8 Premiere Pro Tips You Need in Your Life
I’ve been editing videos for the past 10 years. Over the years, I’ve uncovered a few tips and tricks that have really helped my editing workflow. Some of these might seem super obvious, some of these might seem strange. Some of these tips are specific to Premiere Pro, but others can be applied to any editing workflow in any program. So, let’s jump into them without wasting any more time.
Tip #1: Enable your clips with an easy keyboard shortcut.
Enabling a clip is the ability to turn a clip on and off. You can toggle the layers' visibility by right-clicking on the clip and selecting enable. However, mapping this command to a keyboard shortcut will change the way you edit. You can quickly toggle between takes, cut to different angles, and test different b-roll.
Final Cut Pro has the enable feature automatically mapped to the V key. Premiere does not automatically map the enable feature to a key, so you’ll have to map it manually. You can do so by navigating to the “keyboard shortcuts” in the menu.
I have my D key programmed for the enable feature. If I have an edit with multiple takes, and I want to toggle through each layer. I click on the clip, tap the D key, and I can turn it on and off just like that. This tip is amazing if you are editing a music video, interview, or are trying to decide between b-roll for a specific shot.
Tip #2: The Double Timeline Workflow.
As far as I know, this is only specific to Adobe Premiere, and this is a game-changer. Once I discovered this feature, I’ve used this workflow in every edit since.
While working, you can have two timelines side by side. All you have to do is click and drag the sequence above or below and attach it where you want it.
The double timeline workflow is perfect for pulling selects or making revisions. You can easily reference other sequences and edit using a drag and drop method.
Tip #3: Adjust audio gain for everything.
Have you had a client ask to increase or decrease an edit's overall volume? Or have you edited interview footage and needed to adjust the audio levels on specific clips? I’m here to tell you that you do not have to adjust each clip individually.
You can apply blanket audio adjustments to multiple clips and increase or decrease the gain on multiple clips at once. Just select the clips you need to adjust, right-click, and select audio gain.
You can tell every clip to gain+10db or drop -5db. It’ll apply the gain adjustment to every clip that is selected. You do not have to adjust each audio clip manually.
Tip #4: Apply feedback starting with the end first.
When applying client feedback, or any feedback that involves timecodes, apply the feedback from the back to front. Last to first. End to Beginning. If you do it front to back, some adjustments might change the timecode and shift your entire sequence, making any other notes confusing, as it’ll no longer sync with its original timecode.
If you edit videos for yourself, this tip may not have much impact, but if you do any client work where feedback is provided, this is the best way to apply revisions to your edits.
Tip #5: The same thing applies to time ramps.
When adjusting a time ramp, set all your keyframes first, and then work back to front. Because you are working with time, any adjustments to the beginning of a clip automatically affect the end of the clip. If you begin your adjustments at the end of the clip, you’ll protect the timing of the beginning of the clip.
Tip #6: Duplicate your sequences ALWAYS.
Whenever you’re making revisions to an edit, applying feedback, or simply starting over, duplicate your sequences. You never know when you’ll need to revert to a previous edit. If you make edits or apply feedback to the same sequence every time, you’re erasing the previous version and won’t be able to reaccess it.
You might never have to reference an old sequence, but if for some reason you have to, this tip will save you a lot of unnecessary work.
Tip #7: Duplicate your clip before sending it to After Effects
If you use After Effects to edit clips in Premiere Pro, it’s pretty straightforward. You right-click and send the composition to After Effects. Doing so automatically converts the clip to a linked comp that automatically updates when you make changes in After Effects.
This is a fantastic feature. However, if you ever need to revert to the original clip, you cannot. Once the linked comp is created, you can only work on the linked comp.
If you duplicate your clip before sending it to After Effects, you can have your linked comp and original clip in the same sequence and reference both at any time.
Tip #8: Always use Media Encoder.
Media Encoder is an Adobe program for rendering and compressing video. Whenever you’ve exported an edit in Premiere or After Effects, there’s a “Queue” button next to export. Queue sends the export to Media Encoder to be rendered.
This queue feature allows you to queue up multiple sequences and render them at the same time. If you have many projects in a single day and don’t want to waste any of your time rendering, add the exports to the queue, and at the end of the day, export every project at once.
This queue feature will also allow you to continue using Premiere or After Effects while a render is in progress. Instead of using Premiere or After Effects to render, use Media Encoder.
Media Encoder also allows you to make edits to the file’s destination and edit the export settings. It’s very easy to adjust the export settings. Just click on the Format or Preset, and it’ll bring up the same dialogue box from Premiere Pro.
Hopefully, at least one of these tips helped your editing workflow! Let me know in the comments below.
As always, make it a great day or not; the choice is yours.
