Once you have imported your videos, the next step is the actual task: the clips should come together into a coherent whole. This is what the editing workspace in Premiere Pro is for. It bundles tools designed specifically for cutting and pushes everything you don't need right now into the background. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to tidy up the interface, how to work with the timeline, and how to cut with video layers so that you stay flexible later on.
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Key Takeaways
- The Editing tab is the right workspace for cutting. Color correction and audio work belong in their own tabs.
- With the layout reset and unneeded windows hidden, you keep an overview.
- The timeline shows you the length of the project and can be enlarged or reduced with Plus and Minus.
- Place clips on separate video layers instead of overwriting them. This way you can freely move, shorten, or remove each clip later.
- Picture and sound are linked by default. With "Unlink" you separate them, and with Mute and Solo you control individual audio tracks.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Open the Editing tab
Before you get started, switch to the Editing tab in the bar at the top. The tabs are not structured randomly; each one has a clear purpose. If you edit colors in the Color tab and audio in the Audio tab, you have all the tools exactly where you need them in the editing tab.
2. Reset the layout
If you have already been moving windows around, your interface probably looks different from the one in the tutorial. Via Window, then Workspace and Reset, you bring back the saved layout. This gives you a clean starting point on which all further steps build.
3. Hide windows you don't need
You rarely need the Media Browser, Libraries, Info, Markers, or History directly while editing. Close them or dock them into a tab area that you open when needed. You can also hide the Audio Mixer and Metadata if you are not using them at the moment. The Project window with your clips, on the other hand, you keep in view, and you shrink the Effects panel if you don't need it constantly.
4. Position the source and playback windows
The Source Monitor is where you check clips before inserting them. Place it so that you see the picture large and clear. Whether you need two windows side by side to compare clips is up to you. What matters is that you have a window for playback, the Project window with the clips, and the timeline in view.
5. Understand the timeline
The timeline is the heart of your edit. At the top you see the total length of your project, in the example about 2 minutes and 14 seconds. The blue playhead is your cursor, with which you move through the video. If you move it, the picture in the playback window changes accordingly. This logic is the same in almost all editing programs. If the sound bothers you while scrubbing back and forth, briefly turn it off.
6. Stack clips as video layers
Premiere works on the layer principle. Imagine two sheets of paper: if the upper one lies on the lower one, it covers it completely. A typical example is a talking-head recording as the lower layer. On top of it you place a second clip, for example a short passage on the topic of digital zoom. If you drag the clip from the Project window onto the timeline, it lands on a higher layer without touching the clip underneath.
7. Place the clip precisely and zoom the timeline
Drag the new clip to the desired spot. At first the picture looks hardly any different, until the pan reaches the inserted cut. To work precisely, you zoom into or out of the timeline with the Plus and Minus keys. This is an important trick, because in an enlarged view you immediately see whether the entry is too late or too early.
8. Use layers instead of overwriting
The most common mistake is placing a clip directly over another one on the same layer. The clip underneath then gets overwritten, and you have to laboriously reconstruct what was there. If the clip is on its own layer instead, you can move it freely. A cut within the clip is also straightforward: you remove a section and shift the rest along. Premiere adjusts the transitions automatically.
9. Expanding video layers
I haven't yet reached a fixed upper limit for video layers; up to 20 layers ran without problems. However, the more layers you stack on top of each other, the more likely Premiere is to respond sluggishly. The layers are displayed in the track header as video layer 1, 2, 3 and so on. If you want to create another layer, simply drag a clip into the empty area above the existing tracks. Premiere creates the new layer automatically.
10. Separating picture and sound with "Unlink"
When you insert a clip, picture and sound are linked. If you move the video clip, the audio track moves with it. This is usually useful, otherwise picture and sound will fall out of sync. If you want to edit both separately, right-click the clip and select "Unlink". After that, you can move picture and sound independently of each other. This is especially important when audio tracks overlap, because stacked sounds quickly end up sounding muddy or unpleasant.
11. Muting and soloing audio tracks
Every audio track has an M switch for muting. One click on it mutes the track, and you can mute several tracks at the same time. The S switch stands for solo. If you activate it, only this track is played back, regardless of which other tracks lie beneath it or what the settings are. If you don't need the sound of the clips you've cut in at all, you can also delete the corresponding tracks entirely.
12. Working with multiple layers
My most important piece of advice is this: distribute your cuts across multiple layers and never overwrite an existing layer with new content. Changes can then be made later without any problems, and you won't lose any material. You can move, adjust or delete each clip individually without anything else changing. We'll cover the finer cutting techniques in the next video.
Summary – Setting up the Premiere Pro interface properly: layers and timeline
The editing workspace in Premiere Pro is tailored to a single task: assembling your clips. With a reset layout, hidden windows and a clear timeline, you create an interface in which you can work quickly. The most important idea here is the video layers. They allow you to adjust cuts at any time without losing material. In addition, you can control the audio tracks precisely using Unlink, Mute and Solo, so that your video sounds clean and looks coherent in the end.
FAQ
What is the editing workspace in Premiere Pro for?It bundles tools designed specifically for assembling clips, and it can be cleared of unnecessary windows.
Why shouldn't I overwrite clips?Overwritten clips disappear, whereas clips on separate layers can be moved, shortened or deleted individually.
How many video layers can I use?I haven't found a fixed limit; up to 20 layers ran without problems. However, as the number grows, Premiere can become slower.
What does solo mean for audio tracks?Solo plays back only that one track, regardless of other tracks or settings.
How do I separate picture and sound from each other?Right-click the clip and select "Unlink".
