Premier Pro - Some basics elude me

Report · Dec 31, 2022

I want to make music videos, but I have virtually no exerience using video editing software. I downloaded a free program, and was able to execute the basics; consecutive scenes with an audio track I manually synced. I also have Premier Pro, which a good friend bought me a few years ago, which I'd now like to use. I just tried it, and must confess some of the real basics are eluding me. I have three questions:

There's a zoom tool on the tool bar, but it only seems to zoom in. How does one use the tool to zoom out?

On the free program, I was able to hit one button to preview video on full screen, and one button to restore editing windows, but on Premier Pro, the only method I can find is clicking window tab then maximize frame. Is there a one mouse-click means to preview full screen?

When opening a new project, I do not see a way to change it to 4K. A window opens that says new sequence, and it has file folders with names like DP-24P and DV-NTSC, but some of the folders are empty, and none appear to have an option to change the project to 4k. How do I change resolution settings when starting a project?

Any replies will be greatly appreciated.

Report · Dec 31, 2022

I think you should look around for some PP tutorials, free or paid. LinkedIn has some goood ones, and there are plenty of short tutorials free also.

For a quick answer, you can hover your mouse over any panel in PP and press tilda ~ and that panel will go full (Premiere) screen. Press tilda to restore size.

Also, a project can hold many sequences, each sequence can be the same or different sizes to others in the project. If you have an empty timeline, and drop a 4k clip onto it, PP will make a sequence to fit that clip.

Report · Dec 31, 2022

>have Premier Pro, which a good friend bought me a few years ago

Which version?

These may not help if you have CS6 or earlier

Report · Dec 31, 2022

May not be exactly what you're looking for but the key the left of 1 on your keyboard will open up whatever window your mouse is hovering over. If you add Command on Mac or Control on Windows while pressing the "Tilde Grav" key it will open the screen to a cinema mode where you can use keyboard shortcuts to watch your video. Press Esc to go back to regular view.

Report · Jan 01, 2023

Thanks for the replies. I have CS6. I've started watching some tutorials but I have a feeling I'll still have to lean on the Adobe support community going forward.

Report · Jan 01, 2023

@Richard27761516i8xw

Hi Richard:

It sounds like you would benefit from a day fo one-on-one Premiere Pro training from an Adobe Authorized Training Center. While they usually offer 2-day level 1, 2-day level 2, and 5-day bootcamps, you could request a custom class with a trainer familiar with Premiere Pro CS6.

I recommend Accelerate Computer Training for either on-site or remote training in Premiere Pro.

As far as your questions go:

Q: There's a zoom tool on the tool bar, but it only seems to zoom in. How does one use the tool to zoom out?

Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) to toggle from the Zoom In Tool to the Zoom Out Tool before clicking with it. You will see the "+" change to a "-" when it is the Zoom Out Tool.

Recommend:

Use “=” (equals) along the standard keyboard (not the numeric keypad) to Zoom In.
Use “-” (minus) along the standard keyboard (not the numeric keypad) to Zoom Out.
Use “\” (backslash) to toggle back and forth between current zoom level and Zoom to Sequence (fits everything in the Timeline into the width of the Timeline panel).

Q: On the free program, I was able to hit one button to preview video on full screen, and one button to restore editing windows, but on Premier Pro, the only method I can find is clicking window tab then maximize frame. Is there a one mouse-click means to preview full screen?

Press control ~ to toggle Full Screen Mode. Escape can be used to leave Full Screen Mode as well. When in Full Screen Mode, you’ll have to rely on keyboard shorts for playback like Spacebar (Play-Stop Toggle), J (Shuttle Left), K (Shuttle Stop), and L (Shuttle Right) among others.

Q: When opening a new project, I do not see a way to change it to 4K. A window opens that says new sequence, and it has file folders with names like DP-24P and DV-NTSC, but some of the folders are empty, and none appear to have an option to change the project to 4k. How do I change resolution settings when starting a project?

In Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 there are 4K presets in the New Sequence dialog box under “RED R3D”, then “HD 4K”. Each of those four presets are 3840-by-2160 at standard frame rates (23.976, 24, 24, or 29.97). While those are slanted toward working with source footage from a RED camera, it uses I-Frame Only MPEG as the Preview File Format and you can drop other source footage types into it instead.

Premiere Pro CS6 > New Sequence dialog box > Available Presets > RED R3D > HD 4K

If you've already been working in a different Sequence, you can copy and paste all of the source footage from one Sequence to another, but you're likely to have to make adjustments to the Clip Attributes after they have been pasted into a different Sequence.

If the New Sequence settings dialog box is blank or missing what's pictured above, there is something wrong with your installation of Premiere Pro CS6.

- Warren

Report · Jan 04, 2023

Thank you for the very thorough reply Warren. I will study it, and will also consider the training course. In the meantime I'd be extremely grateful if you could provide some idea of where I'd find the controls for the frame size. What I want to do is crop the video without changing resolution, so that it's square, just two black strips on either side.

Report · Jan 05, 2023

To crop 16-by-9 video such that it appears square with two black strips on either side (commonly called "pillar box"):

Apply the Crop Effect and adjust the options to crop the Left side and Right side (21.875% from eaxh side if the source clip is 16-by-9 to crop to 1-by-1). Or,
Nest the clip in a Sequenxe that has a 1-by-1 frame aspect ratio with pixel dimensions that match the height of the 16-by-9 clip (for example, a 1080-by-1080 Sequence nested in a 1920-by-1080 Sequence).

Report · Jan 05, 2023

Thanks for the reply Warren. I right clicked on the segment in the timeline and don't see an option for crop effect. I also looked under all of the tab dropdowns and still didn't encounter it. Could you be more explicit about where crop effect can be found?

Report · Jan 05, 2023

1. Make sure Window > Effect is active

2. Inside the Effects panel, search for the crop effect by typing this in inside the search bar. It is part of the category Video Effects > Transform

3. Drag the effect to the Effects Control Panel, or on top of a clip on the timeline

4. Adjust the parameters.

Hope this helps.

Report · Jan 05, 2023

Thank you very much gentlemen. Between the two posts I now understand how to access the effect and make changes.

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Premier Pro - Some basics elude me