere does not automatically copy your files to the project location. See next page to see how to enable this!

Ingest Settings

• Open the Media Browser panel. You can find the tab in the Project window. Or go to Window > Media Browser.
• Click the wrench icon to open Ingest Settings.
• Check the box next to Ingest to enable.
• Keep the Ingest mode on copy and the preset on “Copy with MD5 Verification.”
• You can change the Primary Destination if you would like, but it’s usually best to keep the files in the same place as the project. (Keep the originals elsewhere)
• Click ‘OK’ to commit changes.

Source Monitor

• Double-click a file in your project window to review it in the source monitor.
• Designate “in” and “out” points using the buttons (or by using the hotkeys ‘I’ and ‘O’).
• Drag clip from source monitor onto timeline. (The first time you do this will create your new timeline sequence).
• You can also opt to drag only audio or video by dragging from the icons below the source monitor preview.

Timeline

• This is where you arrange and edit your clips.
• Keep in mind that the top-most video layers take priority when viewing your project. They will eclipse lower video layers.

Tools

• Selection Tool: The default tool. Lets you interact with items in the timeline.
• Track Select Forward Tool: Selects a clip plus everything to the right of it.
• Track Select Backward Tool: Selects a clip plus everything to the left of it.
• Ripple Edit Tool: While you shorten a clip, all following clips shift in time to compensate for the edit without changing their duration.
• Rolling Edit Tool: When you shorten a clip, the adjacent clips will lengthen or shorten to compensate.
• Razor Tool: Cuts a clip at the selected point.
• Slip Tool: Lets you change the in and out points of a clip, without changing its duration.
• Slide Tool: Lets you move a clip while lengthening or shortening the adjacent clips to compensate.
• Hand Tool: Used to navigate through the timeline without using the scrollbar.
• For an in-depth look at how these tools work, visit: Adobe Premiere Pro Editing Tools

Lumetri Color

• Choose the Color workspace at the top
• WB Selector: Use the eyedropper to select a gray or white area of your frame. This will automatically adjust the temperature and tint.
• Temperature: Use the slider to make the scene cooler (blue) or warmer (orange)
• Tint: Use the slider to make the scene more green or magenta
• Exposure: Simulates a change in exposure for the scene. Use in small adjustments.
• Shadows/Highlights: Adjusts the mid-range of dark areas and bright areas
• Blacks/Whites: Adjusts the darkest and brightest areas
• Auto adjusments: Will work if your image only requires small adjustments. Don’t use often.
• (In this guide, we will only look at the Basic Correction panel.)

Essential Sound

• Choose the Audio workspace at the top
• In this guide, we’re only going over how to do some basic audio repair. Keep in mind that increasing any of these too much will reduce overall sound quality.
• Loudness: Use auto-match if you want Premiere to attempt to auto-balance volume. Not recommended.
• Reduce Noise: Use to reduce noise such as clicks and slight unwanted sounds.
• Reduce Rumble Use to remove low-frequency sounds such as motors.
• DeHum: Reduces electrical interference hum. For North/South America, choose 60 Hz.
• DeEss: Reduces ‘s’-sounds that happen during singing/speaking.

Essential Graphics

• Choose the Graphics workspace at the top
• The Essential Graphics panel contains a gallery of several pre-made text-based graphics.
• To use them, simply click and drag one to your timeline.
• You can interact with the graphic like any other file in your timeline.
• Use the select tool to move the graphic/ text around.
• Use the text tool to directly edit the text.
• On the right, there are several typical text editor tools. Hovering over the icons will let you know what each does if you are unfamiliar.
• In the appearance panel, fill refers to the color that “fills” the graphic/text. Stroke refers to the outline of the graphic/text. And of course, shadow refers to adding a shadow behind the graphic/text.

Exporting

• If you’re working with more than one video, you’ll want to go back and create a new sequence for your next video. Keep each video in a separate sequence.
• Click on the sequence you want to export and go to File > Export > Media.
• You’ll see the screen to the right.
• Format should be H.264 almost always. That’s the most universal codec that exists right now.
• The YouTube presets are ideal for exporting at a manageable file- size with great quality.
• Output Name: Click on that blue text to name your file and choose the save location.
• Click Export at the bottom.