Adobe Premiere Pro CC Editing Guide

Logging in and local logins:

To log in to the Mac make sure you use your appointed media profile which should be media(x) as the username and password (replace x with the block in which your media lesson(s) begin). Make sure the Mac you log on to is the Mac you continue to use throughout your editing project as all the data is stored locally. We use this local login to ensure that all the data can be accessed easily and in one place.

This is the login in screen which can be seen when you boot up the Mac.

Mounting the SD card and ejecting it safely:

It is crucial to ensure that your SD card does not lose any data or corrupts in any way; this can be prevented by correctly mounting and ejecting your SD card. When you insert the SD card into the Mac it should automatically mount, when you are finished with the SD card it is very important to eject the SD card before pulling it out of the card reader. To eject an SD card find the card, which by default is on the desktop, right click or command click the card and press eject, there will then be a message saying the device is safe to remove. It is important to correctly remove the SD card as to avoid any possibilities of corruption or loss of data.

An SD card mounted on to the desktop

How to correctly eject an SD card

Creating folders and sorting footage:

When working on an editing project it is a good idea to keep your footage in appropriately named and placed folders. For your editing project you are encouraged to store your footage and any other related files in the appointed media area which can be found by going to the desktop and opening the Macintosh HD and finding the media folder, inside the media folder you should have a movies folder which is where all of your resources should be stored. The path for my files was /Users/mediab/Ben and Jerry's Advert/Premiere Pro Files/ Obviously your path will differ. Keeping all of your work in one dedicated area makes it easier to locate files and folders and increases general effeciency when editing. 

Here is an example of the file structure I used for my editing project:

This is the main folder which contains all of the editing resources  

This is the favorites bar on the Mac file browser, it is a good idea to link your 'Movies' folder into your favorites for easier access this can be done by simply the Movies folder into the folder section.  

These are all of the Premiere Pro files that I had at the end of my project, it is advisable to keep a backup of your main file in the event of a corruption or data loss.

This is all the raw footage copied directly from the SD card, if you have lots of footage it is a good idea to rename the files based on length or chronological order.

This is the movies folder found in the media(x) section

This all the raw audio I used in my project once again copied directly from the SD card. As with the footage it may be a good idea to rename the audio appropriately. 

Copying footage and renaming files:

It is important to keep multiple copies of your files. For example, instead of transferring the footage from the SD card to the computer copy it, keeping two versions of your footage ensures that you have a backup in the event of a crash or loss of data. Naming your files also helps you keep track of which file you need and where for example a file named ‘Shot 2 Wide’ is more helpful than ‘MOV_9821’ and allows you to manage your files more efficiently.

As you can see above, for my project I did not rename any of my files which meant I had no way of telling which shot was which without watching them. Naming your files can drastically increase efficiency in editing.


Opening programs and settings for projects:

Adobe Premiere by default does not have a shortcut on the desktop nor on taskbar/dock (you may find an Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 on the taskbar/dock, but this is the outdated version of Premiere Pro). To find Premiere Pro use the 'finder' function on the mac (see below) and search for Adobe, and a list of the Adobe programs will appear.

This is the finder which can be found in the top right on the desktop, the finder is recognizable by the magnifying glass icon. 

 Clicking the magnifying glass will open the search window and entering "Adobe" will show a list of the Adobe programs.

When you open Adobe Premiere pro you will see this screen, to start a new project click the 'New Project' button.

When you create a new project this screen will appear, allowing you to name your project and choose the location that it will be saved. Make sure you choose your media folder in Users/media(x)/Movies and create a new folder for your project.

Importing Footage:
Before you can begin editing your footage together you must first import it into Premiere Pro, this can be done by going to File>Import or by using the key board shortcut cmd>I

Bins and how to find footage (in Premiere) and how to 'open in place' instead of in a new window:

The bin is located in the bottom left of the Premiere Pro window and contains all of the audio and footage that you imported earlier, this footage can be dragged on to the timeline (see below). Bins are incredibly useful for keeping track of your footage by making easier to find and organize if necessary, as well as being able to preview the footage beforehand to make sure you are using the correct angle and take. 

The image above shows a blank timeline, and the image below is an example of what a time line will look like once all the editing is complete.

In order to view it or alternatively click the clip once and press the spacebar once, this will play the clip in the bin rather than opening it in a new window.

The picture below shows a clip being played in the bin, the small black bar can be dragged to fast forward and rewind the footage.

This is a clip being played in a separate window, this can be achieved by double clicking the piece of footage in the bin. The footage will be shown in a window parallel to the main editing window (see below);This is useful for comparing the original clip to an edited clip.

Sequences and exporting:
A sequence is a piece of footage and audio, this sequence can be changed directly by double clicking the sequence on the timeline. From this menu you can change various settings such as the opacity of the video and volume of the audio, this allows you to create certain effects for your movie such as colour correction and opacity as well as audio effects such as reverb and bass.

                                      

This is the menu that allows for you to adjust various settings on your sequence.

This is a list of effects that can be applied (to audio in this case) to change certain aspects of the audio.

Effects from the list above can be dragged onto the sequence, you can tell the effect is applied by looking for the 'fx' to the left of the audio/video. Using these effects correctly can make your video look more professional and allow you to change things that you couldn't during production. 

Once your timeline has all of your desired footage and audio on it can be exported making it ready for uploading to YouTube. Make sure to select your whole sequence before clicking export, this can be done by clicking the tab at the top of your timeline, double clicking this selects all of the footage and audio on the timeline. This is the tab that you must click to select all elements on the timeline ready for exporting.

This is the export menu from here you can choose the resolution frame rate aspect ratio etc. of your video this is useful for preparing your video for certain methods of distribution such as Vimeo, YouTube or to burn it it a DVD/Blu-Ray.