Intro to Adobe Premiere Pro

1. Document Setup

Before starting any Adobe Premiere Pro project start by creating a folder in a desired location. This folder should house ALL assets and files related to the project you are creating. Premiere Pro does not embed videos into the document, rather it points to there location on your device. This means if you move a file once it has been placed in the document, you will receive an error. Practicing good file management from the start will alleviate a lot of headaches down the road.

After launching Premiere Pro click on "New Project."

Start by titling your project (A) and selecting the folder you created in the first step and then click "Create." This will ensure every time you save it will be in your designated folder.

To change the projects dimensions for a vertical format click on "File > New > Sequence" and click on "Settings" in the dialogue that appears. Under the section "Video" adjust the Horizontal dimension to 1080, and the Vertical dimension to 1920, then click "Ok."

Adobe Premiere Pro is divided into several panels. These panels can all be moved depending on your needs and comfort. For the purpose of this tutorial we will leave them as they are so we can easily navigate through them.

• Source Monitor: Displays videos, images and audio previews. It is also home to our editing tools and keyframes when needed.
• Program Monitor: Displays the video in realtime as we have it arranged in our timeline.
• Timeline: Here is where we organize the material that will compose our project including videos, photos, audio files, effects, titles and transitions.
• Project Panel: This is where we import the files we will be using in the project, they are organized by folders or "Bins."
• Audio Master Meter: Provides us with the projects overall audio levels.
• Effects Panel: Is where we can find and add audio and video effects as well as make lumetri edits. You can add multiple tabs within this panel, including "Essential Graphics" and Essential Sound" which we will do in this project.

2. Adding and Editing Audio

To add the asset files to you "Project Panel" double click within it's frame. Select the three folders "Audio." "Photos," and "Videos" and click "Import."

To open your "Audio" folder, double click on it to see it's contents.

Click and hold on the file titles "voiceover.wav" and drag it to your timeline to add it (A). If you notice the track has no sound toward the end. To remove this, click on the track so it is selected and click and hold on the right side and drag back to remove the unnecessary portion (B).

To zoom in on your track, click on the right handle of the slider at the bottom of the "Timeline" panel, and drag to your left.

Click on "Window > Essential Sound" to add it to your "Effects Panel."

Click on your track and designate it "Dialogue" in the "Essential Sound" panel to open the editing options.

To change the overall volume of your voiceover.wav track, scroll down to "Clip Volume" and drag the slider to the left (this will affect the track as a whole.)

Add the instrumental track titled "Cinematic Atmospheric Intro" by clicking and dragging it to "A2" which is the audio track below the voiceover.

Select the "Cinematic Atmospheric Intro" track (A) then click and hold on the "Ripple Edit Tool" to open it's options (B) and select "Remix Tool." Now click and drag the right side of the track until it extends just beyond the voiceover track above it (C).

*This tool does not fit audio to an exact point in time, it can be shorter or longer by a couple seconds due to how the program is able to analyze and loop portions during the tracks extension.

It may take a couple tries, but get the musical track close to the length of the voiceover. Use the "Clip Volume" to lower the volume so it doesn't overwhelm the voiceover track.

3. Adding and Editing Video & Images

Open the "Video" folder by double clicking on it.

Double click on "1.MOV" (A) to send it to your "Preview Monitor." In the middle just to the left of the middle, below the video click and hold on the "film strip" icon and drag it to the "V1" track just above the voiceover track.

*This will bring over ONLY the video portion, dragging the file directly from the "Project Panel" will bring both the clips video and audio, which will overwrite the voiceover.

Repeat the steps above with the remaining videos so they their placement looks similar to the image above.

Open the "Photos" folder by double clicking and add them to the "V2" above track in the appropriate order so we can move them as needed to line up their appearance with the voiceover.

Click on the "Selection Tool" (A) and make sure the photos appearances are lined up correctly, then extended the necessary tracks until they closes the gaps between them (B).

4. Adding Transitions

Select all of the photos we just added and drag them down so they fit snug in the "V1" track between our videos.

Click on "Window > Effects" to open our "Effects Panel" if it is not already open.

In the search bar type "Cross Dissolve." If you need zoom in on your tracks and proceed to drag the Cross Dissolve effect between the first two videos to add it.

*To edit a transition, zoom in on the track and click on the transition so it is selected. Then drag the end of the transition left or right depending on your need to increase or decrease the length of the transition.

Apply transitions between all of the videos and photos as well as the beginning and end of the first and last video to create a fade in and fade out.

5. Adding Titles & Graphics

Click on "Window > Essential Graphics" (A) to open it in your "Effects Panel." In the search bar, type "Title" (B) and navigate to a title you like (B). Click and drag on the title and place it on The "V2" track above the first photo track (C).

To edit the Title, double click on the type in the "Program Monitor" and edit like you would in any other application. Using the selection tool you can move the location of the title on the screen (A). In the "Timeline" you can move when the title will appear by dragging it left and right on the "V2" track, you can also shorten its visibility by dragging either side of the track (B).

*I suggest opening your "Effects Panel" and adding a crossfade to the start and end of your title. Then copy and paste the title you created above the 3 other flower photos we added, and proceed to change the titles accordingly.

Return to your "Essential Graphics" tab and search "Titles" for a motion graphic title you like and drag it the "V2" track just above the first video we added.

You can edit this title just like we did before, as well as move its location depending on your needs (A). You will notice in your "Essential Graphics" panel you re presented with some other options since this is a motion graphic. You can increase the size of the title using the scale button (B) as well as increase or decrease the fade in-and-out of the motion graphic title using the "Responsive Design - Time" section.

6. Saving and Exporting

I suggest always saving editable copies of your work as you are working and when you reach a point where you are debating experimenting with your projects. To save a copy that can be opened and edited, go to "File > Save As" then make sure you title it something relevant, then select the folder we created in the first step and click "Save."

To export a copy that can be viewed on devices without opening Premiere Pro in formats such as an MPEG. Click on "File > Export > Media," in the window that opens title the project accordingly, make sure you are saving to the folder we created in the first step and select the format "H264" and then click "Export."