If you have other files – such as graphics, still photos or audio files – to add to this project, use File > Import to bring up the Import window and select the file(s).
Video Alphabet Soup
- AVI: Audio Video Interleave. It is currently the most common file format for storing audio/video data on the PC.
- MOV: A file extension (.mov) for video in Apple’s QuickTime format.
- MPEG: Moving Picture Experts Group. A standard for digital video and audio compression (video is usually called MPEG, while the most commong MPEG audio format is MP3)
- Open DML: OpenDML files are AVI files with the specs extended to accomodate certain improvements, such as bigger files.
- WMV: Windows Media Video. This refers to Microsoft’s family of video codecs. WMV version 7 and newer use a proprietary variation on the MPEG4 standard.
Audio Alphabet Soup
- AIFF: Audio Interchange File Format. This format was developed by Apple for storage of sounds in the data fork. AIFF is a very flexible file format, allowing the specification of arbitrary sampling rates, sample size, number of channels, and application-specific format chunks which can be ignored by other applications.
- AVI: See above
- MOV: See above
- MP3: See above
- WAV: Waveform Audio. The standard windows sound file format, developed by Microsoft and IBM.
Image Alphabet Soup
- AI: The filename extension for files created using the Adobe Illustrator graphic design software package
- BMP: Windows bitmap. A common form of bitmap file in Microsoft Windows. Poorly supported by other operating systems and with limited support for colour.
- EPS: Encapsulated PostScript. This file format is used to transfer PostScript information from one program to another.
- GIF: Graphic Image File. A long-popular, widely supported image-storage format. Limited to 256 colors. GIF89a is a sub-format that supports interlacing and animation.
- JPG: Joint Photographic Experts Group. A common format for displaying images on the Web. Technically JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) is the actual file format used, while JPEG is the compression method, but everyone calls them .jpg files.
- PICT: A still-image file format developed by Apple Computer. PICT files can contain both vector images and bitmap images, as well as text and an alpha channel. PICT is a ubiquitous image format on Mac OS computers.
- PNG: Portable Network Graphics (and some say it also stands for PNG’s Not GIF). Generally pronounced “ping.” PNG is used for lossless compression and supports images with millions of colors and produces background transparency without jagged edges. It also is royalty and patent free.
- PSD: PhotoShop Document. A proprietary formt that has been gaining in popularity as PhotoShop becomes more and more the defacto standard for image manipulation.
- TGA: Targa files, aka Truevision File Format. A format frequently used in special effects and raytracing work, it supports 1 to 32 bit images and professional features like an alpha (mask) channel, gamma settings and a built-in thumbnail image.
- TIFF: Tagged Image File Format. Developed by Aldus and Microsoft, this is best suited for representing scanned images and other large bitmaps, especially grayscale images.
You can import AVI, MOV, MPEG, Open DML and WMV video files, and AIFF, AVI, MOV, MP3, WAV and WMA audio files. For still images, you can import AI, BMP, EPS, GIF, JPG, PICT, PNG, PSD, TGA and TIFF files.
The elements you want to use can be arranged in a sequence, which can then be laid on the Timeline. Alternatively you can simply grab clips from the Project window and drop them into the Timeline.
Experienced video editors sometimes find it useful to organize the clips into a sequence before putting them on the Timeline. This is called “storyboarding.” They then use the Timeline to fine-tune the editing.
Whichever method you use, chances are you captured a little more video than you actually need to use and need to trim those pieces a little bit.
- Double-click a clip in the Project window to open it in the Source view of the Monitor window. Use the playback controls below the clip image to find the point on the video where you want to begin.
- Stop the playback and hit the Set In Point button (
). This sets the beginning of the usable portion of the file. - Advance the video to the final frame you want to use and hit the Set Out Point button (
). Now, when this clip is added to the sequence only the portion between the in and out points will be used. - Repeat with each clip in the Project window as needed.
Creating a Sequence by Storyboarding
- Use the Project window pop-up menu (accessible via the tiny arrow icon in the upper right-hand corner) to select View > Icon so that you can see a grid in the Project window.
- Use the grid to arrange your clips in the order you want them to play from left to right, top to bottom.
- Select Edit > Select All to select each clip in the Project window. Or, if you only want to use some of the clips, hold down the CTRL key while you click the clips you want.
- Click the Automate to Sequence icon at the bottom of the Project window. Premiere opens the Automate to Sequence window.
- 5. Click OK. The clips in your storyboard are placed into a new sequence on the Timeline. Premiere inserts cross-dissolve transitions between clips so that they fade into each other (these can be removed).
Creating a Sequence in the Timeline
The Timeline is a graphical representation of your video, with clips laid down one after another in the order they will play. You can construct your sequence directly on the Timeline:
- Grab a clip and drag it into the Video 1 track of the Timeline.
- Grab a second clip and drag it into the Video 1 track of the Timeline so that the beginning of the second clip “snaps” to the end of the first clip. You’ve made your first edit: a straight cut. (Most of your edits will be straight cuts or dissolves.)
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you have laid down all your clips in the order you want them to play.
- Hit the spacebar to playback what is on the Timeline in the Program view of the Monitor window.
- To move a clip, drag and drop it between two other clips. If there is empty space between two clips, select the space and choose Edit > Ripple Delete. The empty space is deleted and everything after that point is moved forward.
Transitions
Transitions occur when you shift from one clip to another. The most basic transition is a straight cut, in which the picture simply shifts from the last frame of the first clip to the first frame of the second.
Premiere has many transitions you can try, however. In news situations, the most common transitions are straight cuts, cross dissolves, dip to black, and fades. Generally speaking, straight cuts indicate that you’re still in the present time of the situation you’re referring to in the video. Dissolves indicate the passage of time. Fades are an option for an ending.
To add a transition to two clips on your Timeline, begin by laying the two clips down so that they abut each other in the same video track:
- Click the Effects tab of the Project window to view all the available transitions and effects.
- Click the expansion arrow next to the Video Transitions bin and then expand the Dissolve bin.
- Click and drag the Cross Dissolve transition over the point where your two clips meet in the Timeline. Premiere adds the transition to the Timeline.
- Select the transition. This opens the Effect Controls view in the Monitor panel. You can set the duration and alignment of the transition in this panel. You can also edit the duration of a transition by simply clicking and dragging the edge of the transition in the Timeline.
The process of adding a transition is the same for the Dip to Black transition. Use the Dip to Blacktransition to create a fade, aligning the edge of the transition with the beginning or end of the clip to create the fade. You can also create a piece of black video and then use a Cross Dissolve between the black video and your clip to create a fade-in or a fade-out. To create a piece of black video chooseFile > New > Black Video. It will appear in your Project clip list. You can use it as you would any other video clip.
You can delete a transition by simply selecting it in the Timeline and hitting the Delete key.
Rendering
In this context, rendering means calculating what the final video product will look like. Some fast computers with good video cards can calculate the end result on the fly, while for more complex effects, or on less powerful computers, you may need to let the computer render a transition before you can preview it.
Now you want to see this fabulous transition that you’ve created. In most cases you can watch the transition almost immediately by using any of the playback controls available to you.
In some cases, however, you’ll need to render the transition before you can view it. In these cases, a small red stripe will appear at the top of the Timeline window above the transition. Simple transitions and effects will render quite quickly.
To render your Timeline sequence, simply hit the Enter key. Premiere opens the Rendering window, which gives you a progress bar and some indication of how long the render will take.
As soon as the render is finished, the Timeline will begin to play.
Rendering only has to be done once, unless you make changes.