Interface Quick Guide

Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2021

Premiere Pro Interface Overview

The Start Screen
When you launch Premiere Pro, the Start screen loads. From here, you can create a new project
or open a previous one. The Start screen is as follows:

Figure 1 - The Start Screen

a. Learn – Access Premiere Pro tutorials and guides (See Figure 1).
b. Projects – Create a new project or open an existing one (See Figure 1).
c. What’s New – Discover the latest features and updates (See Figure 1).
d. Search – Search for previously opened projects (See Figure 1).

Create a New Project

Projects contain all assets used to create and edit your videos, such as video clips, audio files,
and graphics. The following steps describe how to create a new project:

1. From the Premiere Pro Start screen, click New Project (See Figure 2).

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Figure 2 - New Project

2. The New Project dialogue box launches (See Figure 3).

a. Name – Set the name of your project file (See Figure 3).
b. Location – Determine where the project file will be stored (See Figure 3).
3. If needed, determine advanced settings, such as timecode, scratch disks, and ingesting.
For this guide, we will leave these settings set to default (See Figure 3).
4. Click OK to create your project (See Figure 3).

Figure 3 - New Project Window

The Workspace

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There are eight default workspaces: Assembly, Editing, Color, Effects, Audio, Graphics, Captions
and Libraries. The workspaces are accessed from the Workspace Control Bar, located at the top
of the Premiere Pro application window.

Figure 4 - Workspace Control Bar

Panels
The Premiere Pro interface is made up of panels. Panels can be:
• Resized
• Undocked and rearranged
• Grouped together within the same area

The Assembly Workspace

The Assembly workspace is optimized for importing, previewing, marking and subclipping
media, as well as assembling rough cuts of sequences. The Assembly workspace is as follows:

Figure 5 - Assembly Workspace

1. Project Panel – Import and organize your project assets (See Figure 5).
2. Source Monitor Panel – Preview the clips you’ve imported before editing (See Figure 5).
3. Timeline Panel – Arrange your clips in a sequence (See Figure 5).

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The Project Panel Interface

The first step of any Premiere Pro project is to import your media using the Project Panel.

Importing Media
1. Double-click in the center of the Project Panel where it says “Import media to start”
(See Figure 6).

Figure 6 - Project Panel

Note: If you do not see the Project panel, click the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) at
the top right corner of the panel to access all panels within the panel group.

Figure 7 – Hamburger Menu

2. A new window will open. Select the files or assets you wish to import into the Project
Panel (See Figure 8).

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Figure 8 - Import Media

3. Click Open to import the files.

Figure 9 - Project Panel

4. The assets are imported into the project. You may now access these assets in the
Project Panel (See Figure 10).

Figure 10 - Imported Clip

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The Source Monitor Panel Interface

You can preview your video clips using the Source Monitor. The Source Monitor is located
within the Source Monitoring Group. The components of the Source Monitor are as follows:

Figure 11 - Source Monitor Panel

1. Source Monitor Panel – Preview clips before inserting into a sequence (See Figure 11).
2. Clip Preview – Displays the active clip (See Figure 11).
3. Playback Tools – Allows you to navigate through and review a clip (See Figure 11).

Previewing Clips
The following steps describe how to preview clips:

1. Navigate to the Project panel and navigate to the assets you wish to preview.
2. Double click the clip preview thumbnail.

Figure 12 - Clip Preview Thumbnail

3. The clip opens in the Source Monitor. Using the playback tools, you can preview and
mark your clip.

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Figure 13 - Playback Tools

a. TimeCode – Uniquely identifies each frame using a time stamp. By default, Premiere Pro
uses the SMPTE code: hours, minutes, seconds, and frames (See Figure 13).
b. Playhead – Shows the location of the current frame in the time ruler (See Figure 13).
c. Time Ruler – Displays the duration of a clip. Tick marks indicate units of time
(See Figure 13).
d. Marker – Add comments or notes to a clip (See Figure 13).
e. Mark In/Out – Select a portion of the clip (See Figure 13).
f. Go to In/Out – Snaps the playhead to the clip’s In/Out point (See Figure 13).
g. Step Back/Forward One Frame – Move between frames one at a time (See Figure 13).
h. Play/Stop – Starts and stops the clip at the playhead (See Figure 13).
i. Insert/Overwrite – Applies an insert or overwrite edit of the clip into the sequence
(See Figure 13).
j. Export Frame – Saves the frame at the location of the playhead as an image (See Figure 13).
k. Button Editor – Customize the button layout (See Figure 13).

The Timeline Panel Interface

Once you have imported assets, you can begin arranging them into a sequence. Sequences are
built and refined in the Timeline panel, which can be accessed through most workspaces. In the
steps below, we will access the Timeline panel through the Assembly workspace.

The Timeline Panel

The Timeline Panel contains many tools. To simplify this panel, we will break the panel down
into three groups: the Timecode Group, the Track Options Group, and the Sequence Group. Each
contains tools and options for creating a sequence.

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Figure 14 - The Timeline Panel

a. The Timecode Group (See Figure 14).

b. The Track Options Group (See Figure 14).
c. The Sequence Group (See Figure 14).

The Timecode Group

Figure 15 – The Timecode Group

1. Timecode – Indicates the current position of the playhead (See Figure 15).
2. Insert Sequences - Insert a sequence into the current one (See Figure 15).
3. Snap – Eliminates gaps between clips in the Timeline (See Figure 15).
4. Link Selection – When enabled, selects all linked tracks (See Figure 15).
5. Marker – Add a marker to the Timeline at the playhead (See Figure 15).
6. Timeline Display Settings – Adjust visible elements in the Timeline (See Figure 15).

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The Track Options Group

Figure 16 - Track Options Group

1. Track Locking – When enabled, disables all track edits and adjustments (See Figure 16).
2. Track Number – Signifies the type of track and the track number. Video tracks (V) are
located above the Timeline midpoint, and audio tracks (A) are located below the Timeline
midpoint (See Figure 16).
3. Track Visibility – Hide or view a video track (See Figure 16).
4. Source Indicators –When enabled, insert and overwrite edits are placed in the selected
tracks (See Figure 16).
5. Track Targeting – Paste copied clips onto selected tracks (See Figure 16).
6. Sync Lock – When enabled, locks tracks together so movement in the Timeline applies to
each (See Figure 16).
7. Mute – Silences an audio track (See Figure 16).
8. Solo Track – Mutes all other audio tracks (See Figure 16).
9. Record – Record audio directly into the Timeline (See Figure 16).

The Sequence Group

Figure 17 - Sequence Group

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1. Time Ruler – Shows the portion of the sequence in the current view (See Figure 17).
2. Sequence Playhead – Use this playhead to navigate within a sequence (See Figure 17)
3. Video Clips – Video clips are arranged on a track to create a sequence (See Figure 17).
4. Audio Clips – Audio clips show a waveform preview (See Figure 17).
5. Scrollbars – Navigate horizontally and vertically between tracks (See Figure 17).

The Toolbar
The Toolbar contains the tools you will use to add and manipulate content within the Timeline.

Figure 18 - The Toolbar

1. Selection Tool – Select and/or edit clips within the Timeline panel (See Figure 18).
2. Track Select Forward Tool – Selects a clip and following sequential clips (See Figure 18).
3. Specialty Editing Tools – Adjust the In and Out points of multiple clips simultaneously (See
Figure 18).
4. Razor Tool – Split a clip into two (See Figure 18).
5. Slip and Slide Tools – Adjust the timing of edits (See Figure 18).
6. Pen and Shape Tools – Create shapes directly on the Timeline (See Figure 18).
7. Hand Tool – Navigate horizontally through the Timeline (See Figure 18).
8. Text Tool – Add text to the Timeline (See Figure 18).

For additional support, please contact the KSU Service Desk at service.kennesaw.edu. Page 10 of 10