Adobe Premiere Quick Start Guide

Premiere is advanced video editing software that allows you to edit video footage, add audio, create transitions and use special effects.

1) Starting a new project

2) Viewing the Premiere window 3) Importing files

4) Creating new sequences 5) Editing video

6) Saving and exporting your project 1) Starting a new project When you open Premiere, you will have the option to open an existing project or to create a new project. When creating a new project, the first screen that opens allows you to name your project and specify the video and audio display formats as well as the capture format. If you aren't sure which settings to select, leave the default settings and click OK. The next screen allows you to select the kind of video you will be creating.

If you are unsure which settings to select, use the default of DV-24P Standard 48kHz (or Widescreen 48kHz if you will be importing video that was shot in widescreen).

14

2) Viewing the Premiere window The Premiere workspace can be customized by opening, closing or moving around the many windows available in Premiere. Shown below are the basic windows that will be helpful to beginning Premiere users. Additional windows with different features can be accessed by clicking Window at the top of your screen and selecting the one you would like to open.

The Project window is where you import video and audio files.

The Program Monitor is for viewing your project in progress.

The Effects window allows you to

access video and audio effects and

transitions.

The Timeline window is where you will

edit your video and audio.

The Effects Controls window is where you will edit and make changes to your selected effects.

15

3) Importing files To import new video and audio files, select File and choose Import. You will be prompted to browse to your video or audio file. Select your file, click Import and it will appear in your Project window. 4) Creating new sequences To add video or audio to your project, click your chosen file in the Project window and drag it to the Timeline. Release in the empty gray box next to where it says Video 1. You can rearrange the order of your files by dragging and dropping them within the Timeline.

Any files you drag into the Timeline become part of your current project. If you no longer want a file to

be a part of your project, you can delete it by clicking on the file and pressing Backspace on the

keyboard. It will still appear in your Project Window and you can add it back at any time.

Click and drag files

from here (the

Project window)

to here (the Timeline)

16

5) Editing video Trimming video clips: To shorten, or trim, the beginning of your video, hover the mouse pointer over the left edge of the clip until you see the red, right-facing trim bracket. Drag the bracket to the right and release the mouse button at the point you want to trim it. You can do the same thing to the end of your video by working with the right edge of the clip.

Adding effects and transitions: Premiere has many transitions and effects, such as dissolves and page wipes, that you can insert to bridge your clips. You can explore them in the Effects window; to add one to your project, just drag and drop it into your project timeline.

You can move its position in the timeline by dragging and dropping, and you can change its parameters in the Effects Controls window.

Left-facing trim bracket (trims the end of the video)

Here the Film Dissolve Video Transition has been inserted in between two video clips

To make changes to an effect, click on the effect where it appears in your Timeline. The Effects Controls window will give you editing options, which depend on the effect you choose. Here the Film Dissolve effect has been added; you can change the alignment and the positioning of the effect in your video, change the length of time it appears on the screen and more.

17

6) Saving and exporting your project To save your project as a Premiere file (with a file extension of .prproj), go to the File menu and choose Save. However, if you save to this format, you will have to come back to the library or use another computer with Premiere CS5 or later if you want to make any changes. You can also export your project as a different type of file that you will be able to view on other computers or devices, but you will not be able to edit it. You can export your project as a wide variety of formats. To export your project, go to the File menu and choose Export and select Media. Choose a format and make any changes to the settings that you would like.

If you're unsure which format to use, a flexible and widely used format is H.264, which saves as a .mp4 file. Change the Format to H.264 and change any of the other settings as needed. Click Export.

18