If you’re brand new to editing videos, let me introduce you to my absolute favorite editing program: Adobe Premiere Pro. You can try it out for free here.
In this quick 20 minute video tutorial I will take you step by step through the entirety of how to start editing your first videos using Premiere Pro.
We’ll cover how to open up and begin your first project, how to import footage, create sequences, make basic edits, apply effects, and build the foundation to any video edit.
Grab your coffee and let’s go!
Step 1 – How to Create a New Project in Premiere Pro 2022
Once you’ve downloaded and installed Premiere Pro, you have the option to begin a new project or open an existing project.
Create New Project
Select ‘New Project’ in the upper left hand corner to get started.
Select a name and location for your project.
Choose a name for your project and select a location where you want to save the project. This can be somewhere on your hard drive or an external hard drive. I recommend creating a folder to house all the files that you’ll use related to this project. Learn more about how I organize my video files here.
Import Media into your Project
Next you want to import any video or audio files into your project. Use the menu on the left side of your window to find where your files are stored. Click on the folder where your files live.
Select Media to Import and Create Project
Put a checkmark next to any and all files that you’d like to import into your new project and select ‘Create‘.
Congratulations, you’ve just set up your first project in Premiere Pro! Now the fun begins. Let’s walk through setting up your project to start editing.
If you want more in depth details about how to import files into Premiere Pro and all the settings I use when setting up a new project, you can find that here.
Step 2 – Build a Sequence Inside of Premiere Pro
What is a sequence?
In video editing, a sequence refers to the timeline window where you’ll place your video and audio clips that will eventually comprise your final video.
The sequence is built from left to right and holds layers where you can place video and audio clips on top of one another. This is how you will begin to build your video edit.
Time moves from left to right in the sequence panel.
When one video layer is placed on top of another layer, you will only see what is on the top-most layer.
This is the beginning framework for how to execute many important video editing techniques. We’ll get into more of that later.
If you’d like to learn more about what sequence settings I recommend and how to set them up in Premiere Pro, be sure to check out the post I have all about it in detail.
Here’s what your sequence window looks like:
Notice the top layers are labeled ‘V1, V2, V3…’, these are your video layers. They are always the top layers on your sequence.
On the bottom you see ‘A1, A2, A3…’, these are your audio layers. Here is where you’ll place any music, video audio, or dialogue files.
How to Play Your Sequence in Premiere Pro
To watch your sequence, place your playhead (that vertical blue line) where you’d like to begin playing by simply dragging it with your mouse. Then hit spacebar on your keyboard and your sequence will begin playing.
You’ll see your video preview in the Premiere Pro Program window.
Your video will begin to play in the upper right window of your screen. This is called your Program Window and it is where you’ll preview exactly what your final video will look like.
What is the Source Window?
The left window is called your Source Window and is where you can adjust in and out points on your video, apply filters and effects, change the size of your video, and more details like that. Double-click on any file in your sequence to view it in the Source Window.
Add Clips to Your Sequence Panel
There are a number of ways to add more clips to your sequence in Premiere Pro.
One way is to simply drag the clip you’d like to use from your Project Window onto the sequence panel.
Add as many clips as you’d like onto your timeline. We will learn how to adjust the length and location of your clips in a moment.
You can also add clips to your timeline in a bit more precise way. Double-click on a clip to display it in the Source Monitor (the one on the left). At the bottom of the source monitor, you can select where to begin and end your clip that you’d like to add to the timeline.
How to Set In and Out Points for a Clip
I prefer to use the keyboard shortcuts ‘i’ and ‘o’ to set my in and out points, but you can also use the little bracket icons at the bottom of the window to set your in and out points. To play the clip, hit ‘spacebar’ on your keyboard.
Once you are happy with your in and out points, you can drag the entire window into your sequence to move that clip into place where you’d like it.
If you only want to drag the video portion or the audio portion of a clip into your timeline, use the drag video or drag audio only icons to do so.
Use
How to Remove a Clip in Your Sequence
To remove a clip from the sequence, select it and press delete.
If you want to delete clips without leaving a gap in-between, hold ‘Shift-Fn-Delete’ (shift-delete on windows) to remove the gap as well.
How to Adjust the Length of a Clip in Premiere Pro
To adjust the length of a clip in your sequence, you can simply grab and edge and drag to the left or right to either extend or shorten the clip.
How to Split a Clip in Premiere Pro
To make a cut in any of your clips, hit the keyboard shortcut ‘C’ to select the Razor Tool.
You can also select the tool manually on the left-hand toolbar of your sequence panel.
Now simply click on any area of your clip to make a cut. You’ll now have to separate clips that you can manipulate however you wish.
There’s much more to learn about how to trim and cut clips in Premiere Pro, be sure to check out the post I have that gets into all those great details as well.
Drag and Drop to Build Your Video
Once you’ve place all your clips and audio into your sequence, you can continue to drag and drop the clips around the sequence to build your video how you like it.
You can rearrange their order, place clips on top of one another, and so many other things. Start with a basic framework for your video and then we can build on that to refine your edit later.
Take time to play around with the program and get familiar as you work through it.
Make sure there are no gaps in your sequence and if there are, simply select the empty space and hit ‘delete’ to remove the gap.
Step 3 – Save Your Project in Premiere Pro 2022
It’s VERY easy to save your project quickly as you go. Don’t forget to save your work and save it often.
I am in a habit of using the keyboard shortcut ‘command-s‘ to save my work every so often. But you can also find it in the upper file menu of your project.
Step 4 – Adding Transitions Between Clips
Once you’ve built a basic edit that you’re happy with, you can move on to refining your video project and adding some fun details.
In the project panel (top left), you’ll find the ‘Effects’ panel tab. If you don’t see it, navigate up to Window/Effects to reveal it.
Open the ‘Video Transitions’ folder and you’ll see a number of options to use as transitions.
Once you have a desired transition, simply drag it in between two clips that are right next to each other. Hit spacebar to play your video and see how it looks. You can drag the edges of the transition to make it shorter or longer.
Step 5 – Adjusting Audio in Premiere Pro
How to Adjust the Audio Track Volume
If you notice your audio is too loud, you can slide the volume bar up or down to increase or decrease the sound.
If you don’t see this horizontal line on your audio track, you may need to zoom in a bit by hitting + on your keyboard. Drag the bottom of the track to make it even wider, you should then be able to see the audio level.
You can apply audio transitions to your audio files the same way you did with video files. This will help you to transition in or out of audio tracks more smoothly.
Step 6 – Keep Learning and Practicing
Just like anything, learning and mastering video editing simply takes time and experience. If you want to learn more, I’d love for you to check out more posts diving into how to use Premiere Pro.
Have something specific you want to learn? Leave me a comment below and let me know!
-Beth
Share on Pinterest:
