View Static Version

Text Based Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro

tinyurl.com/PRADLI2024

Learn how Text-Based Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro makes editing video as simple as copying and pasting text.

The first step in most video editing projects is selecting the content you want and arranging it on the Timeline to create a "rough cut." Text-Based Editing allows you to do this quickly and efficiently.

Transcribe source media.

Begin by transcribing your source footage. After the transcription is complete, the text appears in the Transcript window.

Add clips.

Use the source transcripts to find the content you want to use. Select text in the source transcripts to add video clips to the Timeline.

Edit a sequence.

Switch to the sequence transcript to work on a rough cut. When you’re happy with it, switch to video editing tools to refine your edits.

How to transcribe source media

Follow these steps if you want to transcribe all of your source footage:

  1. Launch Premiere Pro and create a new project.
  2. While importing your media, enable Automatic transcription under Import settings.
  3. You can select your Language, Speaker labeling options, and Transcription preferences for the selected import media.
  4. Once your transcripts are ready, open the Text-Based Editing workspace to review your source transcripts.

How to transcribe individual source files

Transcription is required only for videos that include spoken dialogue. If you don’t need to transcribe all your source media, you can import the media normally and then transcribe specific files.

  1. Open Text-Based Editing workspace. In the Project panel, double-click the clips you want to transcribe.
  2. In the Text panel, click on the blue Transcribe button.
  3. Select your language and whether you want Premiere Pro to separate speakers.
  4. After the transcription is complete, the dialogue will appear in the Transcript window.

How to edit transcripts

Use the built-in spelling checker or search and replace feature to correct the spelling of uncommon words or names. If there are multiple voices in a source file, select Speakers to add their names to the transcript.

How to add clips to the Timeline

Text-Based Editing allows you to perform three-point edits to build a sequence on the Timeline.

  1. In the Transcript window, read through the text or use search to find the content you'd like to use.
  2. Highlight the text in the transcript and use the Insert button to add it in the sequence.
  3. Continue adding clips from source media until everything you want to use is on the Timeline.

How to edit a sequence

As you add clips to the Timeline, Premiere Pro creates a new sequence transcript. You can use this new document to edit your rough cut.

  1. Select the Timeline panel to switch to the sequence transcript to continue editing.
  2. In the sequence transcript, select the text and use copy or paste to move clips. Your text edits are automatically applied in the Timeline.
  3. You can also cut or delete text to remove clips from the sequence. Premiere Pro automatically applies a Ripple Edit in the Sequence.
  4. When you’re happy with your rough cut, switch to video editing tools for trimming, refining, pacing, color grading, audio sweetening, and adding titles or graphics to your cuts.
Throughout your workflow, you can use the sequence transcript as a navigation tool or to perform edits on your sequence.

You can also use the list of keyboard commands for Text-Based Editing.

When your edit is finished, use the sequence transcript to GENERATE CAPTIONS for your videos