Adobe Premiere Pro has earned a reputation as the industry’s leading video editing software, a reputation that is down to its tools ecosystem, powerful capabilities, and familiar nonlinear editing interface.
With so many accolades for the video editor software, it makes perfect sense that more users are drawn to it. However, it tends to have a steep learning curve, especially when it comes to cropping video content.
This article aims to provide Adobe Premiere Crop Video tips and tricks that can help you get the very best out of the software and every editing session.
1. Transcode Footage
Most videos shot on mirrorless cameras or DSLR are typically stored in an extremely compressed video file format, namely H.264. While there are other codecs, H.264 is quite great at reducing file size, with one drawback. They can be difficult to edit using a computer.
If you are planning to edit, then you will require edit-friendly formats like Apple’s ProRes. However, there is still a tradeoff with ProRes. While the resource burden is much lower, the file sizes are typically larger than H.264.
If you convert all your footage into edit-friendly formats, you will discover that the resource burden placed on your computer is lesser. This means you can get a lot more performance from it.
One of the most effective ways to convert numerous files is by using the Adobe Media Encoder. The Adobe Media Encoder can come in handy if you want to render 4K shots in 1080p while still retaining some of the benefits associated with 4K.
2. Trimming Project Clips
Adobe Premiere Pro provides four edit variants for use in every session: Slide, Slip, Ripple, and Roll. These edits are in conjunction with the Regular Trim, and you can access all of these edit modes seamlessly on the left of the timeline. The cursor color and shape provide visual aids to the type of editing you are currently working on. You can also make edits while the footage is playing.
Holding the mouse button while moving a video clip can open up a view of two clips using the preview window. Choosing to double click on the edit point can turn on Trim Mode. Trim mode highlights the incoming and outgoing frames and provides buttons for moving forward and backward by a frame or five frames.
3. Playback Resolution
This Adobe Premiere crop video tip is quite simple. Instead of previewing the edit with the highest quality, you should reduce it to half of that or a quarter for High definition footage. If the video is 4K or above, you can reduce it by an 8th or 16th.
Doing this reduces the burden the footage places on your system without affecting the final quality of the video.
To do this, you need to navigate to the Select Playback Resolution box on the bottom corner of the screen.
4. Use Proxies
Proxies can be an effective method of getting out more performance from your system. With Proxies in Adobe Premiere, you can set divergent rules for the final render and editing.
For example, if you have the footage in 4K and your computer cannot smoothly edit 4K, you can work with lesser quality, such as 1080p or less. This lower-quality footage gets substituted by Adobe Premier for the final render.
The way to create proxies is to right-click on the clip located in your project browser. At the prompt, select Proxy, and then select Create Proxies.
This selection takes you to the Create Proxies options, where you select the proxy location and the file format. Once you pick your format, hit the OK button to allow the Adobe Media encoder to automatically render your selected clips into editable proxy files.
Next, you can include a button to turn the proxies on or off using the Program Monitor Toolbar. The toolbar is underneath the video preview window.
To do this:
- Begin by selecting the Button Editor which is found just to the bottom right side of the preview window.
- Locate the Toggle Proxies icon and drag it onto the toolbar.
- Once it is on the toolbar, you can come out of the button editor.
Anytime you click the proxy button, it’ll turn blue and make the proxies usable. A second press will return your original media for use.
Keep in mind that, when rendering, Adobe Premiere automatically chooses the original media, so you don’t have to worry about your final render lacking in quality.
5. Playback Zoom Level
Adobe Premiere Pro CS gives you the ability to select from a vast array of clip scale settings and zoom levels. Although this is a good thing, you should be aware that these can reduce your system’s overall performance.
To alter these settings, you can find the Playback Zoom Level control on the bottom left corner of your Program Monitor. This setting allows you to adjust your monitor’s playback size. It is possible to have this setting at 100%, or even at a smaller or larger percentage.
If you are working on a smaller screen, you might want to increase the zoom level. However, if you have a bit more resolution than you require, choosing a smaller percentage setting can result in a marginal increase in performance.
Another tip you can use is the Scale level. For example, if you are working on a 4K video embedded on a 1080p storyboard timeline, you might need to zoom out or scale that clip to ensure all of it is visible.
While there is no issue with this, you should note that scaling will require additional processing power. The most effective thing to do would be to shoot all the footage you need in 1080p.
To find the Scale control, locate the Effect Control panel underneath the Motion option. If you can’t find the Effects Control panel, it might be disabled. You can enable it by selecting Windows and Effect Control.
