Introduction
Jeff I. Greenberg
On This Rare Occasion Please Read the Introduction
If you’ve picked up this book, we want to encourage you to look through its contents and discover the techniques that will put you further on the path to becoming an advanced user of Adobe Premiere Pro.
In this Studio Techniques book, it’s assumed you’ve used Adobe Premiere Pro and that you’re no longer a novice. Maybe you’ve never used every Adobe tool, but you’ve acquired footage and edited and delivered output. We expect that some of you have read the Adobe Premiere Pro Classroom in a Book or equivalent, and others may have been using Adobe Premiere Pro for years.
We also assume that you understand the concepts of real-world delivery schedules, clients who are unreasonably demanding, and headache-producing market pressures. Perhaps you even have friends and family that you’re able to spend time with occasionally.
The pressures that an editor is under today seem much greater than a decade ago when concepts such as “offline editor only,” “picture lock,” and a reasonable delivery schedule ruled the day. Nowadays, footage is being thrown at the busy editor from every direction, clients often don’t make up their minds (although they truly never have!), and there’s constant pressure to always be upgrading software and hardware.
This book gives you the advanced tips and techniques that can make your workflow smoother and your editing faster. It includes techniques that could literally take months or years to discover on your own.
What makes this book extraordinary is that it’s not a “how to” use Adobe Premiere Pro book; rather, it dives into practical, real-world techniques used by editors working in the trenches with the software every day and teaching others to use it as well. Not only do the four authors who wrote this book earn their living as editors working day-to-day in film, television, and video postproduction, but they also have been “blessed” by Adobe and made Adobe Premiere Pro Master Instructors. This gives them the distinction of teaching instructors and Adobe Certified Experts on how to teach Adobe Premiere Pro to others in the Adobe way.
Hitting a Moving Target
One of the best features of Adobe Creative Cloud is the flexibility it gives Adobe to roll out an update, which is fantastic as a user. But it’s not so great for an author, especially when a chapter has been finished and put to bed. Major changes can wreak havoc with your sanity and sleeping patterns when you wake up in the middle of the night screaming because much of what you’ve written must be revised. This book has been written as much as possible in a general way—not specifically tied to a particular version. And as significant updates that affect the content occur, they’ll be addressed with errata on the web page with the downloadable files (see “A Note About Downloadable Content”).
A Note About Overlap
All of the authors had quite a bit of freedom to write about concepts they felt were important to the techniques they were writing about, even if there was some overlap. For you, the advantage of this overlap is that it can help you understand the “why” behind the techniques—sometimes from multiple points of view. For example, it’s valuable to remap the keyboard. Hearing the reason for it from an editorial point of view is different than hearing it from a colorist’s point of view.
How This Book Works
For the most part, each chapter is readable in isolation. When necessary, other relevant chapters are referenced. While trying to maintain a similar style, authors were given the liberty to write in their own voice. Multiple authors provide the flexibility for different viewpoints in editorial and a faster writing process. Any of these authors are skilled enough to have written the entire text!
We offer you loads of gems throughout the book in Tips (something cool) and Notes (something to watch out for), but many are also scattered throughout the text.
You’ll know some of the techniques discussed in this book, but I can assure you that you won’t know all of them. Yes, in some cases you might be able to jump through a chapter quickly, but if you’re weak in a given chapter’s topic, we highly recommend a deep read. The following sections provide a brief overview on each chapter.
Chapter 1: “Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro” discusses some of the specific functionality that makes Adobe’s nonlinear editor nimble and quick in this all-too-soon to be 4k world. Topics include what makes Adobe Premiere Pro so special, and what differentiates a consumer camera and a cinema camera. The chapter also explains that you should give special attention to hardware system design, performance monitoring, and the order in which you may want to approach using and learning the tools in Adobe Creative Cloud.
Chapter 2: “Setup and Organizing” offers wonderful tips on how to best set up Adobe Premiere Pro and your media prior to starting a project. If you create and build a Common Media folder with a preconfigured project, you’ll be able to start new projects faster that are optimized to your system. You’ll learn to adjust preferences to improve working with Adobe Premiere Pro as well as learn how to set up caches throughout Adobe Creative Cloud applications. And if you’re a narrative- or transcript-based editor, be sure to check out the section “Speech and Script Technologies” at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 3: In “Editing Techniques,” Christine Steele gives you great insights on how to edit smarter and faster with some power techniques. And just because you’ve been editing for years doesn’t mean you should skip the “Editing Essentials” section. The techniques provided for three-point editing and replace editing could change the way you work! If trimming mystifies you, there are loads of details about the different ways you can trim efficiently. If you’re a razor blade and delete editor, this information will open up new ways to work.
Chapter 4: In “Professional Audio,” Luisa Winters helps demystify the audio workflow process by describing smart techniques in order of process—from adjusting prior to the edit to using sophisticated submixing and audio FX. She also explains the methods of performing noise reduction and fixing clipped audio in Adobe Audition.
Chapter 5: Tim Kolb takes a very practical approach to effects in “Advanced Compositing and Effects,” showing you how you can think “outside the box.” The techniques he shows are very much about the type of play you often do to get an effect to work. He starts with some simple elements and builds on them to create more complex effects.
Chapter 6: “Color Correction” helps you understand the way light and video scopes work. Many examples are provided, and also included is a generalized recipe on which order to adjust the Three-Way Color Corrector. Shot matching and Secondaries are explored as well to help you do everything possible directly within Adobe Premiere Pro. Extend your knowledge outside of Adobe Premiere Pro by moving your material to Adobe SpeedGrade and back with this quick usable crash course on its interface.
Chapter 7: “Exporting Strategies” is about unlocking some of the cool techniques in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Media Encoder. Some great presets are built right in the chapter, which should help you get an idea of what to adjust when you want to tweak the presets in both tools.
Chapter 8: Workflow is always difficult to write about because no two workflows are identical. And if you’re reading about a workflow that doesn’t apply to you, it can be difficult to find what’s important. In “Workflow Management,” Tim Kolb approaches workflow by giving you specific techniques that aren’t obvious, which are guided by his years of experience working with Adobe Premiere Pro.
What’s Not in This Book
We tried to include as much varied content as we could that represented the other video-related tools in Adobe Creative Cloud. But this is mostly an Adobe Premiere Pro book. However, Adobe Premiere Pro doesn’t exist in a vacuum, so we included the key details that are necessary to know about the other video-based applications.
Here are some items that you won’t find in the book:
No tape-based techniques. We know you’re saying, “But I still use tape.” We’re not in any way, shape, or form saying you shouldn’t use tape. In fact, the authors romantically wish they were still using tape.
Most of the situations we’ve been in in the last five years or so have been tapeless worlds, which is the reason we didn’t include any material about tape-based work.
Only the key Adobe Creative Cloud applications. Yes, we’re huge fans of the entire Adobe tool set, but although tools like Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Bridge, Adobe InDesign, and Adobe Dreamweaver have loads of value, they’re not linchpins of video editing.
A Note About Downloadable Content
Not every chapter has media. Chapters 1, 2, 7, and 8 do not contain projects. Chapter 2 has a script and clip to use with the speech recognition section, and a template of folders to help you organize your own projects. Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 have complete projects and media that you can download that work with specific examples from the text. Chapter 6 also has two broadcast legal looks to use in Adobe Premiere Pro with the Lumetri filter. Chapter 7 has a surprise! I’ve build the presets from the chapter for download as well.
Throughout this book, you’ll see examples of scenes that are used to demonstrate various concepts and techniques. The downloadable content includes a wide variety of corresponding media clips that you can use as a playground for experimenting with the techniques discussed.
To access the Project and Lesson files, please follow these steps.
1. On a Mac or Windows computer, go to www.peachpit.com/redeem and enter this code: 23AA613BB0A2.
2. If you do not have a Peachpit.com account, you will be prompted to create one.
3. The download files will be listed in the Lesson & Update Files tab on your Account page.
4. Click the file links to download them to your computer.
This process may take some time to complete, depending on the speed of your computer and Internet connection.
Note that if updates to this book are posted, those updates will also appear on your Account page at www.peachpit.com.
Special Thanks
As the lead author, the only real power I get to abuse is lavishing thanks upon others. Without these people, this book would have never have happened. There are so many people to thank that even narrowing down the number to what you see here was difficult.
This is an indulgence, but here is a personal note from me (Jeff) to you the reader: If you find anything in this book that makes your life easier (and there should be lots!) and if you ever meet any of these wonderful people, take a moment and let them know! Writing, like editing, is done in a small room with what often feels like only negative feedback.
My Co-authors
This book has been a massive effort. During the writing major life forces were at work, which make book writing all that more difficult. Let me start by thanking each of my co-authors and their families. I’m sorry I had to take so much of their time:
Christine Steele. When Christine signed on to write about editing, I tried to warn her about how much work goes into writing a chapter. She amazingly managed to fit in the writing in addition to a new project she’s editing for PBS.
Luisa Winters. Luisa was a superstar, writing a great chapter on audio and turning it around remarkably fast during her busy schedule. I’ve worked with Luisa for years, so the result was no surprise given her knowledge base and her professional skills.
Tim Kolb. Tim contributed so much technical knowledge to the book. His chapter on workflow really ties down some small nuances that I’ve never seen before in print.
Maxim Jago. Maxim is the unofficial co-author of this book. He agreed to do the technical edit, and luckily for us he went far and beyond. Maxim even wrote several sections in a couple of chapters. I absolutely couldn’t have shepherded this book without my friend Maxim on board.
Shawn Lamb. Thank you for your extra work early on in the audio chapter.
Peachpit Press
Relationships between authors and publishers are always rocky. Deadlines are always in the front of the publisher’s mind and keep authors awake at night. My thanks go out to the following Peachpit crew:
Karyn Johnson. Karyn’s cool head prevailed, especially toward the end of the deadline when the doors inevitably come off the machine.
Rebecca Gulick. I would not have taken this role and the book wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Rebecca. She was a rock for me, especially in the early days of the book. Thank you so much!
Anne Marie Walker. This is the third book you’ve copyedited for me. I hope I’m not the only author ever to tell you this: I’m stunned at how much better my writing sounds because of your deft hand.
Adobe
And then there are those people inside the walls. Thanks to all those who work at Adobe and help fools like me rave about what I love (and on occasion what drives me crazy!):
Michelle Gallina. I know you’re now off in Adobe After Effects land, but this book and the Master Trainer program wouldn’t exist without you! You are my favorite person at Adobe, and I am indebted to you for your help and support.
David Helmly. So many times there was a minor question or some obscure switch I needed help with, and time after time you’ve been there for me.
Mitch Wood. I should print and frame the massive email of answers you’ve helped with and send you a photo! Thank you so much.
Additionally, the Adobe people that I absolutely, positively have to thank for all their support include Bill Roberts, Al Mooney, Meagan Keane, Steve Ford, Patrick Palmer, Dennis Radeke, Todd Kopriva, Kevin Monahan, Jason Levine, Colin Smith, Anita Engleman, Ellen Wixted, and Leonard Rosenthol.
Friends and Colleagues
Of course, I’d like to thank the rest of the Master instructors as well, particularly my friends Abba Shapiro and Rich Harrington who helped Adobe start the program.
William Robinson (Robbie) Carman for your wisdom, guidance, and sanity (yeah, Catherine too).
Stu Bass for a quick insight into how his episodic TV projects are set up.
Ben Kozuch and Jeff Rothberg, and everyone at FMCTraining.
Those people who are near and dear to my soul: Dorn Hetzel, Gabeba Baderoon, Yossy Tessone, Jack Reilly, Jeff and Jen Smith, Jeff and Holly Preston, and Rich Frumer.
My Family
Isn’t it terrible that family comes last all too often?
First, to Amy, my wife: I love you so very much. You’ve been my sanity and my beacon of hope at some downtimes while cranking out this book. I hear you loud and clear about publishing and deadlines.
To my daughter Sophia, although you’re too young to read this, later in life you’ll laugh as you see photos of you hidden in this book. Dada loves you.
It’s important that I mention of course my close family: Scott, Rachelle, Morgan, and Maddox; Al and Dee; Roger, Elanna, Jesse, Juillette, and Gabrielle; Steven, Avra, Jake, Sam, and Nate; Charles and Amy. Now you’ll have to own a copy of the book.